TRUST

In an organization that is mostly run by volunteers, trust is key.  People can’t give their best if they feel you don’t trust them.  People won’t give their best if they don’t trust you.  As a leader of volunteers I constantly have my attention on projecting trust in people, while at the same time supporting them in what they say they are going to do.  There is a fine line between managing the promises people make, and not trusting them to keep their promises.

 

Our singers are our key volunteers.  Nothing happens without them.  We ask much of them, and sometimes need to ask more than much.  Our organization is taking solid steps toward greater professionalism.  Our members have been asked to give up a touch of the “boys club” mentality that used to rule the roost in earlier days.  We have women in key roles.  The office is a workspace with paid staff members.  The calendar fills up sometimes with commitments that the organization needs to make: sometimes we are able to clear these with the singers first, sometimes not.  I hope that every singer knows how much we appreciate his service.  It is a leap of faith to trust that our singers will stay with the ship, helping it sail forward.  Their clear commitment to this group demands that trust, and I’m grateful for that.

 

My bosses are volunteers, too.  As a non-profit organization, our Board of Directors is made up of committed volunteers who put in an amazing amount of excellent work.  As we have shifted the focus of having a Board made up of singers to one made up primarily of non-singers, we have started the journey away from a “working Board” to a “governing Board”.  It is a leap of faith to trust that, as the terms of various Board members come to a close, new members will come in and take the reins.  If we didn’t have that trust, there would be no point in planning for the future.  We are planning years ahead; we must be trusting.

 

Lastly, we trust our audience to come along for the ride.  If we did not trust ourselves to provide what they will love, and we didn’t trust them to take a risk with their money and come support us with their presence, the whole organization would grind to a pointless halt.  In a world where many people bemoan the apparent lack of loving kindness in our society, organizations like ours put the lie to that dismal fantasy.  In our community, the Gateway Men’s Chorus stands as proof that people care, contribute, and can be trusted.

 

Al Fischer

Artistic Director

Gateway Men’s Chorus

 

ANNIVERSARIES

Here at the Gateway Men’s Chorus we recently celebrated our 25th Anniversary with our concert, OUR SONG.  It went fabulously well and we were all very excited.  I am present to how the work we are doing today is built on the work that was done by others.

 

We had the honor of acknowledging many former conductors of the GMC who were present.  Their hard work kept the ship not only afloat, but sailing forward.  Their excellence led the audience to expect great work from us.  Their example inspires me still.

 

We also had the honor of people being present specifically to acknowledge us and our contribution.  A member of the Board of GALA Choruses acknowledged the GMC for who we are and have been in their movement and organization.  The Mayor of St. Louis was with us to acknowledge us for who we are in this community.  We were moved and grateful.

 

I even had the privilege of introducing our audience to the founder of the Gateway Men’s Chorus, Michael Cohrs.  Little did he know what he was starting 25 years ago when he started spreading the word to see if he could get a group of guys together to sing.  I think he was a bit overwhelmed and speechless to see the fruits of what he set in motion so long ago.  I asked him to kick off the final tune in our program, which was a lovely thing to witness.

 

Lastly, we gave an alumni call, asking all willing former members to join us on the risers for the final three songs.  It was a powerful moment to look out and see that awesome procession of former singers coming forward to retake their position onstage. 

 

So thanks to the former directors, Board members and Chorus members for getting us to where we are.  I plan to continue making you proud of what you started!

 

Al Fischer

Artistic Director

Gateway Men’s Chorus

 

COLLEAGUES

I have been thinking a lot recently about the people I work with, and have worked with.

 

There is a whole group of kids at St. Ann Catholic School who are wondering where their music teacher is.  I have encouraged their parents to tell them.  We were colleagues in education and I learned so much from them.  I will miss them terribly.

 

There is also a group of colleagues who used to sing with me at 8 a.m. Mass at St. Rose Philippine Duchesne Catholic Church.  They know exactly where I am, because I called each one of them this evening individually and told them.  They are feeling frustrated and sad, some even disillusioned.  I will miss them too.

 

There is also a group of colleagues that I am learning more and more about: fellow gay directors and musicians who have also been fired from their work in the Catholic Church.  I had a lovely long talk today with Joe Nadeau, Artistic Director of the Heartland Men’s Chorus in Kansas City.  The same thing happened to him not that many years ago.  Other musicians involved with the Gateway Men’s Chorus have come up to me to share their own similar stories.  The refrain is constant: it’s not the people!  A local community in a Catholic church can actually be a great place to find support and shared values.  I have never made a habit of hiding who I am, and it has never been a problem.  It took an Archdiocese policy to make a problem.

 

Lastly, my colleagues at my two remaining jobs, the Gateway Men’s Chorus and Shaare Emeth Congregation in St. Louis, remain a constant source of advice and encouragement.  From the Board to the members, from the Rabbis to the Cantor, I am supported on every side and am so very grateful.

 

So thanks to my many colleagues in this city and around the country.  There is so much work to be done, but how awesome not to have to do it by ourselves!

 

Al Fischer

Artistic Director

Gateway Men’s Chorus

GAY MUSIC

I recently was interviewed by an ethnomusicologist (look it up).  She is interviewing directors of gay choruses from across the country for a book she is writing.  She had met a gay chorus director who talked about how he is always sure to program some “gay music” for his concerts.  Her ethnomusicological (seriously, look it up) “spidey senses” were tingling as she excitedly asked herself the question, “Wow… what is gay music?!”  This was just one of the many questions that she asked me.  I had never thought about it before, but here are some initial thoughts that I shared.  I invite input: I do not pretend to have the answer.

 

Stereotypically, show tunes are very gay. Maybe this has something to do with how singers in a musical emote through song.  We gay boys do like our drama, and can sometimes tend to indulge in it.  A show tune, by it’s very nature, is someone standing center stage and, for just that shining moment, having the stage all to themselves.  In that instant everything is truly about THEM!  How awesome is that!

 

Club music is very gay, which is why I think ABBA, Madonna, and Cher can fall into the category of gay music.  If someone could or can groove to it in a bar or disco, then it is part of a cherished arena in many gay men’s lives.  For many, bars have been central in giving a sense of community, of shared space, or at least connecting with people like ourselves.  The tribal movement of the dance floor has been a powerful unifier. 

 

Barbra, Celine, Bette, Judy… so, so gay.  Maybe because they are quirky individuals, creating their own personalities, finding their own voices?  Maybe because some of them had problems or personal demons that they exposed or exorcised in their music, making themselves vulnerable and earning our adoration?

 

Like the director that the author first spoke to, I suppose that I make sure to include some gay music in our concerts too, though I have never really thought about what that meant.

 

So I put it to you: what is gay music?  Why is it gay? 

 

Al Fischer

Artistic Director

Gateway Men’s Chorus

COLLABORATION

My most recent blog entry was about my vision for our three concerts next season.  I laid out the idea of our Holiday show being centered around celebrating our performance space, which happens to be a former synagogue.  I was excited about asking the former Rabbi back to welcome the audience, having a Cantor as a guest artist, embracing an evening where we “went there” and rekindled some of the eternal flame that once had burned there.  And then collaboration occurred.

 

An Artistic Director is not a monolith.  No man is an island unto himself.  I heard from some Chorus and Board members about concerns they had.  They were concerned about alienating a portion of our audience at Holiday time, an important concert cycle in our season.  There were people who were very concerned about how to market such an event.  Would Christians want to come?  Would people who disavowed all religion want to come?  What would be the hook to get non-Jews excited and through the door?  When you hear concerns from so many people, you have two choices: dig in your heels or work as a team.

 

What I heard more than anything was fear that the concert would feel radically different.  Many people, audience and members alike, look forward to our Holiday concert with feelings of warmth and expectation.  While I was so focused on and excited about welcoming home former congregants and giving the local Jewish community a great Chanukah gift, I lost sight of making sure that I was giving the gift of comfort and welcome to everyone.

 

So now we will have much more of a balance between sacred and secular, between Chanukah and Christmas, between serious and silly.  We will still have a Cantor as guest artist (our concert is in the middle of Chanukah after all!), but we will have no overarching focus on the space or any one organized religion, and no Rabbi to welcome the crowd.  I can honestly say I’m a little sad at the loss of that vision, but I can equally honestly say that I feel great about the collaboration we engaged in as an organization.  It bodes well for us that people felt they could bring their honest concerns to me, and I sincerely hope that they had the experience of being heard.  Good job, everyone!

 

Al Fischer

Artistic Director

Gateway Men’s Chorus

PLANNING AHEAD

We are making a push right now in the Gateway Men’s Chorus to do a good job of looking ahead and marketing further in advance.  Here is a glimpse of what I am currently thinking about for next year!

 

Al Fischer

Artistic Director

Gateway Men’s Chorus

 

December 2012: Holiday

 

We embrace one of our beautiful performance spaces, The 560 (the former Shaare Emeth Synagogue), with a concert honoring the building and the purpose for which it was built.  Partnering with Shaare Emeth we will welcome everyone into their old home.  We will explore spiritual themes, and not forget to have fun along the way!  Pieces will range from a rocking Judah and the Maccabees to All I Want For Christmas is You.  We will also welcome to the stage Cantor Seth Warner, currently of Shaare Emeth Congregation.

 

March 2013: Bad Boys

 

Everyone loves a bad boy, and we will have a stage full of them. We open with Gratuitous Nudity from the musical “Naked Boys Singing”, and close with Let it Go from “The Full Monty”. Along the way we meet the Jets and Sharks in the Quintet from “West Side Story”, and the boisterous bandits from Verdi’s “Ernani”. We visit the Rat Pack in Vegas, and we join Huck and Jim on the Missippi River with Muddy Water from “Big River”. We promise a wild ride and an evening full of surprises.

 

June 2013: It Gets Better!

 

For our pride concert we reach out to young people. We are planning an evening devoted to songs about coming out, dealing with it, and doing well. We also acknowledge that not everyone is so fortunate. Older members can relate to such songs as We Are a Gentle, Angry People and Parade. Younger members can embrace Born This Way by Lady Gaga and the theme song for the It Gets Better Project, which went viral on You Tube. We plan to partner with other local organizations who are doing the work of supporting our youth, encouraging a younger demographic to come together at our concert and know that they are a part of our community. We will help them see that it does get better!

 

Why Have Gay Choruses?

In this age of seeing gay people get married, movies about coming out feeling passé, and soldiers being able to serve openly in the military, is it really still such a big deal to have a gay chorus?  When you can go to Forest Park in June and see same sex couples walking hand in hand everywhere, does it still have an impact to see them singing together on stage?

 

When the Gateway Men’s Chorus was founded 25 years ago, being in a gay chorus was a bold act.  It was risky behavior, allowing the whole audience to assume something very private about you.  There was conflict in the ranks over whether the word “gay” should even be in the name of the group: obviously they chose not to include it.  It was even a risk to come see a concert; I personally know a university professor who never came to a concert, afraid that his peers might learn his secret.

 

Also, 25 years ago the country was in the thick of the AIDS crisis and the Reagan presidency.  Tolerance was barely tolerated.  Gay activism looked angry and scary with people staging demonstrations and ACT UP stirring the cultural pot.  Singing in a gay men’s chorus could feel like one of those demonstrations.  It was unusual, and therefore powerful and attention getting.

 

So why sing today?  

 

The best reason I can think of is our children.  With story after story of our teens being bullied to the point of hopelessness, and ultimately seeking to end their pain in the only way they see possible, there is a desperate need in this country for gay people to be seen as out, proud, supported, loving and healthy.  So many kids can’t look to their families for this kind of support.  We owe it to the world to embody harmony and family, which a chorus is uniquely capable of doing.  For the terrified many who are silent and isolated, who have no role models, who can’t see a way forward, gay people boldly singing (and being loudly applauded!) are a powerful symbol.

 

We have some fun music yet to sing this year as we continue to celebrate our 25^th Anniversary.  Joining us in our final concert this season will be members of Growing American Youth, a group of gay teens who exist to support each other.  Hunter Daniel, a member of G.A.Y., joined us during our Holiday concert and shared something of his story with our audience.  In this age of greater acceptance and leaps forward in equality, there is still a desperate silence that needs to be dispelled.  There is still much singing to be done.

 

Al Fischer

Artistic Director

Gateway Men’s Chorus