Greg Funfgeld

As leader of Pennsylvania's Bach Choir of Bethlehem, choral conductor Greg Funfgeld has built perhaps the top American choral ensemble devoted to the music of J.S. Bach and other Baroque composers. His tenure at the helm, approaching four decades in the late 2010s, is unusual among contemporary choral organizations. Funfgeld was born on Long Island, New York, on May 29, 1953. He attended the Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, studying choral conducting there with Joseph Flummerfelt and graduating in 1976. After graduating, Funfgeld became director of music at Bethlehem's First Presbyterian Church; he continued to hold that position after being appointed conductor of the Bach Choir, remaining in the church post until 2016. Funfgeld became conductor and artistic director of the Bach Choir of Bethlehem in 1983. The choir was initially connected with the annual Bethlehem Bach Festival, but Funfgeld soon expanded its programming beyond that venue, eventually mounting an annual season of 31 concerts and educational events, with a total audience of more than 20,000. During its centennial year of 1999-2000, the choir appeared at Kennedy Center in Washington and at Carnegie Hall in 2000, returning to New York in 2011 to perform a program called Remember to Love that commemorated the tenth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in that city. Funfgeld also led the choir on tours of Germany (in 1995, including a stop at Bach's Thomaskirche in Leipzig), and the U.K. (in 2003, where they performed at the Royal Albert Hall in a BBC Proms concert. Funfgeld and the Bach Choir have made 12 recordings, beginning with performances of Bach's Mass in B minor, BWV 232 and Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248 on the Dorian label in 1997 and 1999, respectively. Since then, the choir's recordings have appeared mostly on Canada's Analekta label, where in 2018 they issued a performance of Handel's Ode for St. Cecilia's Day. An enthusiastic supporter of educational efforts, Funfgeld has led the choir in a children's album, A Child's Christmas in Bethlehem (2013), and a DVD, Mr. Bach Comes to Call, marketed by Classical Kids.
© James Manheim /TiVo