Acclaimed head of KC Symphony Chorus is suddenly out of his job
Charles Bruffy, who had been the celebrated director of the Kansas City Symphony Chorus for 17 years, is no longer occupying the post.
The circumstances surrounding his sudden departure have not been made public and remain unclear.
“We regret to confirm that Charles Bruffy is no longer part of the Kansas City Symphony family,” the symphony said in a statement. “As this is a personnel matter, the Symphony cannot expand on the circumstances surrounding his departure, other than to note our actions were wholly consistent with the Symphony’s expectations, training, and values.”
Head of KC Symphony Chorus is out
Members of the 160-voice company, which is a volunteer ensemble, were officially notified of Bruffy’s departure by email on Friday afternoon. The email, which described the matter as “a difficult, but necessary development,” was shared Monday with a KC Star reporter.
“I don’t have any info about the firing, if that’s what it’s about,” a chorus member also texted regarding a KC Star inquiry. The individual spoke anonymously because they did not have permission to speak to the media.
The email announcing Bruffy’s departure came just hours before the symphony was to perform Aaron Copland’s “Appalachian Spring,” and Maurice Ravel’s “Daphnis et Chloé,” which included the chorus’s performance. The chorus on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday was led instead by Patrice Sollenberger, the assistant director of the Kansas City Symphony Chorus.
Bruffy’s biography on the Kansas City Symphony website is no longer posted. A search now displays a page, beneath the symphony logo, saying “Something’s Missing. We’re sorry, the page you’re looking for cannot be found.”
Charles Bruffy remains with KC Chorale
Although no longer at his symphony post, Bruffy remains the artistic director of the Grammy Award-winning Kansas City Chorale, where he has been since 1988, six years after its founding in 1982.
“He has left the symphony,” Don Loncasty, the chorale’s executive director, told The Star Monday. “The board of the Kansas City Chorale wants to make sure that we don’t offer an opinion on what other arts groups do with their HR (human resources). . . .I’ve been instructed not to discuss the symphony thing because it’s actually none of the chorale’s business.”
The Kansas City Chorale lists several upcoming events, including a 7:30 p.m. performance on Thursday, at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art of Frank Martin’s “Mass for Double Choir,” along with “Trois Chansons” by Claude Debussy and “Trois Chansons” by Maurice Ravel.
Bruffy’s situation marks the second time in three years that personnel matters have placed the symphony in the news.
In May 2023, Josh Jones, who had been a principal percussionist at the symphony, made headlines when he complained that he had lost his job at the symphony due to racism and following a diagnosis of cancer.
This story was originally published October 13, 2025 at 1:51 PM.
