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The American conductor, Richard K. Pugsley is the director of two noted American musical ensembles in different genres, the Gloriæ Dei Cantores choir and the Spirit of America Band. He is also active as an operatic soloist, is an expert recording producer and engineer, and has led youth music education events worldwide. Gloriæ Dei Cantores is associated with the Community of Jesus, a monastic organization located in Orleans, Massachusetts. That group, in turn, Pugsley said in an interview appearing on the Paraclete Records website, "was initially formed during the evangelical movement of the late 1960's and early 1970's. I was exposed to and a part of this evolution since a very young boy, age four." He served in the U.S. Air Force and then enrolled at Ohio's Oberlin Conservatory, obtained his Bachelor of Music degree, studying conducting with Margaret Hillis, Hugh Floyd, and John Knight, and minoring in Community Music. Early on, he auditioned for the choir that took the name Gloriæ Dei Cantores in 1988; he was admitted by its founder/director, Elizabeth C. Patterson. When Elizabeth C. Patterson retired in the early 2000's, Richard K. Pugsley succeeded her; he was the choir's second director.
Known for his musical sensitivity and performance authenticity, Richard K. Pugsley, Director of the world renowned Gloriæ Dei Cantores, has been applauded for his “expert conducting” (Classics Today) with “clarity and instinct for high impact moments” (San Francisco Classical Voice), and for his ability to “reveal the details of each composition with a rare sensitivity and luminosity” (New York Classical Review). Pugsley has conducted the internationally recognized Gloriæ Dei Cantores for over 15 years, and performed with the choir in concert halls and churches in 24 countries throughout Europe, Russia, and North America for over 25 years. His passion for enlivening the sacred texts of choral literature as relevant and present encounters of sung prayer spans the traditions of ancient Gregorian chant, to classic repertoire, modern works, and rarely-performed choral gems.
Richard K. Pugsley has conducted over 2,000 works at the Church of the Transfiguration in Orleans, Massachusetts. Featured performances have included; J.S. Bach’s Motet Fürchte dich nicht, ich bin bei dir, BWV 228, Motet Lobet den Herrn alle Heiden, BWV 230, Motet Komm, Jesu, Komm!, BWV 229, Cantata Jesu, der du meine Seele, BWV 78, Motet Jesu, meine Freude, BWV 227, Motet Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, BWV 225; L.v. Beethoven’s Mass in C minor, Missa Solemnis; Benjamin Britten’s Ceremony of Carols, Festival Te Deum, and Rejoice in the Lamb; Bruckner’s Os Justi and Pange Lingua, Messe in F Minor; Des Prez’s Missa Pange Lingua; Ešenvalds’ Trinity Te Deum, Psalm 67, Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis; Gretchaninov’s Missa Festiva; Grieg’s Fire Salmer; Hanson’s Cherubic Hymn and How Excellent thy Name; Haydn’s Mass in D Minor; Herbert Howells’ A Sequence for St. Michael, Requiem, and Take Him Earth for Cherishing; Charles Ives’ Psalm 100, and Psalm 135; Zoltán Kodály’s Missa Brevis; Langlais’ Missa Solonnelle and Messe en style ancien; Martin’s Mass for Double Choir; W.A. Mozart’s Coronation Mass, Mass in C Minor, Mass in E flat Minor, Scande coeli limina, and Vesperae Solenenes de Confessore; Arvo Pärt’s Salve Regina, Berliner Messe, L’abbé Agathon, and Peace Be Upon You, O Jerusalem; Persichetti’s Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis and Mass for Mixed Chorus; Francis Poulenc’s Four Lenten motet’s, Four Advent motets and Gloria; Sergei Rachmaninov’s Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom; Josef Rheinberger’s Mass in E, Mass in F and Mass in G; Sowerby’s An Angel Stood by the Altar, Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in D and Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in E minor; Igor Stravinsky’s Mass for Mixed Chorus and Winds; Ralph Vaughan Williams’ The Call and Mass in G minor.
In addition, numerous operatic and choral performances such as Dietrich Buxtehude’s Membra Jesu nostri; Carissimi’s Jephtha; George Frideric Handel’s Messiah, Israel in Egypt, and Saul; Felix Mendelssohn’s Elijah; L.v. Beethoven’s Mass in C minor, Berger’s Brazilian Psalm; Johannes Brahms’ Requiem; B. Britten’s The Company of Heaven, Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem; Ešenvalds’ In Paradisum; Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem; Finzi’s Intimations of Immortality, For St. Cecilia, Lo, the Full Final Sacrifice, Welcome Sweet and Sacred Feast, and Requiem de Camera; G.F. Handel’s Israel and Egypt; Haydn’s The Creation; Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors; and J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio. W.A. Mozart’s Requiem; A. Pärt’s Passio, S. Rachmaninov’s All Night Vigil; Sviridov’s Three Choruses from Tsar Feodor Ioannovich and Ineffable Mystery (Ñeizr̃echénnoe Chúdo); R. Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem and William Walton’s The Twelve. His directing in the New England Premiere of The Pilgrim’s Progress was heralded by the Boston Globe as “powerful in conception and polished in execution.”
Richard K. Pugsley began working with Spirit of America in 1993. The Spirit Winter Percussion ensemble was instituted under his tenure, and he led the group to their gold medal win at the WinterGuard International World Championships in 2012, the bronze medal in 2013, their advancement into Open Class in 2014, and their gold medal win in the Open Class in 2015. He has led Spirit of America on tours and conducted workshops in schools around the world, including cultural and musical exchanges in South Africa, South Korea, Australia, Canada, and the USA. He founded the annual Day of Percussion on Cape Cod, a music education event that draws students from across New England for a free day of percussion clinics and performances by world-class artists.
A soloist of critical acclaim, Richard K. Pugsley’s most recent performance as the lead role of Pilgrim in Ralph R. Vaughan Williams’ opera, The Pilgrim’s Progress, was hailed for his “fully-embodied” and “musically thrilling” (NewsMax) performance, “where he captured the character’s humility and resilient faith” (Boston Classical Review). Other lead roles have included Saul in G.F. Handel’s oratorio, Saul, Pilgrim in the 2005 New England Premiere of R. Vaughan Williams’ The Pilgrims Progress, solo roles in Requiems by G. Fauré and M. Duruflé, Dona Nobis Pacem by R. Vaughan Williams and works by J.S. Bach, Copeland, Grieg, G.F. Handel, Sowerby, and R. Vaughan Williams, among others.
Richard K. Pugsley is an accomplished producer of over thirty recordings on the Paraclete and Gloriæ Dei Cantores Record labels. He most recently produced Gloriæ Dei Cantores’ album, "Stabat Mater: Choral Works by Arvo Pärt" that was released in 2020, rose to #5 on the Traditional Classical Billboard Charts, and has been hailed as “superb, unfailingly secure, lovely, and expressive” (Fanfare).
Richard K. Pugsley is a tenacious advocate for youth music education, continually inspiring young musicians to reach their greatest potential and experience the joy of excellence through performance. He has been recognized as an extraordinary teacher and coach of vocal technique. He has directed numerous ensembles and led workshops with thousands of students throughout the world including in South Africa, South Korea, Australia, and across the United States. |
