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The Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus (CGMC) is a choral organization in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1983 with fifty-five singers, the chorus currently consists of approximately 150 singing members and over 200 members in total.
[edit] HistoryThe Chorus was organized in 1982 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.[1] In 2006, CGMC joined the League of Chicago Theatres. 2006 also marked CGMC's twenty-fifth performance season. The Chorus performs three large-scale concerts during each performance season, usually at Chicago's Athenaeum Theatre, and several other run out performances during the course of each year. The Chorus has sung the National Anthem for Chicago Cubs games at Wrigley Field, and has performed at several events hosted by Mayor Richard M. Daley. [edit] Performances and MusicCGMC has a regular yearly performance season that consists of a holiday show, a spring show, and a pride/summer 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 Wizard of Oz, The Mikado, and H.M.S. Pinafore. 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 additional 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, 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 AIDS Walk Chicago, International Mr. Leather, the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Pride Parade, and the Illinois Gay and Lesbian Rodeo Association. In addition, the Chorus has made various traveling outreach trips to local cities including Bloomington-Normal and Peoria, Illinois. The Chorus has made out-of-town appearances in Portland, Oregon, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, Milwaukee, New York City, Montreal and Miami. The Chorus also frequently hosts Chicago appearances of choruses from some of these same cities, other nearby cities, and European cities such as Amsterdam in the Netherlands, and Hamburg, Germany. CGMC’s 2008-2009 concert season consists of the holiday show Revolt of the Elves, the spring show Bad Habits, and the pride summer show Over The Rainbow, in recognition of the 40th anniversary of the death of Judy Garland and the Stonewall Riots. [edit] Performance History
[edit] MembershipThe 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, or sexual orientation. Singing members belong to one of the four singing sections; first- and second-tenor, 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 three shows of the performance season has a nine to thirteen week preparation period consisting of weekly three hour rehearsals. The holiday and spring concerts are usually thirteen weeks long with the pride/summer concert preparation period generally being shorted to nine weeks. In addition to the weekly rehearsals, there are a small number of optional sectional and full Chorus rehearsals that take place during each preparation period. All music for the three concerts of the season are 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. [edit] OrganizationThe Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus is a non-profit organization. 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 and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs’ City Arts grant program. The Artistic Director leads the artistic staff of the Chorus, which consists of an Assistant Conductor, Artistic Administrator, Accompanists, Choreographers, a music librarian, and a music researcher. The Artistic Director, Artistic Administrator, Assistant Conductor, and Accompanists are paid positions while the others are volunteer positions filled by the Chorus membership. The Chorus also employs a full-time General Manager, but relies significantly on volunteer work by its members to support its activities. 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 of up the Board President, Secretary, and Treasurer. The Chorus also elects a Membership Council, which is responsible for all membership-related activities including 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 Board President and Board of Directors. The four standing committees are Finance, Fundraising, Performance, and Marketing. [edit] RecordingsIn 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. [edit] References
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