Frank Boggs founded Georgia Festival Chorus in Cobb County, Georgia, in 1987. From its origin as an 18-member ensemble singing Handel’s Messiah with the Cobb Symphony Orchestra, to its Fox Theatre debut in 1996 for an international Olympic audience, to nearly 50 celebrated concerts in Europe’s greatest cathedrals and performance venues, the Chorus under Frank Boggs’ 34-year leadership has blessed thousands of worldwide listeners through more than 700 live performances, ten full-length recordings, and tens of thousands social media views.

From the first lift of his GFC baton in 1987, Frank inspired the highest standards of musicality among his singers, and established the signature brand of his warm engagement with audiences.

 

In addition to his evocative conducting and inspired programming, Frank was an extraordinary concert host, and invited each audience member to join a musical journey that explored a range of genres, musical styles, and messages. His chorus, often topping 100 singers, became known for delivering a ‘wall of sound’ that made hearts beat faster with its power, and healed broken hearts with its quiet and soul-stirring intimacy.

Frank’s international and prolific solo career beginning in the 1950’s created a foundation of strong friendships around the world, especially in his beloved ‘second home’ of Great Britain. As the only American on the stage at the Service of Prayer and Dedication on the eve of Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation, Frank’s solo was the much-loved hymn “Take My Life and Let it Be, Consecrated Now to Thee,” an apt reflection of his own life.

Frank’s international friendships paved the way for his GFC to sing at St Peter’s Basilica, Salisbury Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, St Patrick’s Cathedral, the Votivkirche, Copenhagen Cathedral, Fredensborg Palace, Royal Albert Hall, Christ Church in Oxford, The Academy of St Martin in the Fields, and St Michael Basilica, among many other revered venues.

 

In 2016, Frank led his final GFC singing tour to his home state of Texas, where his chorus performed standing-room-only concerts in cities and sanctuaries that held deep personal meaning for Frank. Especially poignant were the GFC’s concerts at Baylor University, Frank’s alma mater, and the place he credited for his preparation in response to God’s call to a life of service and ministry through music.

Frank was relentless in his quest to bring forth beautiful singing that communicated a story, an arc, a beautiful line, a moment of transformation, a blessing, an inspiration, a sense of awe, a call to action, and an act of worship.

As a lifelong learner and student of the great conductors, Frank was a masterful artist who possessed an innate understanding of how lyrics and music work together to communicate. He understood how music unites people, and he knew the power of music to strengthen communities and friendships across chasms of experience and perspective. He recognized that singing offers healing and restoration, both for the listener and the singer.

 

Frank helped hundreds of young people and adults to discover their own unique voice and to have the confidence to use that voice for good. And he created a loving and nurturing space for hundreds of singers to find joy, peace, and friendship through singing together and achieving collectively what is impossible individually.

Through the medium of music, Frank’s clear priority was sharing the life-giving love of Jesus Christ. He consistently lived his purpose through his generosity of spirit, his encouragement of singers, colleagues, and friends through his ‘ministry of hand-written notes’, and his loving example as the patriarch of the family he established with his beloved wife Doris, daughters Elizabeth and Catherine, and his sons-in-law and grandchildren.

 

Frank’s legacy of music and friendship will continue to manifest joy and restoration to a world in need of both.

Because of Frank Boggs, Georgia Festival Chorus continues to thrive, standing tall on his strong shoulders in its mission to share the gospel of Jesus Christ through music. The Chorus extends deep and profound gratitude for Frank’s musicianship, leadership, vision, encouragement, and loving friendship.

 

-- by Cathy Callaway Adams, 2021