Gregory Ruffer

Gregory Ruffer, conductor and music educator, is the Music Director and Founder of The Orlando Chorale and The Orlando Chamber Singers. He is also the Director of Choral Activities at Central Florida Community College where he oversees the entire vocal music program.

In 2002 Ruffer founded The Orlando Chorale, a 70-voice choir of professional and experienced singers who specialize in singing the music of living composers. In 2005 he founded The Orlando Chamber Singers, the only professional chamber choir of its kind in Central Florida. With these ensembles he has championed the performance of new works, including the creation of the Emerging Composers Initiative, a program that gives unpublished composers an opportunity to have their works performed and recorded by one of these Orlando choirs. He has also commissioned and premiered new works by Jennifer Higdon (somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond) and Christopher Marshall (High Flight).

Ruffer's strong commitment to education can be seen through the Artistic Internship Program and Young Artists Choral Scholarship he created with The Orlando Chorale. The programs give young conductors and singers opportunities to work with The Chorale in rehearsal and performance, a highly rewarding and unique experience for all involved. He is regularly a clinician for Heritage Music Festivals and gives workshops and master classes with middle and high school students.

As a conductor Ruffer has appeared on stages such as The Kennedy Center, Constitution Hall, Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Atlanta's Symphony Hall, Masonic Auditorium in San Francisco, San Jose Performing Arts Center, Sarasota Opera House, Bob Carr Performing Arts Center in Orlando, George Mason University, Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark, and at The University of Oslo, Norway, among others. He has conducted ensembles featured at the Mid-Atlantic ACDA conference, Ohio Music Educators conference and the Florida ACDA conference.

Former professional positions have included: Music Director and Touring Coordinator for Orlando Ballet, Director of Education for Orlando Opera, Conductor of the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington DC, Music Director of the Gulf Coast Men's Chorus, Director of Potomac Fever men's a cappella ensemble, Director of Music for College Park United Methodist Church in Maryland, Program Manager for the National Initiative to Preserve America's Dance and Music Director for the University of Findlay's Summer Stock Repertory Theatre. He also spent nine years teaching instrumental and vocal music in schools in Ohio and Washington, DC.

Ruffer holds the B.M. and M.M. degrees in music education from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. There he studied conducting with Emily Freeman Brown, Mark Kelly and Mark Munson and voice with Andreas Poulimenos and Virginia Starr. He is currently pursuing the Ed.D. in College Music Teaching from Columbia University Teachers College in New York City. Additionally Ruffer has studied conducting with Dale Warland, Kyprous Markou and Louis Gorelick. He has done additional voice study with Carmen Balthrop and Jeremy Hunt.

Here are some samples of recent works conducted by Gregory Ruffer with The Orlando Chorale:
Poulenc Gloria, mvt I (May 18, 2008)
Poulenc Gloria, mvt IV (May 18, 2008)