“Joseph Flummerfelt, an esteemed choral conductor who helped establish Spoleto Festival USA and who led the Westminster Choir for more than 30 years, died Friday,” writes Adam Parker in Saturday’s (3/2) Post & Courier (Charleston, SC). “He was 82. The cause of death was a stroke…. Flummerfelt was a constant presence at the Spoleto Festival, even after he retired as director of choral activities in 2013. He had held that post since the birth of the festival in 1977, and also served as chorus master of the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy, for 23 years, from 1971 until 1993…. In 1979, Flummerfelt founded the New York Choral Artists and became chorus master for the New York Philharmonic, a role he maintained for decades… He made his New York Philharmonic conducting debut in 1988 with a performance of Haydn’s Creation…. Joe Miller became director of choral activities for the festival after Flummerfelt retired. … Flummerfelt was born Feb. 24, 1937, in Vincennes, Ind. He studied organ and church music at DePauw University, and choral conducting at the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music and University of Illinois. Early in his career, he taught at the University of Illinois, DePauw University and Florida State University.”
Posted March 4, 2019
