Hours of Choir Performances

Sunday, July 8, 2012--Denver

I started attending concerts at 11:00 and continued in concerts until 18:00 except for a brief luncheon break of about 30 minutes.  Each was so different from the other that I enjoyed all those hours of music.

There was an overflow house (which seats 2600) for the Heartland Men's Chorus from Kansas City.  They presented what they called a "musical documentary" entitled When I Knew, the fifth of a series of these.  This one was written to coordinate with the It Get's Better campaign fighting bullying and teen suicide.  Dan Savage, the founder of It Get's Better was the narrator, and the songs were selected to coordinate with key events in his life.  Photos and stories of members of the chorus were included, too.  Much of the performance was done with the choir behind a clear screen with projections on it.  They showed photos of members of the choir with their families when they were children while singing the song If You Only Knew.  At another point, they showed photos of young people who have committed suicide.  To the song When I Knew, they had vocal stories from members of the choir and from the daughter of a member of the choir.  They closed the concert with the song Born This Way by Lady Gaga which is being sung by a number of choruses at the conference this year.

Other groups I heard today were:

Chicago Gay Men's Chorus
Confluence:  Willamette Valley LGBT Chorus
Council Oak Men's Chorale (Tulsa)
Seattle Women's Chorus
Diverse Harmony Gay-Straight Alliance Youth Chorus
Caballeros--Gay Men's Chorus of Palm Springs
Reveille Men's Chorus (Tucson)
Triangle Gay Men's Chorus (North Carolina)
Golden Gate Men's Chorus (San Francisco)

Each group was surprising in its own way.  Some were better entertainers than singers.  Some were better singers than entertainers.  The audiences seemed to prefer the performances that included choreography along with the music.  Some sang show tunes, others sang classical pieces.  Tucson came out in cowboy suits and sang only southern and country songs (including a version of Cindy [Get along home Cindy, Cindy, I'll marry you one day]  in which it was changed to "Andy" as they held up pictures of Anderson Cooper as their dream love).  Some groups were large with over 200 members.  The Triangle Gay Men's Chorus had only 12 singers, they were were among the best at harmonizing and blending their voices as one.


Steps Walked:  8,792