Our
associate director and friend, Jeffri Bantz, passed away on
Monday, July 31st, 2006. Jeff was a wonderful musician and a
kind, generous person. He will be terribly missed. May his memory
be a blessing for all of us.
Jeffri
Bantz won international acclaim for his choral work and, as
a keyboard player, performed extensively as a soloist and an
accompanist for a number of leading artists.
As
an organ performance major at Florida Atlantic University and
the University of Miami, Mr. Bantz continued his education in
choral studies, under the tutelage of Robert Shaw, Joseph Flummerfelt,
Sir David Willcocks, John Rutter, Howard Swan, James Litton
and other luminaries. He participated in the Academie Internationale
d’ete de Director de Choeur D’Enfants in Grasse,
France.
From
1978 to 1998, he was affiliated with Florida’s Singing
Sons Boychoir, the last 17 years as music director. The organization
won first prize in four different prestigious international
choral competitions, performed for national conventions of the
American Choral Directors Association, and was featured with
the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra, Maureen Forrester, Chanticleer,
Audrey Hepburn, Liza Minnelli and Judy Collins. The Boychoir
made several recordings, including one with the BeeGees, and
a nationally syndicated television commercial soundtrack. In
May 2000 Mr. Bantz was named Associate Director of the Florida
Philharmonic Chorus.
He
has performed with South Florida’s leading arts organizations,
and has served as accompanist for artists such as Marvis Martin,
Dean Peterson, Steven Richards and Janice Chandler.He has been
affiliated with the First Presbyterian Church in Pompano Beach
for two decades, and currently is Director of Music. He frequently
serves as clinician and adjudicator for local and state music
competitions, workshops and symposiums.
