The Chicago Gay Men's Chorus (CGMC) is a
choral organization in
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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. Founded in 1983 with 55 singers, the chorus currently consists of approximately 150 singing members and over 200 members in total.
History
The Chorus was organized in 1983 in response to an invitation to participate in the first National Gay and Lesbian Choral Festival, ''Come Out! And Sing Together'' (COAST). The event was staged at
New York City's Lincoln Center and featured 1,200 individuals from twelve choruses from across the United States. The fifty-five singers from the Chicago Gay Men's Chorus representing the city of Chicago opened the festival.
After the festival, the Chorus joined choruses from nine other cities to form a musical organization known as
Gay And Lesbian Association of Choruses. As one of GALA's founding member groups, CGMC continues its affiliation with the organization and has performed at every music festival sponsored.
In the years since its debut performance, CGMC became a prominent member of Chicago's gay and lesbian community and in the city's arts community as a whole. In 2001, CGMC was inducted into the
Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame
The Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame (formerly Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame) is an institution founded in 1991 to honor persons and entities who have made significant contributions to the quality of life or well-being of the LGBT community in Chic ...
. In 2006, CGMC joined the League of Chicago Theatres; the year also marked CGMC's twenty-fifth performance season. Throughout the history of CGMC, the chorus has been supported, in part, by grants from the
Illinois Arts Council
The Illinois Arts Council is a government agency of the state of Illinois formed to encourage development of the arts throughout Illinois. Founded in 1965 by the Illinois General Assembly, the Illinois Arts Council provides financial and technica ...
and by the Chicago City Arts Program.
Performances and music
CGMC has a regular yearly performance season that consists of a holiday show, and a spring show. The music performed in these concerts ranges from classical to pop to modern music. The Chorus also incorporates a wide range of performance styles into its concerts. In addition to traditional choral material, the concerts often include dance, sets and costumes, and other elements frequently found in musical theater.
The spring concerts are often full-scale theatrical productions, frequently presented in a parodic manner. Past spring productions have included ''
The Pirates of Penzance
''The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. Its official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 187 ...
'', ''
The Wizard of Oz'', ''
The Mikado
''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...
'', and ''
H.M.S. Pinafore
''H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, whic ...
''.
In 2006, the Chorus performed ''The Ten Commandments: The Musical'', an original musical co-written by the group's Artistic Director, Patrick Sinozich, and a singing member, Bill Larkin. The Chorus has also performed several musical reviews named after Sidetrack, a popular Chicago video nightclub, and based on the club's weekly show tunes video nights.
In addition to its regular performance season, the Chorus makes appearances for fundraising or community representation purposes. In past years, CGMC has appeared at benefits such as ''Show of Concern'' presented by
Marshall Field's
Marshall Field & Company (commonly known as Marshall Field's) was an upscale department store in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in the 19th century, it grew to become a large chain before Macy's, Inc acquired it in 2005. Its eponymous founder, Mar ...
, ''World of Chocolate'' presented by the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, and ''Jubilate!'' presented by Bonaventure House.
The Chorus has also appeared for organizations or at events such as the marriage equality bill signing (where they sang America The Beautiful at Governor Quinn's personal invitation), Choose Chicago kickoff, AIDS Walk Chicago,
International Mr. Leather, the
Chicago Gay and Lesbian Pride Parade, the Illinois Gay and Lesbian Rodeo Association, Pride Fest Chicago, and has proudly performed the national anthem several times at
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago ...
in Chicago. In addition, the Chorus has made various traveling outreach trips to local cities including
Bloomington–Normal
Bloomington–Normal, officially known as the Bloomington, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area, is a metropolitan area in Central Illinois anchored by the twin municipalities of Bloomington and Normal. At the 2010 census, the municipaliti ...
and
Peoria, Illinois. In 2018, the Chorus joined
Demi Lovato to perform "
Tell Me You Love Me" and "
Sorry (Not Sorry)" during her
Tell Me You Love Me World Tour
The Tell Me You Love Me World Tour was the sixth headlining concert tour and third worldwide tour by American singer Demi Lovato, in support of her sixth studio album '' Tell Me You Love Me'' (2017). The tour began on February 26, 2018, in San Di ...
stop in
Allstate Arena
Allstate Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Rosemont, Illinois, United States. It is located near the intersection of Mannheim Road and Interstate 90, adjacent to the city limits of Chicago and O'Hare International Airport. The facility opene ...
.
The Chorus has made out-of-town appearances in
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...
,
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
,
,
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
,
Fort Lauderdale
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
,
Tampa,
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
,
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
,
Kansas City,
Indianapolis,
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
, and
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
. The Chorus has also hosted Chicago appearances of choruses from some of these same cities, other nearby cities, and European cities such as
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
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,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and
Hamburg, Germany.
Performance History
† - Prepared as a main stage show but presented virtually.
‡ - Virtual performance.
Membership
The Chorus membership is divided into singing members and auxiliary members. The majority of the members are gay men, but the Chorus has a written policy to welcome all persons to the group regardless of sex, race, creed, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
Singing members belong to one of the four singing sections; first- and second-
tenor
A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...
,
baritone, and
bass. Most of these voices are divided into upper and lower subsections. To become a singing member of the Chorus, a prospective member must have a successful audition with the artistic director, and re-audition every two years. Non-performing auxiliary members are individuals who are tasked with behind the scenes duties in support of the mission of the Chorus.
Each of the shows of the performance season has preparation period of approximately twelve to thirteen weeks; consisting of weekly three-hour rehearsals. In addition to the weekly rehearsals, there may be a number of sectional/full chorus/dance/solo rehearsals that take place during each preparation period, at the request/discretion of the artistic director.
All music is performed "off book" meaning all songs must be completely memorized. With a few exceptions, nearly all run out performances are also performed with memorized music. Run out performances may consist of pieces that the Chorus is working on for an upcoming concert, pieces performed at a recent concert, or selections from the permanent repertoire of the Chorus.
Organization
The Chicago Gay Men's Chorus is a volunteer
non-profit organization
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
. Membership dues, ticket sales, performance fees, CD sales, and individual and corporate donations support the operation of the Chorus in addition to grants from the Illinois Arts Council, Art Works Fund, and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs' City Arts grant program.
The Artistic Director (AD) leads the artistic staff of the Chorus, which consists of Accompanists, Stage Manager, Choreographers, a music librarian, while the Executive Director oversees operations. The Artistic Director, Executive Director, Stage Manager and Accompanists are paid positions while the others are volunteer positions filled by the Chorus membership.
The Chorus is governed by a Board of Directors, which is responsible for governing the strategic and fiscal operation of the Chorus, which is largely carried out by a system of committees. Members of the Board of Directors consist of members from the Chorus itself or from the general community, and candidates are selected by the Elections Committee. The Board of Directors is led by an Executive Committee made up of the Board President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer.
The Chorus also elects a Membership Council, which is responsible for the member experience including assisting the AD with rehearsal, retention and recruitment of Chorus members, organizing auditions, tracking attendance and member communications. Members of the Membership Council are elected from active singing members of the Chorus, and candidates are selected by the Elections Committee. Upon election, the council selects a Council President and representatives for each singing section of the Chorus.
The operational committees of the Chorus include four standing committees and a number of subcommittees with members appointed by the Executive Director or Board of Directors. The four standing committees are Finance, Fundraising, Performance, and Marketing.
Recordings
In November 2001, the Chorus released its first CD entitled ''Cool Yule'', featuring holiday music with jazz-inspired arrangements. The group's second CD, ''I Will Be Loved Tonight'', was released in December 2004 and is a collection of songs dealing with relationships and love. In 2006, the Chorus released its first collection of live recordings, ''Favorite Things'', with live concert performances of holiday songs popular with the group's audiences. In December 2012, CGMC released ''Here We Come A-Caroling'', featuring holiday songs from years past. In June 2013 a fifth CD, ''So Happy Together: Festival Gems'' was released containing recordings from the last three GALA Festival performances.
References
External links
* Chicago Gay Men's Choru
Official website* GALA Choruse
Official website* CGM
{{authority control
Choirs in Illinois
Musical groups from Chicago
Musical groups established in 1983
Gay men's choruses
GALA choruses
LGBT organizations based in Chicago
1983 establishments in Illinois
Gay culture in Illinois