LGBT choruses come together for rare concert

By Jen Colletta
PGN Staff Writer
© 2008 Philadelphia Gay News

The voices of LGBT singers from around the tri-state area will come together for the first time in “Circle of Our Lives” at 8 p.m. June 14 at Congregation Rodeph Shalom, 615 N. Broad St.

The Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus will join with six other local LGBT choruses and, except for a central Pennsylvania group that could not attend, every LGBT chorus in the tri-state area will be represented in “Circle of Our Lives.”

The concert will feature 263 singers, 78 of whom are from PGMC, the largest all-male chorus in the Philadelphia area. Many of the choruses participating will be singing at the Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses Festival next month, and Joe Buches, PGMC artistic director, said he thought “Circle of Our Lives” would be good preparation for the event.

“I thought it would be fitting to host our own choral festival bringing together the GALA voices from the local area. I was very pleased with the responses from the other choruses,” Buches said.

PGMC will join with the Anna Crusis Women’s Choir, Harrisburg Men’s Chorus, Lehigh Valley Gay Men’s Chorus, New Jersey Gay Men’s Chorus, Philadelphia Voices of Pride and the Rainbow Chorale of Delaware for “Circle of Our Lives.”

PGMC vice president of marketing Sandy Smith said that over the past few years, the group has been performing for much larger audiences.

“When I joined PGMC three years ago, we drew roughly 400-450 people to each concert; this year our audiences have averaged around 750-800 per concert,” Smith said.

Rodeph Shalom can accommodate about 1,200 people — seats Smith expects to be filled.

“We anticipate bigger-than-usual interest and attendance for this concert because it involves the entire GLBT choral community in the region,” he said. “I anticipate that we will have attendees coming from an even-wider territory than is usual for a PGMC concert.”

While Buches said it is challenging to bring together so many different voices, he’s confident the event will go off without a hitch.

“Any time you try to put a concert together with multiple performing groups, it takes a great deal to coordinate the event,” Buches said. “With the help of our concert manager and volunteers, the evening will run smoothly.”

“Circle of Our Lives” will include such songs as Daniel Gawthrop’s “Sing Me to Heaven,” Cris Williamson’s “Sister” and Garth Brooks’ “We Shall Be Free.” All of the performers will come together in the end to perform “Circle of Our Lives,” which Buches described as “an ethereal musical rendition of Wendell Berry’s poem ‘Song,’ about the ways in which we connect and reconnect with one another throughout our lives.”

Smith said that being a part of the performance will introduce him to a group of LGBT singers who share his interests and passions.

“I hope to discover more common bonds with the men and women who, like me, choose to share our lives and hopes with the world through song,” Smith said.

Buches said that “Circle of Our Lives” should be just as rewarding for the performers as it will be for the audience members.

“It is always an amazing experience performing alongside other singers — especially when we are all GLBT choruses singing with the same mission,” Buches said. “It is my hope that the members of the PGMC and members of the other choruses have a truly meaningful experience that they will cherish for a very long time.”

Tickets for “Circle of Our Lives” range from $20-$40 and can be purchased at www.pgmc.org or at Giovanni’s Room, 345 S. 12th St.; Philadelphia Home Art Garden, 1225 Walnut St.; Matthew Izzo, 1109 Walnut St.; or at the door before the performance.

For more information, visit www.pgmc.org.

Jen Colletta can be reached at jen@epgn.com.