The Kansas City Symphony Chorus (KCSC), led by Grammy Award-winning Chorus Director Charles Bruffy, is a 163-voice ensemble that serves as "the choral voice of the Kansas City Symphony." The KCSC continues its long tradition of excellence with the Kansas City Symphony, and additionally serves as Kansas City's unofficial chorus, providing music for civic events such as the Lighting of the Mayor's C
hristmas Tree at Crown Center every Thanksgiving. The Kansas City Symphony Chorus has been offering quality choral music to the greater Kansas City metropolitan area for more than forty years, first as the Mendelssohn Choir, then as the Civic Chorus. In 1988, shortly after the creation of the Kansas City Symphony, the choir became the Kansas City Symphony Chorus, an independent 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. This relationship has led to performances with conductors Klauspeter Seible, Nicholas McGegan, Anne Manson, William McGlaughlin, Timothy Hankewich, Lawrence Leighton Smith, Henry Smith, Jahja Ling, Roberto Minczuk, Raymond Leppard and David Lockington. Every Symphony Chorus member is a volunteer from the region's musical community, selected by rigorous auditions, with some coming many miles for the weekly rehearsals. Most of the choral artists bring extensive music education and experience as performers and teachers, and are engaged throughout the region as soloists and conductors. Every time the Symphony Chorus appears on the Kansas City Symphony concert series, the singers each invest approximately 33 hours of rehearsal and performance time, representing in the aggregate 3,960 hours of professional-level music making. We consider this a significant gift to our community, but also consider it a privilege to perform with the Kansas City Symphony.
