Timothy C. Takach, bass

Timothy C. Takach has been in Cantus since 1996, and was a co-founder of the full-time professional non-profit company. Tim brings a variety of talents and knowledge to Cantus. As a singer he brings an intuitive musical ear as well as attention to some of the smaller details in chamber music making. He also functions in an administrative position as the graphic designer for Cantus and does all the design work including the website, branding, CD packaging, season brochures, merchandise, concert programs and advertisements. Tim is also an active composer, and is often fortunate to have the opportunity to write for a group whose voices he knows so well.

Tim started singing and taking piano lessons when he was 4 years old. These two main forms of music making continued through his high school years, including a brief three-year stint playing the French horn. He discovered his passion for composing in high school as he began to arrange music for his high school a cappella quartet.

“Having years of piano lessons developed my ear to a point where I could transcribe songs from the radio, and I had enough theory knowledge to reduce them into the correct voicings I needed for different arrangements.”

Since graduating from college Tim has supported his passion for writing by composing as much as he has can. He has received a number of commissions from various organizations including the St. Olaf Choir, Cantus, The Singers - Minnesota Choral Artists, the Bowling Green State University Men's Chorus, the Cherry Creek High School Mesistersingers, the New Mexico Gay Men's Chorus, and the Western Michigan University Chorale. He has been an annual recipient of the ASCAP Plus award since 2004, and received a grant from Meet the Composer in 2008. His compositions have been heard on NPR and have been performed and recorded by various groups in North America. In 2005, with composer Jocelyn Hagen, he cofounded Graphite Publishing, a new music publishing company that focuses on excellent, accessible music.

For Tim, “a good piece of music needs to be both well written and then performed with conviction. The text and style must combine to create an ultimately engaging, enriching or moving experience. A piece that does any of these things inspires me.”

When Tim is not singing, designing or composing, he enjoys spending time with his family, reading, biking, playing tennis, finding new bands/artists, taking neighborhood walks, and trying desperately to complete do-it-yourself home improvements. Tim, his wife, their son and two cats reside in Minneapolis, MN.

More information about Tim as a composer can be found on his website at www.timothyctakach.com.

Meet the Singer - Timothy C. Takach
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takach<at>cantusonline.org

Tim's recommendations: music and books

Music

Disclaimer: Each of these albums is excellent, and most of them fall into the old cliché that "you can put it on and just listen to it all the way through without skipping any tracks." However, I'm not going to type, "I love this album, it is one of my favorites" in each blurb, so feel free to read that sentence to yourself after you read the blurb.

Zoe Keating: One Cello: 16x16
Zoe uses 16 layers of cello playing to create gorgeous textures in her songs. This colleciotn is atmospheric, lush, beautiful, and worth repeated listens.

Newton Faulkner: Hand Built By Robots
This is one of my favorite albums of 2008. Newton is a British singer/songwriter, and a heck of a guitar player. His single "Dream Catch Me" is one of my favorite songs, but his cover of Massive Attack's "Teardrop" is really well-done.

KT Tunstall: Eye to the Telescope
A great, fairly new British sing/songwriter. Kind of like an edgy Sheryl Crow - great melodies, catchy hooks, and good lyrics.

Jose Gonzalez: Veneer
A quiet, minimalist guitar player/singer/songwriter.

Imogen Heap: Speak for Yourself
I'm so pleased with this album. Imogen Heap is the vocal half of the electronica duo, Frou Frou, who gained a lot of recognition from the Garden State soundtrack. This solo release is really well written, well produced, and full of great songs.

Maroon 5: Songs About Jane
I bought this album on blind faith, having heard the single "Harder to Breathe" once on the radio. The lead singer sounds like Stevie Wonder at his funkiest, and the band is comprised of great musicians. Their style changes from track to track, but never beyond their capabilities. A fantastic album.

Sting: Brand New Day
His songwriting is at its best on this studio album. He explores so many emotions and characters. One of the few artists who can successfully put himself in another character and write from that point of view. And it includes one of my favorite songs, “Ghost Story.”

Llama: Close to the Silence
A great young rock-group. They’re sort of Dave Matthews Band with more standard instrumentation crossed with Counting Crows with a better lead singer all rolled into one band.

Joni Mitchell: Both Sides Now
This woman’s voice has gotten so leathery over the years but she can still put so much honesty into her music. This album is mainly cover-songs (plus a few of her own) on the changing moods of love, and she’s with a full orchestra. The orchestral arrangements are amazingly well written.

Dawn Upshaw: Knoxville:Summer of 1915
This album is worth it for Barber’s title track alone. Beautiful singing, great pieces. Her performance of “No Word From Tom” from Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress is also stunning.

Ben Folds: Rockin’ the Suburbs
This guy is just brimming with talent. He can go from a loud, raucous, use-my-whole-arm-from-my-fingers-to-my-elbow style of piano playing, to ripping your heart out with the best track on the disc and one of the greatest love songs in existence, “The Luckiest.” Also note: he plays just about every instrument you hear on the album.

Beck: Midnite Vultures
When I put this album on in my car, I often find myself driving well over the speed limit, and also yelling out the very much "Beck" lyrics. “I think I’m going crazy/Her left eye is lazy/She looks so Israeli/Nicotine and gravy.” The first track makes me do a crazy white-man dance.

Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals: Burn to Shine
First of all, great name for a band, Ben. These guys have so much more than their 1999 single “Steal My Kisses.” You have to listen to find out. The guy can play guitar. He goes from electric to acoustic without missing a step.

Sheryl Crow: The Globe Sessions
Her work keeps getting better and better. “Riverwide” is such a great song. She underwrites the melody in both the guitar line and then in her vocal line. By this time she’s really come into her own style, and you can tell she’s really got a handle on how to make a record.

Hem: Rabbit Songs
My favorite purchase of 2003. Hem is a contemporary folk band, singing new songs written in the style of old folk bands. If you’re looking for forty minutes of relaxation, this is the album. Violin, piano, female vocals, steel pedal, mandolin, what more could you want?

Rascal Flatts: Rascal Flatts
So I’m not really that big of a country fan, but these guys made my list. Their first recording has about 12 tracks written by 15 people, but their style shows through in every one. Three guys, with a good country/pop crossover sound. Nothing too twangy, nothing about losing a girlfriend or a dog, just good songs and those great country harmonies.

R.E.M.: Life’s Rich Pageant
This is my favorite band of all time, so I had a bit of trouble choosing. I went with an earlier album, from their days with the I.R.S. label. This record represents great songs, and Stipe was in a transition period where his lyrics started to make some sense.

R.E.M.: Automatic for the People
Okay, I cracked and put up another R.E.M. disc. Not the typical rock band sound on this record, some of the guys are on some tracks, not on others. Overall a soft album, with a handful of great singles mixed in.

Rufus Wainwright: Poses
I discovered Rufus a couple years ago. His songs make me want to write lyrics, his lyrics make me want to write great melodies, and his melodies keep singing in my head long after I’ve gotten out of the Cantus van. Try to listen to his cover of Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” Riveting. If anyone wants to know what to get me for my birthday, get me this, because I lost my copy on tour. I think Al (former Cantus member) stole it. (Addendum: Al did not steal it. I found it doubled-up in a Green Day jewel case. Sorry, Al.)

Rockapella: 2
Ever pushing the envelope of contemporary a cappella music, Rockapella does really well with this great disc. The record just about screams the name of Scott Leonard, who wrote or arranged just about everything on this disc. His voice is one of the smoothest out there, and I’m continually impressed with Rockapella not being afraid to try new things.

Michael Jackson: Thriller
My sister and I used to ‘dance’ to this record by running around in circles in the living room. Maybe that's why it’s still one of my faves. “Human Nature” is a great tune.

David Byrne: Rei Momo
If somebody was crowned the weirdest man in non-radio-played pop music, it might be this former Talking Heads lead singer. This album is composed of original compositions by Byrne, all written in the style of different Spanish dances.

Books

I'm also including a list of my favorite books.

Robert Pirsig: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Gabriel Garcia Marquez: One Hundred Years of Solitude
George R. R. Martin: A Song of Fire and Ice Series (unfinished)
Ann Patchett: Bel Canto
Dave Eggers: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Robert Russo: Empire Falls
William Shakespeare: Hamlet
Pearl S. Buck: The Good Earth
Edna Ferber: So Big
Toni Morrison: Beloved
Cory Doctorow: Overclocked
Stephen King: It
Thomas A. Day: A Grey Moon Over China
James Tiptree Jr.: Short Stories
Stephen King: The Dark Tower Series
Yann Martel: The Vita Aeterna Mirror Company (short story)