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Kansas City's Online Journal of the Performing Arts

American Idol it is not, though there are a few similarities. People come in and sing. Then, judges decide whether the poor souls standing there will go on or just have their dreams crushed.

These are auditions for the Kansas City Symphony Chorus. Singers don’t get there by belting out a few tunes in a karaoke bar or entertaining the neighbors. It takes years of vocal training, untold hours of hard work, and that’s just to have the opportunity to stand before the judges.

What’s more, winners shouldn’t plan on a career filled with riches and media attention. This is a job that pays nothing. Symphony Chorus members even pay their own expenses.

Yet, there is something about performing with the Kansas City Symphony Chorus that draws the best of the best.

Working with Charles Bruffy is one of the attractions. Bruffy came to the Kansas City Symphony Chorus two seasons ago as its music director. Bruffy is also the Grammy-winning director of the Kansas City Chorale and Phoenix Chorale (formerly Phoenix Bach Chorale) so it’s safe to say that he knows how to coax the best out of singers.

Stacy Griffin, one of the winners put it succinctly, "there’s something transcendent about working with talented singers and directors." She is about to find out how much of it is transcendent and how much is just plain hard work.

Stacy is a recent graduate of Kansas State University. She spent five years in their music program. Although her specialty is solo repertory, she acknowledged that her best experience was being a part of K-State’s concert choir. She said that it was a tremendous experience to "be part of something of that quality." 

David Pieronnet talked to Stacy about the journey which brought her to the Kansas City Symphony Chorus auditions that were held on August 21.

David Peironnet: What brought you to the Symphony Chorus auditions?

Stacy Griffin: After graduating from K-State, I’d been looking in Kansas City for an opportunity like this. I didn’t want the fun to end!

DP: But, is it fun to go to an audition?  People are sitting there waiting to make a judgment of you and your talents. Isn’t that stressful?

SG: I try not to think about it as judging. I enjoy singing for friends so I try to think of it in that way. It’s easier to stay relaxed.

DP: Being part of the Kansas City Symphony Chorus will be a tremendous opportunity for you. What was it like when you got the news that you were in?

SG: I was thrilled. And, I’m honored.

DP:  You’re jumping right in becauserehearsals start immediately. You were just handed a score to learn. What is the first thing you do to begin learning it?

SG: I go to YouTube and look for other recordings. I may listen to different recordings thousands of times, and listen into the small hours of the morning while I read the score. I know my strengths and weaknesses, and try to play to my strengths. That’s how I learn any new score when I see it the first time.

DP: We’ll be looking forward to hearing you in October.

SG: Thank you.

The Kansas City Symphony and the Kansas City Symphony Chorus will perform Giuseppe Verdi’s Te Deum from the Four Sacred Pieces on October 22–24. Also programmed are Verdi’s Overture to I vespri siciliani, Busoni’s Suite from Turandot, and Respighi’s Feste romane.

By David Peironnet

Special to KCM

David Peironnet has been a concert-goer for more years than he would care to admit, and can clearly recall hearing the Kansas City Philharmonic under the baton of Hans Schweiger. This comes from someone who admits to be only 24 years old though acknowleges that his undergraduate degree was not in math but rather political science -- a group of people who are notoriously able to see only those facts they want to see in statistical data.

David has churned out the newsletter for the Friends of the Symphony - Kansas City for six or seven years. He doesn't recall and really doesn't care how many years it has been because the only thing that's important is the next deadline -- and the one after that.

This is one of a series of interviews he runs periodically usually consisting of five open-ended questions which reveal answers which can give information to the person walking into a concert hall for the first time, or like himself have been enjoying concerts for many years.

David and Kathy Peironnet frequently work at the Friends of the Symphony gift shop which is located in the lobby of the Lyric Theatre. The next time you come to a concert, stop by and say, "hello." Ask for a copy of the current FoS newsletter. If a copy isn't available, just ask and one will be mailed to you.

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