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About the Singers
The Topeka Festival
Singers was founded in 1984 by music director Myles Criss,
organist and choirmaster at Grace Episcopal Cathedral, and
accompanist Dr. Richard Gayhart, organist at First
Presbyterian Church in Topeka. From an initial group of
sixteen, the Singers has grown over the years and gained a
reputation for high quality performances that have taken
them around the northeast Kansas area and on two European
tours. Music director emeritus Dr. Kevin Kellim led the Singers
for 32 years, from 1987 until 2019. Under his direction the TFS introduced choral pieces
composed especially for the Festival Singers. Libby
Larson, Ben Alloway, Daniel Gawthrop, Andre Thomas, Walter
Pelz, Donald McCullough, and Dan Forrest have written
works first performed by the TFS. The Singers
continued in 2019 under the direction of Dr. Paul Tucker,
recently retired from the choral department of the
University of Kansas. During the 2020-2021 pandemic, the Singers produced three online concerts in a virtual format.
After having guest directors for the 2021-2022 season, a selection committee interviewed and chose Dr. Brett Robison to be the permanent Artistic Director of the Topeka Festival Singers.
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