Charles Bruffy takes final bow with Phoenix Chorale after 18 years (and a couple Grammys)
Kerry Lengel
Arizona’s cultural scene has matured a lot over the past couple of decades, but there are still only a handful of arts organizations consistently making an impact outside the state’s borders.
One of them is the Phoenix Chorale, the classical choir led since 1999 by Grammy Award-winning conductor Charles Bruffy. And now the maestro is preparing to take his final bow as artistic director here with a trio of farewell concerts dubbed “Bruffy’s Best,” Friday through Sunday, Oct. 27-29.
Bruffy will continue to lead the Kansas City Chorale in Missouri, where he first earned a reputation as “the next Robert Shaw” (the most famous of American choral conductors). He is also the chorus director for the Kansas City Symphony.
In a letter to chorale patrons, Bruffy said the decision to step down was a difficult one, but was prompted by “the pace of life” and a desire to spend more time in Kansas City (and less time on airplanes?).
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With an earnest, thoughtful and surprisingly impish personality, Bruffy has earned international acclaim for his ethereal, crystalline and intricately nuanced interpretations of choral classics, contemporary composers and folk songs from around the world.
He has won three Grammys as conductor, most recently for a 2015 recording of Rachmaninoff’s “All Night Vigil” celebrating the work’s centennial and featuring both the Phoenix and Kansas City chorales. He also won with each individual choir, for Phoenix’s “Spotless Rose: Hymns to the Virgin Mary” and KC’s “Life & Breath — Choral Works by René Clausen.”
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Selections for his farewell program include Frank Martin’s Mass for Double Choir and Bach’s “Singet dem Herrn,” as well as the spiritual “Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel,” arranged by the late Moses Hogan, and the Western anthem “Home on the Range,” arranged by Mark Hayes.
Details: Three venues. 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27, at American Lutheran Church, 17200 N. Del Webb Blvd., Sun City. 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, 100 W. Roosevelt St., Phoenix. 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 29, at Camelback Bible Church, 3900 E. Stanford Drive, Paradise Valley. $15-$35. 602-253-2224, phoenixchorale.org.
Reach the reporter at kerry.lengel@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4896. Follow him at facebook.com/LengelOnTheater and twitter.com/KerryLengel.