Boston Children's Chorus is proud to announce the hiring of Kenneth Griffith as its new Music Director. A dynamic conductor and educator with more than a decade of experience and a commitment to highlighting diverse musical perspectives, Griffith becomes just the third person in BCC’s 20-year history to lead the organization’s overall musical vision.
Griffith is no stranger to BCC, its singers and their families. He joined the organization in 2021 and most recently served as associate director of choirs, crafting and executing BCC’s creative direction for all its major concerts, managing staff and serving as the primary conductor for the chorus’ Premier Choir.
“Kenneth is an incredible educator, a visionary leader and an inspiring and talented musician,” said BCC Executive Director Andrés Holder. “After scores of applications and hours of community interviews and rehearsals, it became apparent that Kenneth was the perfect fit for this role. Having had the pleasure of seeing him in action every day for the last two years, I am confident Kenneth is the right leader to shepherd BCC into our next decade of transformative artistry both in performance and rehearsal.”
“From the moment I arrived at BCC, I knew this was a special place,” said Griffith. “The BCC community is resolute in its pursuit of justice through youth activism and artistry and is filled with folks who care deeply for the wellbeing of each other and the organization. I look forward to building on the foundation of amazing programs BCC currently offers as well as re-examining our music education curriculum to ensure that it is accessible, inspiring and affirming to all. I’m also deeply committed to providing unique offerings for our elementary and middle school-aged ensembles, to spark the next generation of artists and changemakers across this city and beyond.”
Prior to joining BCC, Griffith served as director of choral and chamber music and director of chapel music at Brooks School in North Andover, Mass., where he led multiple choruses, chamber ensembles and winter musicals and gave private lessons in piano and voice. A valued member of the Brooks community, he served on the school’s Diversity Leadership Council and subcommittee for diversity, equity and inclusion for the Board of Trustees. He was also a faculty advisor to the Black Student Union and Gender-Sexuality Alliance.
Griffith has also worked as an assistant conductor for the storied Collegiate Chorale in New York, where he prepared four concerts at the Verbier Music Festival in Switzerland under conductor James Bagwell, and as an assistant conductor with the Concert Chorale of New York. He has served as chorus master at Bard Opera Chorus, associate conductor/bandleader at CATCO Theater in Columbus, Ohio, and assistant conductor at Bard Chamber Singers and Symphonic Chorus in Annandale-on-Hudson, NY. While still in college, Griffith worked as music director at CATCO is Kids children’s theatre in Ohio and assistant conductor of Capital University Chamber Orchestra.
Known for his infectious personality and enthusiasm, Griffith has also generously given his time to choral organizations in the Greater Boston area outside of BCC. Recently, Kenneth spent four weeks in residency with the choruses at Wellesley College. In 2022, he prepared the opera chorus and ensemble for Odyssey Opera and Boston Modern Orchestra Project’s Grammy-nominated production of Anthony Davis’ X: the Life and Times of Malcolm X. Since 2017, he has served as music director of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Greater Lynn in Swampscott, Mass. and was previously interim choir director for First Parish Church in Concord, Mass. From 2016-17 he worked as music director at the Hackmatack Playhouse in North Berwick, Maine, where he directed productions of She Loves Me and On the Town.
Griffith holds a Bachelors of Vocal Performance degree from Capital University Conservatory of Music in Columbus, Ohio, and a Masters in Choral Conducting from Bard College Conservatory of Music.
About Boston Children’s Chorus
Boston Children’s Chorus (BCC) was founded in 2003 by Hubie Jones, a civic leader who has worked for six decades to address the social problems facing Boston’s underserved children and communities. Named Boston’s “Ambassadors of Harmony” by The Boston Globe, BCC harnesses the power of music to connect Boston’s diverse communities, cultivate empathy, and inspire social inquiry. BCC choir programs include 10 choirs with singers from 110 different zip codes in and around Boston. BCC presents over 50 performances per season in a wide range of public and private events. They have performed in venues from Boston Symphony Hall, and Royal Albert Hall in London, to Sydney Opera House, and the White House.
BCC is supported in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency, and in part by a grant from the Boston Cultural Council, a local agency which is funded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, administered by the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture.
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