May 6 & 7, 1994
June 6, 1994
Letters to the Future
WCGC
Founded in 1979 by Richard Garrin and Jerry Carlson, Windy City Gay Chorus is recognized as one of the finest volunteer choral ensembles in the country. The chorus has released two recordings: “Don We Now … Holiday Favorites” and “Mostly Love”. There are plans to issue other recordings in the future. For an informative history of the chorus, we invite you to read A Windy City Gay Chorus Retrospective … a special 10-page section of this program.
UNISON
In 1990, the long-range planning committee of Windy City Performing Arts, fueled by the energy of Richard Garrin and Sam Heller, set as its number one priority the formation of a mixed chorus of men and women. In May of 1991, the Board of Directors voted unanimously to establish UNISON: Windy City Lesbian and Gay Singers. Now in its second season, UNISON is developing a style of its own and an enthusiastic audience base in the Chicago community. UNISON made its debut performance at “Don We Now…XIV” in 1992 with Windy City Gay Chorus, under the direction of Richard Garrin, and went on its own in concert with recording artists Cris Williamson and Tret Fure in April 1993. Their performances are now quite the event at Oak Park’s historic Arts Center.
10 page history
Yes… fifteen years proud… and what a wonderful time we’ve had getting here! We are glad to have brought fifteen seasons of fine vocal music to Chicago and the world, and are ready to bring to you, our audience, many, many more.
The Early Years
It began as a dream… a vision … a real adventure. A small group, including our founder Jerry Carlson and founding director Richard Garrin, met in the fall of 1979 to assemble a choral ensemble of gay men and women to make music – good music. Considering the times, this was a risky undertaking-publicity and pictures could leak out. What if people found out who belonged to this chorus? Being gay then, as is the case sometimes even now, could arouse discrimination in many circles. The chorus went on, however, because its members knew that Chicago should be an integral part of the newly born gay choral movement. In our birth that fall, we joined a select group of cities (San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle and New York) that were making fine music with a gay chorus.
After the idea to form the chorus was accepted, the real work began. Getting out the word and recruiting members for a gay and lesbian chorus wasn’t going to be easy. An ad was designed and placed in the gay publications, flyers went out to the bars, and word of mouth invitations were offered asking all interested to attend an organizational meeting. That meeting, held October 9, 1979, in the basement of the Wellington Avenue Church marked the birth of the organization now known as the Windy City Gay Chorus.
Eight weeks later-eight long but at the same time far too short weeks – WCGC was scheduled to perform its first concert, “Don We Now”, at Stages. The rehearsals began with borrowed music, inexperienced musicians and a lot of trial and error. And as the weeks went by, things began to change. Of the original 25 women in the group, only two still remained by half-way through the period, forcing the group to change to music for four-part men’s voices. Although the number of men in the group held constant, many of the original singers were no longer around. New faces appeared almost weekly, making the monumental task of getting ready for the first concert even rougher. Everyone had to learn their music and learn it quickly. Amazingly, the group gelled, impressing the audience gathered that Sunday afternoon in December 1979. The radiance of the crowd and the performance of the chorus that Christmas assured everyone that this Windy City Gay Chorus was alive and here to stay.
During this time, an umbrella arts organization was formed in conjunction with the Chicago Gay Pride Band to help with the administrative side of making music. Toddlin’ Town Performing Arts, Inc. (TTPA) not only supported the artistic side of the organization but made possible its non-profit status. TTPA eventually grew to encompass Artemis Singers, a lesbian vocal ensemble, in June 1980.
Three years after that initial concert, and with the help of its first chairman, Robert Lawler, Windy City Performing Arts (WCPA) was founded as the not-for-profit parent of WCGC alone. (WCPA, which forms the backbone of the current organization, now includes as member organizations Windy City Gay Chorus and its younger sibling, UNISON: Windy City Lesbian and Gay Singers, organized in 1992.)
In this early stage of the gay choral movement, WCGC became one of the first members of GALA – the Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses. GALA, which sponsors choral festivals, leadership conferences and administrative support services, has grown to over 125 member choruses from around the globe. Its combined membership is over five thousand singers, and its total combined annual budget is over four million dollars.
The Mission
Windy City Gay Chorus, as part of Windy City Performing Arts, was founded as: a choral organization whose gay and gay affirmative members join together to perform a varied range of choral repertoire for the purpose of making an artistic and social statement through musical excellence. Established for the education, enjoyment and cultural enrichment of its members and its audience, WCGC seeks to foster gay community spirit and pride to present a positive gay image to the community at large. These words, taken from the chorus’s statement of purpose, laid the groundwork for its varied activities.
For the gay and lesbian community, WCGC has performed its own concerts both in Chicago and in other cities and has appeared at gatherings and benefits like DIFFA’s Heart Strings benefit, Halsted Street Market Days and the annual Gay Pride Parade.
WCGC’s outreach goes far beyond the gay and lesbian community. Performances at colleges and universities (most recently, this spring’s tour to Northern Illinois and Western Illinois Universities), workshops and concerts for American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) festivals and conferences, its appearance as the first openly gay choral group to participate in (and win!) the Johnny Mann Great American Choral Festival, and many other activities have all helped WCGC promote acceptance through quality music in its first fifteen years.
Some of Our Best Times
Since its inception, the chorus has experienced a number of highlights that it will always remember. We would like to share a few of them with you.
VALENTINE’S DAY 1982: AVERY FISHER HALL, LINCOLN CENTER, NY
In the first joint performance of any gay choruses, WCGC joined with the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus for a concert that one reviewer described as “a thorough pleasure in tone, balance, precision and sheer joy of singing” and “positively heroic.” If one concert marked our definitive coming out as a performing ensemble, this one was it-a smash hit in the Big Apple.
JUNE (GAY PRIDE WEEK) 1985: ORCHESTRA HALL, CHICAGO
As the opening of Gay Pride Week, this concert was the first of many for WCGC at renowned Orchestra Hall. Labeled the “musical embodiment of our gay pride,” WCGC saw this concert as its debut for the city’s larger arts community-both gay and straight.
FALL AND WINTER 1991 “Don We Now” HOLIDAY FAVORITES CD RELEASE
Our first recorded compact disc, “Don We Now”, represents our future of putting music in the hands (and hearts) of all music lovers, not just those able to attend our concerts. This release by WCGC was lauded by critics as “an impressive debut” with a “highly polished sound” The chorus has sold many copies through mail order, catalog sales and retail establishments.
APRIL 24-25, 1993 MARCH ON WASHINGTON, WASHINGTON, D.C.
WCGC received an invitation from the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington to be one of only a handful of choruses to perform during a weekend involving nearly one million marchers. Highlighted by performances with the Washington and San Francisco choruses and a beautiful performance at the National Cathedral, the weekend also afforded WCGC live televised coverage on CNN and on NBC’s Sunday Today of its mainstage performance.
The Music, The Performers
In its fifteen years, Windy City Gay Chorus has performed forty-four scheduled concerts in Chicago (including tonight’s performance), encompassing over six hundred pieces of music. In addition, fifteen Chicago/Midwest premieres, including Three Pieces After Tennyson (1989) and tonight’s premiere performance of its commissioned Letters to the Future, crown the musical work of the ensemble.
Along with the works it has premiered, WCGC has introduced its audiences to a wide range of guest artists of varied musical styles. Joint concerts with gay choruses from Minneapolis/St. Paul, Denver, New York, and Cincinnati’s MUSE have shown the versatility of gay choral music and has provided a powerful punch, both visual and aural, for listeners. Performances with community groups like the Pumps and the Chicago Children’s Choir, recording artists such as Diane Schuur, and the landmark joint concert (Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off with fellow Chicagoans the Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus, have shown the Windy City that WCGC can successfully sing the gamut from traditional choral works to jazz, pop, and even camp-sometimes all in one concert. These performances also showcased our talents in the mainstream press; reviews in both the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times first appeared after concerts in 1991.
WCGC also has spawned smaller ensembles from within its ranks to focus on specific musical genres. The close-harmonizing (and who could forget tap-dancing) Windy City Slickers, the Windy City Chamber Choir and the Kindred Singers all made their debuts during WCGC performances over the last fifteen years. They wowed audiences with different musical styles and provided outreach for smaller events within and outside the community.
A history of Windy City’s performances would not be complete without noting some of our “road trips.” From our very first visit (New York City in 1982), we have felt the importance of outreach to the entire gay choral movement. Joint concerts with other GALA choruses in their hometowns have not only boosted attendance for them but have also made possible lifelong friendships with others who share our dedication to musical excellence – not to mention great after-concert parties.
Trips to Minneapolis/ St. Paul (1984), Denver (1987), Washington, D.C. (1988 and 1993), San Francisco (1989) and Detroit (1990), as well as participation in GALA choral festivals in Minneapolis (1986), Seattle (1989) and Denver (1992), have made a name for the Windy City Gay Chorus within the GALA choral network and has provided the participants with life-changing experiences. Also, performances at regional ACDA festivals and conferences have helped mainstream the ‘G’ word within the choral establishment.
In addition to vocal excellence, costuming has become an integral part of our organization. From the white shirts with red satin string ties worn for that first “Don We Now”, to coaches’ shirts in light blue and polo shirts in red, blue, yellow, green and orange (our “M & M” look), our early fashions were casual and fun. We even made some outfits ourselves (the grey wool vests for “Don We Now II”) and experimented with a sea of flag-like blue, white and red rugby shirts for another performance.
It was after accepting the invitation to Avery Fisher Hall in New York, however, that we realized that a more formal look was a must. We had to look sharp for this, our first concert in such an important venue. Raising funds to help offset the cost of purchasing tuxedos became a priority in the fall of 1981. Several benefits, bake sales and fundraising events later, we finally got our tuxedos, and the formal wear and singing knocked ’em dead in New York.
Today’s Windy City look mixes our adopted colors of purple and white for casual wear with sweatshirts, tee-shirts, and even brightly colored polos in these colors in plain view on WCGC’s Gay Pride float and at other less formal performances. The black tuxedos, our trademark look for formal concerts since New York, now are brightened with our signature pocket squares and floral boutonnieres. A range of colors-from formal white (ties and pocket squares) to candy canes at Christmas to red AIDS ribbons-have adorned our tuxedos in performance.
Recognition
Windy City Gay Chorus has been lauded in proclamations from the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul and the Illinois House of Representatives, and is well recognized by the Mayor’s Office of the City of Chicago. Mayors Harold Washington and Richard M. Daley have bestowed a number of declarations on the chorus, including the dedication of Windy City Gay Chorus Day in June of every year. In fact, WCGC holds the distinction of being the first gay cultural organization in Chicago to receive a mayoral proclamation (1984). Our link with the Office of the Mayor has continued to flourish. We were invited to perform at the City Hall Christmas party in 1990 and at the mayoral inauguration ceremony in May of 1991. WCGC’s 1984 championship performance at the Johnny Mann Great American Choral Festival proved that the chorus’s hard work and dedication to musical perfection could pay off. This win also signaled to the choral establishment that this bunch of guys could really sing well – well enough to make you not care about the ‘G’ word (which Johnny Mann himself actually pronounced as he named us the winners).
This recognition and musical expertise, along with the hard work and determination of the WCPA board of directors, has resulted in grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council, the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, the Woods Charitable Fund, CHORUS AMERICA, and many, many more. In addition to organizational grants at the federal, state, and city level, WCGC’s members have garnered awards and recognition for musical excellence. Ranging from music scholarships and fellowships to solo performances and roles in stage productions, these awards honor all WCGC members, past and present, who have furthered the musical movement through their art. In particular, the election of our founding director Richard Garrin to Chicago’s Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame was a proud event for all of us. Congratulations, Richard!
In Closing
Finally, we would like to address the impact of AIDS on the chorus and its membership. Many fine singing and support members of our organization have been lost to this plague-and we miss each and every one of them every day. To honor them and all those whom our community has lost to this disease, WCGC has been an active participant, in both singing and non-singing capacities, in benefits like Heart Strings and Not Just Song and Dance and has also participated in community events such as the AIDS Walk and the recent Dining Out. We sincerely hope that through our participation we not only help raise money for research but also raise the level of awareness and compassion for those with HIV / AIDS.
It is to the memory of those we have lost that we dedicate this, our fifteenth anniversary performance: John Dale Auten, Chuck Barthell, Alan Boyd, Rick Buck, Rick Carbonaro, Jerry Carlson, Dale Carter, Jerry Cohen, Jerry Crawford, Jim Delacerda, Craig Denny, Dale Ebert, Tom Foale, Christopher Graves, Evelyn Hampton, Will Henderson, William Herzog, Tim Hodgen, Duane Hoevet, Michael Howerter, Grant Jennings, Jeff Kowalczyk, Bob Krause, Bill Kuehn, Gary LaFontaine, William McElwain, Michael Mullen, Jim Murnan, Rick Oechsle, Jack Roerman, Ron Sable, Dean Schroeder, Bobby Shelton, Chuck Shue, Alan Snopek, Bob Stark, Stuart Telfer, Keith Thompson, Rick Twiss, Chris Urbanik and Paul Werner.
We hope that someday we won’t have to lose any more dear friends to AIDS.
It has been an exciting and exhausting fifteen years. Without your support and enthusiasm, we could not have existed, let alone reached the heights that we have. We hope this brief retrospective has offered some insight into what we have done and what we have yet to achieve. With your help, the coming years can only build on this foundation and surpass all expectations.
Click here to view the full concert program!
We Shall Be Free
History – UNISON
On October 9, 1979, a group of 25 or so women and 40 or so men gathered in the basement of Wellington Avenue Church, where a new mixed chorus was to form of gay men and lesbian women. It had no name yet. It only had its organizer Jerry Carlson, its director Richard Garrin, and its accompanist, Phil Stewart. We started to sing. It was a great day in the history of the Chicago gay and lesbian community. As the weeks went on, personnel declined, and we ended up with 38 men and 4 women. A decision had to be made quickly. So, in a few short weeks, the chorus changed to male choral music. The result was the now 15 year old Windy City Gay Chorus. The dream of women and men singing together was never forgotten by Richard Garrin. In 1990, the Long Range Planning Committee of Windy City Performing Arts set as its number one priority to develop a chorus of men and women. In the fall of 1992 auditions were held, and 41 singers were chosen as charter members of Unison: Windy City Lesbian & Gay Singers.
Now in its second season, UNISON is a group of women and men who sing together, whose musical purpose is one that will eventually challenge the traditional expectations that people have of choral music. The “Singers” made their debut at “Don We Now XIV” in 1992, and sang their inaugural concert in April with recording artists Cris Williamson and Tret Fure as guests.
Unison is yet another example of gay men and lesbians coming together to make our community in Chicago stronger and more visible and to lend credibility to the motto “the city that works”. If you are a soprano, alto, tenor or bass, consider joining Unison for its third season.
Windy City Performing Arts 