Richard Coffey to Step Down as CONCORA Artistic Director after 2013-14 Season

After a distinguished four-decade tenure, Richard Coffey, who founded CONCORA (Connecticut Choral Artists) as the region’s first all-professional choir in 1974, will step down from the post of Artistic Director at the conclusion of the 2013–2014 season. CONCORA’s Board of Directors will launch a national search for CONCORA’s next Artistic Director, with the expectation that Mr. Coffey’s successor will be in place to lead the ensemble for the 2015–2016 season.

“My decision to step down is made at a time when, thanks to the strength and dedication of CONCORA’s staff and Board of Directors, the organization is in good financial health and thriving under strong leadership,” said Mr. Coffey. “My departure is one of choice that permits CONCORA, as it celebrates its fortieth season, to do so with an eye to new artistic leadership.”

“With appreciation, gratitude, admiration, and not a little sadness, we accept Maestro Coffey’s decision to step down from the post he has held with distinction for so long,” said Sarah Hager Johnston, President of CONCORA’s Board of Directors and a CONCORA singer. “Over four decades, he has brought CONCORA to a pinnacle of artistic excellence, the culmination of forty years of consistently superb leadership. Thanks to Richard Coffey and CONCORA, the choral arts are recognized as an essential element of Connecticut’s cultural tapestry. We will honor Maestro Coffey by celebrating his final season, by supporting CONCORA during the upcoming transition, and by sustaining CONCORA's excellence, and his legacy, long into the future.”

In a message to CONCORA’s singers, Mr. Coffey wrote, “Working with and performing with CONCORA has been a constant delight, all made possible by your incomparable roles as performers in this, the region’s first all-professional concert choir. We have many rich and rewarding memories, and we have moved many minds and hearts in our audiences, both near and far.”

A search committee will be named in April. Final candidates for the post of Artistic Director will conduct CONCORA in public concerts during the first part of the 2014–2015 season, and distinguished guest conductors will lead the ensemble in the latter half of that season.

To provide support and to ensure continuity during the leadership transition, the Board has developed a three-year transition plan and named a special transition team, led by Robert Bausmith, CONCORA’s Vice President of Business Operations. CONCORA recently adopted a new three-year strategic plan and completed an organizational review, and continues to expand its Board of Directors.

Richard Coffey's final concert with CONCORA will be a performance of J.S. Bach's B Minor Mass in March 2014.

Text is based on a press release provided by CONCORA, received on March 26, 2013.