Last month, the Kansas City Symphony named Betsy Burleigh director of its Symphony Chorus, the 160-person volunteer ensemble that has served as the orchestra’s choral voice since 1988. Burleigh, an acclaimed choral conductor and educator, first worked with the group as guest chorus director this past spring and quickly earned the admiration of singers and staff alike. As chorus director, Burleigh will prepare the ensemble for performances with music director Matthias Pintscher and continue to guide its artistic development.
Most recently, Burleigh chaired the choral conduction department at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, a tenure she held for more than a decade. She also spent 10 years as music director of the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh and has held posts with the Cleveland Orchestra, Cleveland Opera and several other symphonic choruses.
We sat down with Burleigh to chat about her new position with the Kansas City Symphony, classical music in the modern world and more.
What exactly does a symphony chorus director do? The director is the conductor of the chorus. But, primarily, the job is preparing the chorus to perform with the symphony itself, which means preparing for different conductors as opposed to conducting the concert yourself.
What is it like working with people and their voices as compared to people and their instruments? The rehearsal process is a little bit more elongated with voices than it is with instruments. That’s the core difference in a technical way. I enjoy working with singers a lot, particularly the volunteer chorus that symphonies usually have. I adore the energy of this collection of people who love to sing and love the art. They are willing to give up an evening every week to participate, and that’s a very special person. There’s always a very special energy in the room.
What is it that drew you specifically to work in choral music? My mother was a singer, and we did a lot of singing at home. I played the piano and the oboe, so I had a foot in the instrumental world and the vocal world as a very young person. I always loved chorus, perhaps a little bit more because the other piece of the alchemy is putting words to music and what that powerful union is able to do in terms of artistic expression.
Do you have any favorite choral traditions or styles? It depends on the music I’m working with at the time—that’s always my favorite. Right now, I’m really loving Brahms and the music of his era. I can guarantee when we start rehearsals for Handel’s Messiah, I will be completely in love with music of the Baroque. So I guess I’m fickle.
What do you feel the place and importance of classical music is in the modern world? Every era has its own style of music and its place. It almost becomes a sociological study. I do believe that great music is great music and it doesn’t matter when it was written. If it is effective as a piece of music, it’s great stuff. Music expresses things in a way that is very profound. We as human beings relate to it.
Often this music is associated with an older crowd. Is there a fear that this interest in it will fade as the audience grows older, or is there a younger, more renewed audience? I do think that there was a waning, but in terms of young people, I think the important thing is if we can get them involved. Can we get them singing? Can we get them playing? If you’ve wrestled yourself with playing the flute or playing the violin, you will appreciate the caliber of playing that the Kansas City Symphony is able to do. I think there’s always hope for the future. I think it’s just about getting young people involved.
Why should someone see choral or classical music performed? There is an energy and experience in live music which is like no other. It doesn’t matter if you have the very best sound system or the very best headphones. Nothing can touch being in the room; there’s a sonic experience that is unique and fantastic.
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For more information about the Kansas City Symphony Chorus, including auditions and upcoming events, visit kcsymphony.org.
