How an Indiana professor plans to lead KC's symphony chorus
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Just imagine the sound. Photo: Courtesy of the Kansas City Symphony
Kansas City's largest choir has a new director for the first time in nearly two decades — and she lives in Indiana.
Why it matters: The Grammy-winning KC Symphony Chorus is charting a new path after last season's sudden departure of its longtime director, Charles Bruffy.
Driving the news: The Kansas City Symphony this month announced its new director will be Betsy Burleigh, a longtime professor at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University and previous director of the Pittsburgh Symphony's chorus partner.
- The announcement came a month before the chorus' first performance this season singing Holst's "The Planets" for a multimedia, space-themed concert.
How it works: The Symphony Chorus is among the largest volunteer orchestral choirs in the nation, with 195 total members. Up to about 160 perform at a time in Helzberg Hall's choir loft.
- The director is in charge of organizing and preparing the group to sound their best.
- Burleigh will lean on assistant director Patrice Sollenberger for some rehearsals, and travel here for every concert week and during the majority of December, the chorus' busy season.
Flashback: Burleigh worked with the chorus last year, when she was invited to prepare the group for Rachmaninoff's "Spring" and Mendelssohn's "A Midsummer Night's Dream."
What they're saying: "I loved the chorus. I was so impressed with the symphony and the, of course, the hall," Burleigh tells Axios. "It almost felt like it was meant to be."
- She praised the venue, saying the hall has top-notch acoustics and the choir loft has enough clearance between rows so choir members aren't singing into the backs of heads.
- "I'm geekish about things like this."
Behind the scenes: Chorus president Keith Florea says the chorus has a strong culture that will help it adapt to a new director, and Burleigh says change will be slow as she gets to know the organization.
- Florea declined to comment on the nature of Bruffy's departure.
What's next: The chorus is gearing up for Brahms' master work, "A German Requiem," in November, plus movie concerts including "The Polar Express."
- And midseason auditions are in January: "If you are experienced in singing choral music and know how to blend with the chorus and sing well, then you have an opportunity to sing with the chorus," Florea says.