Biography
As leader of Pennsylvania's Bach Choir of Bethlehem, choral conductor Greg Funfgeld assembled what may rank as the foremost American vocal ensemble focused on J.S. Bach and additional Baroque masters. His nearly four-decade stewardship through the late 2010s stands out among present-day choral groups. Born May 29, 1953, on Long Island, New York, Funfgeld earned his degree from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, in 1976 after choral-conducting studies with Joseph Flummerfelt. He next took the post of music director at Bethlehem's First Presbyterian Church, retaining it even after assuming leadership of the Bach Choir until 2016. In 1983 he was named conductor and artistic director of the Bach Choir of Bethlehem. Although the ensemble had long been tied to the yearly Bethlehem Bach Festival, Funfgeld broadened its scope, creating an annual calendar of 31 concerts and educational programs that reached more than 20,000 listeners. For the organization's centennial season of 1999-2000 the choir performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington and returned to Carnegie Hall in 2000; it revisited New York in 2011 with the program Remember to Love, marking the tenth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Funfgeld guided the singers on a 1995 German tour that included Bach's Thomaskirche in Leipzig and a 2003 British tour highlighted by a BBC Proms appearance at Royal Albert Hall. The choir produced 12 recordings under his direction, beginning with Bach's Mass in B minor, BWV 232 (1997) and Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248 (1999) on the Dorian label. Subsequent releases appeared chiefly on Canada's Analekta imprint, culminating in a 2018 account of Handel's Ode for St. Cecilia's Day. An advocate for educational programming, Funfgeld oversaw the 2013 children's album A Child's Christmas in Bethlehem and the Classical Kids DVD Mr. Bach Comes to Call.
Albums
