William Baker Festival Singers of Kansas City

William Baker, DMA, Music Director and Conductor
Melissa Ann Shallberg, Executive Associate Music Director, Senior Vocal Coach
O. Wayne Smith, DMA, Organist and Accompanist

“The best of the several amateur choruses in the city.” -The Kansas City Star

“Simply superb…This choir was prepared to professional standards, technically and musically.” -KC Metropolis

Click here to see the 2009/2010 concert schedule

CLICK HERE: 2009 /2010 SILVER ANNIVESARY CONCERT REPERTOIRE LIST

CLICK HERE: For an AUDITION PACKET

The William Baker Festival Singers (Kansas City chapter) is a 50-voice semi-professional chorus specializing in sacred a cappella classics and spirituals, in addition to masterworks for chorus and chamber orchestra. The ensemble is based in metro-Kansas City and continues the Festival Singers tradition begun in Atlanta in 1985. The membership of the WBFS-Kansas City is comprised of some of the finest professional and amateur singers in the Heartland region. Singers travel from Topeka, Kansas on the west and Garden City, Missouri on the east to be a part of the William Baker Festival Singers.

In their first twelve seasons, the Festival Singers has performed challenging and diverse a cappella classics from Renaissance to Contemporary, and has delighted audiences across the region with their authentic renditions of American folk music, African-American spirituals, and gospel songs. The Festival Singers has given tour performances from New Orleans to Des Moines to Atlanta. The choir has produced several nationally-marketed recordings and appeared in numerous radio and television programs.

The annual performance of choral/orchestral masterpieces by the William Baker Festival Singers is a highlight of the concert season in Kansas City. Recent concerts have included the first performances in decades by Kansas City-based ensembles of the Bach: St. Matthew Passion in 2007, and the Mass in B minor in 2009. Other renowned concerts have included Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem, Bernstein: Missa Brevis and Chichester Psalms, Kodaly’s Laudes Organi, and the Requiems of Durufle, Rutter and Mozart.

Through several annual signature events, including Winterfest and Candlelight, Carols & Cathedral, the Festival Singers has enjoyed numerous musical collaborations with members of the Kansas City Symphony, the Kansas City Civic Orchestra, the Sunflower Brass, Rezound, the Northland Community Choir, Allegro Children’s Chorus, and other fine ensembles.

For more information, including how to audition and media relations…