Clifford “Cliff” F. Brunzell
(1922-2014)
Inducted 2004
Violinist and conductor Cliff Brunzell was founder and Director of The Golden Strings and had a tremendous musical background. Long-time featured performers in The Flame Room of the Radisson Hotel in downtown Minneapolis, The Golden Strings were one of only a few violin shows in the world playing completely from memory. With over 15,000 performances over the years, musicians memorized over 500 musical selections. While many of the selections were presented in lush union arrangements, frequently the violins were split into two, three, four, or even five-part harmony, which added more romance to the rich full tones of the presentation. The Golden Strings’ violinists frequently strolled among the audience, playing to individual audience members while delighting one and all. Selections ranged from the classics to pops, from romance to jazz. A typical program might include some of the following: “The Music of the Night” from Phantom of the Opera, Mozart’s “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik”, “Dueling Banjos”, “Take the ‘A’ Train”, “Wind Beneath My Wings”, a show medley of Fiddler on the Roof- Sound of Music- Oklahoma, Scandinavian songs, and lots of laughs! The Golden Strings recorded 11 albums featuring the most-favorite selections from their tremendous repertoire. Brunzell also played in the first violin section of The Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra and founded and was the initial Director of The Metropolitan Youth Symphony in the Twin Cities. Cliff Brunzell studied violin and conducting extensively, and taught violin to many students.
