American Kantorei

American Kantorei is the performing group for the Baroque musical series Bach at the Sem on the campus of Concordia Seminary in suburban St. Louis, Missouri. It is a choral and orchestral ensemble founded in 1968 by the Rev. Prof. Robert R. Bergt. American Kantorei grew out of the former Concordia Cantata Chorus associated with Concordia Seminary and which had gained substantial international acclaim. The Kantorei is dedicated to the performance of church music from the Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, and Neoclassical periods. The works of Johann Sebastian Bach form the core of its repertoire.

After an interregnum of some years during which Bergt served as Orchestra Conductor and Graduate Professor of Chamber Music at the conservatory Musashino Academia Musicae in Tokyo, Japan, the American Kantorei began an annual series of concerts, denominated Bach at the Sem, on the campus of Concordia Seminary in 1993. In 1995, upon returning permanently to St. Louis, Bergt became Artist in Residence/Bach Scholar‐Lecturer at Concordia Seminary and remained until his death in 2011.

The American Kantorei has become an integral part of the seminary's cultural and educational programming and community outreach. Dr. Jeral Becker, Director of Vocal and Choral Activities at St. Louis University, has been appointed as Interim Music Director of Bach at the Sem and American Kantorei for the foreseeable future. All concerts, which take place in the Chapel of St. Titus and St. Timothy on the seminary campus throughout the year, are free to the public.

The Bach at the Sem series of concerts ended in 2017.

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