Spiritus Ensemble
Since its founding by Artistic Director Kenneth Hull in 2009, Spiritus Ensemble has performed over 25 of Bach’s cantatas, as well as motets and other works by J.S. Bach, Johann Christoph Bach, Vivaldi, Schütz, Buxtehude, Homilius, Bruhns, Kuhnau, Rheinberger, Benjamin Britten, James MacMillan, and Morten Lauridsen.
Many of Spiritus Ensemble’s Bach cantata performances take place within a liturgical context, accompanied by the readings on which they were intended as commentary as well as congregational chorales and hymns. These events form an ongoing series of ‘Bach Vespers’ with free admission performances at which donations are welcomed.
Other performances are more like traditional concerts, though often with an underlying liturgical or ritual shape. The performances in this series are our ‘In Concert’ events. Admission to these is by purchased ticket.
Kenneth Hull, Artistic Director
Kenneth Hull is a conductor, pianist, teacher and musicologist with a special interest in the music of J.S. Bach and music in liturgy and ritual. He was Director of the Church Music and Worship program at Conrad Grebel University College at the University of Waterloo, where he also taught courses in music, liturgy and the sacred choral music of J.S. Bach. Her retired from teaching in 2019. He was Director of Music at St George’s of Forest Hill Anglican Church in Kitchener for 22 years, until 2008.
As a pianist, Ken has performed widely as both solo and chamber musician in music by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms, Debussy, Shostakovich, Bartok, Poulenc, Copland, and many others. His scholarly work has been published in Liturgy, Anglican and Episcopal History, Brahms Studies, The Hymn, Reformed Liturgy and Music, and The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymns and Hymnology. His edition of Brahms’s Fourth Symphony is published in the series of Norton Critical Scores.