Leadership

Joseph Flummerfelt, Musical America’s 2004 Conductor of the Year, has been recognized as one of the world’s preeminent choral conductors for over 30 years. Also a gifted orchestral conductor, Maestro Flummerfelt made his conducting debut with the New York Philharmonic in 1988 and has also appeared with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, the Juilliard Orchestra, the Honolulu, Phoenix, and San Antonio symphonies; and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, among others.

In April 2001, he conducted the New York Philharmonic in the premiere of Voices of Light, a commission from Stephen Paulus to commemorate Westminster Choir College’s 75th and Maestro Flummerfelt’s 30th anniversaries. Since 1971, Flummerfelt’s choirs have been responsible for nearly all of the New York Philharmonic’s choral performances.

His very first collaboration, in the fall of 1971, was with Leonard Bernstein, and throughout the 70s and 80s his choirs performed with the maestro many times. Among his several recordings with Bernstein was Mahler’s Symphony No. 3, which won a Grammy award, and the Haydn Lord Nelson Mass, which was nominated for a Grammy. Further, he has collaborated with many other eminent conductors in hundreds of performances with major orchestras of the world, including the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics, the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, and many U.S. orchestras. Choirs conducted and prepared by Joseph Flummerfelt have been featured on over 45 recordings.

In 2002, Maestro Flummerfelt’s New York Choral Artists performed and recorded the world premiere of John Adams’ Pulitzer Prize-winning, On The Transmigration of Souls with the New York Philharmonic. The recording recently won three Grammy awards. Among his many recordings with the Westminster Choir, a Delos release of choral works by Brahms, Singing for Pleasure, was chosen by The New York Times as a favorite among all Brahms recordings. His most recent recording, From Heaven to Earth, has received great critical acclaim. From 1971-2004 Joseph Flummerfelt served as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of Westminster Choir College.

He is also an artistic director of Spoleto Festival USA, and for 23 years was the Maestro del Coro for the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy. He is founder and music director of the New York Choral Artists, and former Music Director of Singing City in Philadelphia. Maestro Flummerfelt’s many honors include the Prix du President de la République from L’Académie du Disque Français, several Grammy nominations and awards and four honorary doctoral degrees.