Photo by Jen Rogers Phoenix Chorale

The phoenix chorale’s recent successes show that this decades-old ensemble is hitting a high note worthy of big-city attention.

Earlier this year, a certain classical music group made its New York City debut, garnered praise from The New York Times, celebrated its 50th anniversary and was named Best Small Classical Ensemble by the National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences, aka the Grammys.

Few Phoenicians know that the group is their own Phoenix Chorale.

“We are internationally regarded by choral music lovers everywhere, but we’re a well-kept secret here in Phoenix,” says Joel Rinsema, the ensemble’s executive director and a member of its tenor section since 1992. “That’s something we’d like to change.”

The Chorale began half a century ago in the living room of Phoenix choral-music enthusiasts Hal and Timona Pittman. As ardent amateurs, the members of what was then called the Phoenix Bach and Madrigal Society sang at public concerts but existed primarily to fulfill the singers themselves.

By the early 1990s, the group had begun to record small-distribution CDs and give regular concerts under its new name: The Phoenix Bach Choir. Singers no longer just showed up to sing; they had to be auditioned. Conductors Anders Ohrwall and Jon Washburn improved the ensemble’s sound.

Then, in 1999, the choir hired a new artistic director, Charles Bruffy. Formerly the artistic director of the Kansas City Chorale since 1988 and a protégé of the great American choral conductor Robert Shaw, Bruffy recognized at once the potential of the ensemble he inherited.

“I knew from the first downbeat of my audition rehearsal,” Bruffy recalls. “It was like riding a highly trained Lipizzaner. The sound was big and bold, and our only task has been to get the choir in my hands and reading my hands’ language. Since the early days, we’ve worked on finding new and more flexible colors, and we’ve mastered the art of soft singing.”

Perhaps the greatest turning point for the Chorale came in 2004, when it joined with the Kansas City Chorale to record for the prestigious England-based classical label Chandos. It has since made CDs with the Kansas City group and on its own, garnering rave reviews from classical critics on both sides of the Atlantic.

In February, the Phoenix Chorale won a Grammy for “Best Small Ensemble Performance” for its solo effort called Spotless Rose: Hymns to the Virgin Mary. In March, the ensemble caught the attention of The New York Times during the ensemble’s New York City debut. These are impressive successes for singers who earn up to $5,000 per season and also hold down day jobs.

“Technically, a great choir must have all the essentials of intonation, blend, rhythm and diction in place, which actually should go without saying for a choir of the Chorale’s stature,” Bruffy says.  “What puts the Phoenix Chorale in the heady company of but a few choirs is passion and commitment to art, first and foremost. Every sound we emit must be carefully cultivated to communicate sincerity, truth and what I call ‘genuinity.’”

For more information on the Phoenix Chorale and its upcoming season, visit phoenixchorale.org.