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Sacred music for a brighter world.
Kantori is a choral ensemble that presents concerts and special performances devoted to the sacred choral tradition. Its repertoire ranges from the earliest music of the Christian Church to contemporary global works and the distinctive sacred traditions of the United States.
The choir has completed two cathedral residencies and a concert tour of southern England, including concert-series performances at Bath Abbey and the University Church of St Mary the Virgin in Oxford. These experiences have allowed Kantori to participate directly in the historic tradition of daily choral worship while bringing that tradition into conversation with its ministry in Las Vegas.
Kantori has been recognized by the Clark County Board of County Commissioners with a special proclamation honoring the ensemble’s excellence and achievement. In 2026, the choir was selected to perform at the American Choral Directors Association Western Region Conference in San Jose, California, representing Nevada and the sacred musical traditions of the American West.
The name Kantori—pronounced CAN-toe-rye—is a historic term for a church choir or musical establishment devoted to the service of worship and sacred music. Faith Lutheran Kantori continues that calling by joining disciplined choral artistry with the proclamation, beauty, and communal life of the Church.
Kantori is proud to serve in residence at Faith Community Lutheran Church in Las Vegas.
Kantori supplements the traditional worship music needs of Faith Community Lutheran Church in Summerlin. It presents anthems, motets, hymns, and other liturgical music for worship services throughout the church year.
Artistic Director
Dr. Joseph Svendsen
Dr. Joseph Svendsen is the Artistic Director of Kantori, a professional sacred choral ensemble based in Las Vegas. His work as a conductor, scholar, and church musician centers on the sacred choral tradition, with particular interests in early music, Lutheran church music, historically informed performance, and the continuing place of sacred music in contemporary concert and worship life.
Under Svendsen’s leadership, Kantori has developed a growing regional and international presence. The ensemble has completed two cathedral residencies and a concert tour of southern England, with performances at historic churches including Bath Abbey and the University Church of St Mary the Virgin in Oxford. In 2026, Kantori was selected as a performing choir for the Western Region Conference of the American Choral Directors Association in San Jose, California.
Svendsen also serves as Director of Choral Studies and Associate Professor of Music at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he conducts the UNLV Singers and teaches graduate studies in conducting, choral literature, and pedagogy. His work as an educator emphasizes the development of independent musicianship, critical engagement, and artistic agency within the choral rehearsal. He has presented on these subjects for professional organizations including the American Choral Directors Association and the National Association for Music Education.
As Artistic Director of the Las Vegas Master Singers, Svendsen leads the 90-voice ensemble that serves as the symphony chorus for the Las Vegas Philharmonic and provides choruses for Opera Las Vegas. In 2024, he conducted Morten Lauridsen’s Lux Aeterna at Carnegie Hall with the New York City Chamber Orchestra. His professional work has included choral-orchestral repertoire, opera, chamber music, early music, and performances and conducting engagements in the United States and abroad.
Svendsen serves as Cantor at Faith Community Lutheran Church in Summerlin, where Kantori is ensemble-in-residence. His research and artistic work are particularly concerned with the relationship between sacred text, liturgy, historical musical practice, and the role of the church musician. Through Kantori, he seeks to bring the breadth of the Christian musical tradition—from plainsong and Renaissance polyphony through the great Baroque sacred repertoire and contemporary works—into compelling performances for modern audiences. Kantori’s current mission similarly encompasses sacred repertoire from the earliest music of the Christian Church through contemporary global and American traditions.
Svendsen holds the Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting from Texas Tech University, a master’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and undergraduate degrees from Luther College. His principal choral mentors have included Richard Bjella, Chester Alwes, Craig Arnold, and Timothy Peter. He received the 2023 UNLV College of Fine Arts Outstanding Teaching Award and was a national quarterfinalist for the 2026 GRAMMY Music Educator Award.
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