New York City Gay Men's Chorus
Encyclopedia
The New York City Gay Men's Chorus is a choral
organization in New York City
that has been presenting an annual concert season for more than three decades.
. Their first season culminated in a sold out concert with the Riverside Symphony
at Alice Tully Hall
in June 1981 which featured new pieces or newly arranged works by Leonard Bernstein
, Jack Gottlieb, Calvin Hampton
, John Mueter, Stephen Sondheim
, and Glen Vecchione. Music critic Allen Hughes
in his review in The New York Times
wrote:
In 1982 the chorus became one of the founding members of the GALA Choruses
, and the following year the chorus was host to the "first national gay choral festival" presented by GALA at Alice Tully Hall. In addition to the NYCGMC, the festival featured performances by gay choruses from Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Seattle, Washington, Madison, Wis., Anaheim, Calif., and New Orleans. The festival featured two world premieres: Libby Larsen
's Everyone Sang and Ned Rorem
's Whitman Cantata. In 1984 the chorus performed at the Eastern Division Conference of the American Choral Directors Association
(ACDA). It was the first time that the ACDA had featured a gay chorus at one of its conventions.
In 1985 the NYCGMC participated in a high profile AIDS
Benefit, The Best of the Best: A Show of Concern, at the Metropolitan Opera House
; appearing alongside such legends as Burt Bacharach
, Mikhail Baryshnikov
, Carole Bayer Sager
, Carol Burnett
, Ellen Burstyn
, Colleen Dewhurst
, Marilyn Horne
, Melissa Manchester
, Christopher Reeve
, Brooke Shields
, Lily Tomlin
, and Dr. Ruth Westheimer
. The chorus has continued to perform regularly in beneifts for a variety of organizations and causes, including arts education funding for New York schools.
Throughout its history the NYCGMC has been committed to supporting contemporary composers. In 1985 the chorus established an annual choral competition, the first winner of which was John Burge
's Songs of War. In a July 1985 review music critic Bernard Holland
wrote: "The creation of homosexual singing ensembles in recent years provides more than just a sense of cultural community. Good music for concerted male voices has occupied major composers only marginally in the past, and enthusiastic performers such as the New York City Gay Men's Chorus are providing an outlet and an inspiration for new music." As of 2011 the NYCGMC has commissioned more than 100 choral works, including Conrad Susa
's The Chanticleer's Carol (1981), Stuart Raleigh's Words for the Future (1985), David Conte
's Invocation and Dance (1987), and Frank Ferko
's Humoresques (1987).
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
organization in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
that has been presenting an annual concert season for more than three decades.
History
The New York City Gay Men's Chorus (NYCGMC) was founded in August 1980 under the leadership of conductor Gary MillerGary Miller (conductor)
Gary Miller is an American conductor, gay activist, and educator. Raised in York, Pennsylvania, he graduated from Lebanon Valley College with a Bachelor of Music Education and from the University of Michigan with a Master of Music in choral conducting. In August 1980 he played an instrumental role...
. Their first season culminated in a sold out concert with the Riverside Symphony
Riverside Symphony
Riverside Symphony is a New York-based professional orchestra founded in 1981 by conductor George Rothman and composer Anthony Korf. The orchestra performs a three-concert series at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center and is recognized for programs which integrate an international array of...
at Alice Tully Hall
Alice Tully Hall
Alice Tully Hall is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. It is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and philanthropist whose donations assisted in the construction of the hall...
in June 1981 which featured new pieces or newly arranged works by Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
, Jack Gottlieb, Calvin Hampton
Calvin Hampton
Calvin Hampton was a leading American organist and sacred music composer.He was born in Kittanning, Pennsylvania, a graduate of Oberlin Conservatory and Syracuse University . He served as Organist and Choirmaster of Calvary Episcopal Church, Gramercy Park, New York City, from September 1963 to...
, John Mueter, Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
, and Glen Vecchione. Music critic Allen Hughes
Allen Hughes
Allen Hughes was an American dance and music critic.Born in Brownsburg, Indiana, Hughes started his career as a critic in 1950 when he joined the staff of Musical America. In 1955, he became a music critic for The New York Herald Tribune...
in his review in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
wrote:
"The chorus is less than a year old, having been organized last August, but there was nothing about it that suggested immaturity. Musicianship and diction were exemplary, the dark tuxedos worn by all singers made for neat appearance, and the entrances and exits had been planned to achieve optimum efficiency, dignity and style."
In 1982 the chorus became one of the founding members of the GALA Choruses
GALA Choruses
The Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses is an international association of LGBT choruses founded in 1982. Its goal is to foster artistic and organizational development within its member choruses. The association includes almost 10,000 vocalists in over 100 associated choruses singing as...
, and the following year the chorus was host to the "first national gay choral festival" presented by GALA at Alice Tully Hall. In addition to the NYCGMC, the festival featured performances by gay choruses from Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Seattle, Washington, Madison, Wis., Anaheim, Calif., and New Orleans. The festival featured two world premieres: Libby Larsen
Libby Larsen
Libby Larsen is one of America’s most performed living composers. She has created a catalogue of over 400 works spanning virtually every genre from intimate vocal and chamber music to massive orchestral works and over fifteen operas...
's Everyone Sang and Ned Rorem
Ned Rorem
Ned Rorem is a Pulitzer prize-winning American composer and diarist. He is best known and most praised for his song settings.-Life:...
's Whitman Cantata. In 1984 the chorus performed at the Eastern Division Conference of the American Choral Directors Association
American Choral Directors Association
The American Choral Directors Association , headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is a non-profit organization with the stated purpose of promoting excellence in the field of choral music...
(ACDA). It was the first time that the ACDA had featured a gay chorus at one of its conventions.
In 1985 the NYCGMC participated in a high profile AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
Benefit, The Best of the Best: A Show of Concern, at the Metropolitan Opera House
Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center)
The Metropolitan Opera House is an opera house located on Broadway at Lincoln Square in the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Part of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the theater opened in 1966. It replaced the former Metropolitan Opera House at Broadway and 39th St...
; appearing alongside such legends as Burt Bacharach
Burt Bacharach
Burt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...
, Mikhail Baryshnikov
Mikhail Baryshnikov
Mikhail Nikolaevich Baryshnikov is a Soviet and American dancer, choreographer, and actor, often cited alongside Vaslav Nijinsky and Rudolf Nureyev as one of the greatest ballet dancers of the 20th century. After a promising start in the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad, he defected to Canada in 1974...
, Carole Bayer Sager
Carole Bayer Sager
Carole Bayer Sager is an American lyricist, songwriter, singer, and painter.-Introduction:Born in New York City, Sager graduated from New York University, where she majored in English, dramatic arts and speech...
, Carol Burnett
Carol Burnett
Carol Creighton Burnett is an American actress, comedian, singer, dancer and writer. Burnett started her career in New York. After becoming a hit on Broadway, she made her television debut...
, Ellen Burstyn
Ellen Burstyn
Ellen Burstyn is a leading American actress of film, stage, and television. Burstyn's career began in theatre during the late 1950s, and over the next ten years she appeared in several films and television series before joining the Actors Studio in 1967...
, Colleen Dewhurst
Colleen Dewhurst
Colleen Rose Dewhurst was a Canadian-American actress known for a while as "the Queen of Off-Broadway." In her autobiography, Dewhurst wrote: "I had moved so quickly from one Off-Broadway production to the next that I was known, at one point, as the 'Queen of Off-Broadway'...
, Marilyn Horne
Marilyn Horne
Marilyn Horne is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer. She specialized in roles requiring a large sound, beauty of tone, excellent breath support, and the ability to execute difficult coloratura passages....
, Melissa Manchester
Melissa Manchester
Melissa Manchester is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Beginning in the 1970s, she has recorded generally in the adult contemporary genre. She has also appeared as an actress on television, in films, and on stage....
, Christopher Reeve
Christopher Reeve
Christopher D'Olier Reeve was an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, author and activist...
, Brooke Shields
Brooke Shields
Brooke Christa Shields is an American actress and model. Some of her better-known movies include Pretty Baby and The Blue Lagoon, as well as TV shows such as Suddenly Susan, That '70s Show and Lipstick Jungle....
, Lily Tomlin
Lily Tomlin
Mary Jean "Lily" Tomlin is an American actress, comedienne, writer, and producer. Tomlin has been a major force in American comedy since the late 1960's when she began a career as a stand up comedian and became a featured performer on television's Laugh-in...
, and Dr. Ruth Westheimer
Ruth Westheimer
Ruth Westheimer is an American sex therapist, media personality, and author. Best known as Dr. Ruth, the New York Times described her as a "Sorbonne-trained psychologist who became a kind of cultural icon in the 1980s...
. The chorus has continued to perform regularly in beneifts for a variety of organizations and causes, including arts education funding for New York schools.
Throughout its history the NYCGMC has been committed to supporting contemporary composers. In 1985 the chorus established an annual choral competition, the first winner of which was John Burge
John Burge
John David Bryson Burge is a Canadian composer, music educator, and pianist. He has won a number of awards for his compositions, including the Alberta Culture Award , the William Erving Fairclough Scholarship , second prize in the Ithaca College Choral Composition Contest and Festival , and five...
's Songs of War. In a July 1985 review music critic Bernard Holland
Bernard Holland
Bernard Holland is an internationally recognized American music critic. He served on the staff of The New York Times from 1981 until 2008 and held the post of chief music critic from 1995, contributing 4,575 articles to the newspaper....
wrote: "The creation of homosexual singing ensembles in recent years provides more than just a sense of cultural community. Good music for concerted male voices has occupied major composers only marginally in the past, and enthusiastic performers such as the New York City Gay Men's Chorus are providing an outlet and an inspiration for new music." As of 2011 the NYCGMC has commissioned more than 100 choral works, including Conrad Susa
Conrad Susa
Conrad Stephen Susa is an American composer, particularly known for his operas. His 1973 chamber opera, Transformations, set to texts from the poems of Anne Sexton, is one of the most frequently performed operas by an American composer and was one of the featured operas of the 2006 Wexford Opera...
's The Chanticleer's Carol (1981), Stuart Raleigh's Words for the Future (1985), David Conte
David Conte
David Conte is an American composer. He has been a Professor of Composition at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music since 1985, and Composer-in-Residence with Thick Description since 1990....
's Invocation and Dance (1987), and Frank Ferko
Frank Ferko
Frank Ferko is an American composer.Ferko played piano from childhood, and worked as an organist and conductor in his teens. His first compositions were primarily liturgical in nature, with Lutheran composer Richard Wienhorst being an early influence...
's Humoresques (1987).
Notable guest artists
Many notable entertainers and ensembles have performed with the NYCGMC as guest artists or hosted NYCGMC concerts, including the following:- Kaye BallardKaye BallardKaye Ballard is an American musical theatre and television actress, comedienne, and singer.-Life and career:Ballard was born as Catherine Gloria Balotta in Cleveland, Ohio, to an Italian American family, the daughter of Lena and Vincent James Balotta.Ballard established herself as a musical...
- Harolyn BlackwellHarolyn BlackwellHarolyn Blackwell is an African-American lyric coloratura soprano who has performed in many of the world's finest opera houses, concert halls, and theaters in operas, oratorios, recitals, and Broadway musicals...
- Betty BuckleyBetty BuckleyBetty Lynn Buckley is an American theater, film and television actress and singer. She is a Tony Award winner and Grammy Award nominee.-Early life:...
- Liz CallawayLiz CallawayLiz Callaway is an American actress and singer, famous for providing the singing voices of many female characters in films, such as Anya in Anastasia, Odette in The Swan Princess, and Kiara in The Lion King II:Simba's Pride....
- Carol ChanningCarol ChanningCarol Elaine Channing is an American singer, actress, and comedienne. She is the recipient of three Tony Awards , a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination...
- Stockard ChanningStockard ChanningStockard Channing is an American stage, film and television actress. She is known for her portrayal of First Lady Abbey Bartlet in the NBC television series The West Wing; for playing Betty Rizzo in the film Grease; and for her role as Ouisa Kittredge in the play Six Degrees of Separation and its...
- Kristin ChenowethKristin ChenowethKristin Chenoweth is an American singer and actress, with credits in musical theatre, film and television. She is best known on Broadway for her performance as Sally Brown in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown , for which she won a Tony Award, and for originating the role of Glinda in the musical...
- Colleen DewhurstColleen DewhurstColleen Rose Dewhurst was a Canadian-American actress known for a while as "the Queen of Off-Broadway." In her autobiography, Dewhurst wrote: "I had moved so quickly from one Off-Broadway production to the next that I was known, at one point, as the 'Queen of Off-Broadway'...
- Denny DillonDenny DillonDenise "Denny" Dillon is an American comedian and former cast member of Saturday Night Live. At 4'11" , Dillon is the shortest cast member in the show's history...
- Joel GreyJoel GreyJoel Grey is an American stage and screen actor, singer, and dancer, best known for his role as the Master of Ceremonies in both the stage and film adaptation of the Kander & Ebb musical Cabaret. He has won the Academy Award, Tony Award and Golden Globe Award...
- Jerry HadleyJerry HadleyJerry Hadley was an American operatic tenor. He received three Grammy awards for his vocal performances in the recordings of Jenůfa , Susannah , and Candide...
- Mary Cleere Haran
- Sam HarrisSam Harris (singer)Sam Harris is an American pop and musical theatre recording artist as well as a television, stage and film actor.-Singing:...
- Jerry HermanJerry HermanJerry Herman is an American composer and lyricist, known for his work in Broadway musical theater. He composed the scores for the hit Broadway musicals Hello, Dolly!, Mame, and La Cage aux Folles. He has been nominated for the Tony Award five times, and won twice, for Hello, Dolly! and La Cage...
- Marilyn HorneMarilyn HorneMarilyn Horne is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer. She specialized in roles requiring a large sound, beauty of tone, excellent breath support, and the ability to execute difficult coloratura passages....
- George S. IrvingGeorge S. IrvingGeorge S. Irving is an American actor, known primarily for his character roles on Broadway. Born George Irving Shelasky in Springfield, Massachusetts, he made his debut in the original 1943 production of Oklahoma!, only to be drafted days later to serve in World War II...
- Eartha KittEartha KittEartha Mae Kitt was an American singer, actress, and cabaret star. She was perhaps best known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 hit recordings of "C'est Si Bon" and the enduring Christmas novelty smash "Santa Baby." Orson Welles once called her the "most exciting woman in the...
- Terri Klausner
- Nancy LaMottNancy LaMottNancy LaMott was a singer, popular on the New York City cabaret circuit in the 1990s. LaMott performed twice at the White House for President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton...
- Maureen McGovernMaureen McGovernMaureen Therese McGovern is an American singer and Broadway actress, well known for her premier renditions of the Oscar winning songs "The Morning After" from the 1972 film The Poseidon Adventure, and "We May Never Love Like This Again" from The Towering Inferno in 1974.-Early life:McGovern was...
- Terrence McNallyTerrence McNallyTerrence McNally is an American playwright who has received four Tony Awards, an Emmy, two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Rockefeller Grant, the Lucille Lortel Award, the Hull-Warriner Award, and a citation from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He has been a member of the Council of the...
- Liza MinnelliLiza MinnelliLiza May Minnelli is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of singer and actress Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli....
- Marni NixonMarni NixonMarni Nixon is an American soprano and playback singer for featured actresses in movie musicals. She has also spent much of her career performing in concerts with major symphony orchestras around the world and in operas and musicals throughout the United States.-Biography:Born Margaret Nixon...
- Roberta PetersRoberta PetersRoberta Peters is an American coloratura soprano.One of the most prominent American singers to achieve lasting fame and success in opera, Peters is noted for her 35-year association with the Metropolitan Opera Company in New York...
- Sondra RadvanovskySondra RadvanovskySondra Radvanovsky is an American soprano. Sondra was born in Berwyn, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, on April 11, 1969. She lived and attended high school in Richmond, Indiana, a small city which, despite its size, had its own opera company...
- Ann ReinkingAnn ReinkingAnn Reinking is an American actress, dancer, and choreographer. She has worked extensively in musical theatre, both as a dancer and choreographer, as well as appearing in film.-Biography:...
- George RoseGeorge Rose (actor)\...
- Camille SaviolaCamille Saviola-Early life:Saviola was born in The Bronx, New York City, New York, the daughter of Mary and Michael Saviola. She grew up near Yankee Stadium and graduated from Music and Arts High School then attended college for one year before dropping out to get into acting...
- Debbie ShapiroDebbie ShapiroDebbie Shapiro Gravitte is an American actress and singer.Shapiro was born in Los Angeles, California, and went on to make her Broadway debut in the chorus of They're Playing Our Song in 1979...
- Richard SkipperRichard skipperRichard Skipper is an American stage actor, singer and tribute artist. Although he has created a vast array of characterizations; he is most noteworthy for his tribute to Carol Channing.-Performance history:...
- Stephen SondheimStephen SondheimStephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
- Frederica von StadeFrederica von StadeFrederica von Stade is an American mezzo-soprano. Born in Somerville, New Jersey, she acquired the nickname "Flicka" in her childhood. Von Stade attended the Mannes College of Music in New York City. She made her debut with the Metropolitan Opera in 1970 and in 1971 appeared as Cherubino in The...
- Elaine StritchElaine StritchElaine Stritch is an American actress and vocalist. She has appeared in numerous stage plays and musicals, feature films, and many television programs...
- Deborah VoigtDeborah VoigtDeborah Voigt is an American operatic soprano. Voigt regularly performs in opera houses and concert halls worldwide.- Early life and education :...
- B.D. WongB.D. WongBradley Darryl "BD" Wong is an American actor, best-known for his roles as Dr. George Huang on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, as Father Ray Mukada on HBO's Oz, Henry Wu in the movie Jurassic Park, and for his starring role as Song Liling in the Broadway production of M...