June 22, 1985
History
The Windy City Gay Chorus was founded in 1979 to pursue musical excellence and to exemplify our community’s rich diversity. Founded by its director, Richard Garrin, and Jerry Carlson (now director of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles), the WCGC is eighty voices strong and in its sixth season of sharing music with Chicago and the Midwest. It is one of thirty-eight choruses around the country forming the Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses, an organization that grew out of the first conference of directors and managers of gay choruses held in Chicago in 1981.
In the spring of 1984, the Windy City Gay Chorus was awarded first place in the national competition of the Great American Choral Festival sponsored by Johnny Mann. To reach the national competition, the WCGC received first place in the regional competition of the festival, one of eleven such competitions held across the country. Last October, the WCGC was one of only seven choruses honored by an invitation to sing at the Illinois state convention of the American Choral Directors’ Association, and next spring WCGC has also been invited by the ACDA to sing at the organization’s regional convention in Indianapolis.
Touring performances have taken the WCGC to Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Columbus, Peoria, and New York’s Lincoln Center, where the chorus performed at Avery Fisher Hall with the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus. Most recently, the WCGC joined the Twin Cities Men’s Chorus on stage at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, where the mayors of St. Paul and Minneapolis issued a proclamation to the chorus in support of its music and ambassadorship.
Last May the Windy City Gay Chorus received a proclamation from Chicago’s Mayor Harold Washington hailing the group as “a unique asset to the cultural life of the city and a source of pride to its citizens, who are devoted to excellence in the performing arts.” Similarly, in June, 1984, the Illinois House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution commending both the chorus and Mr. Garrin, “their distinguished director, as a measure of our esteem and appreciation.”
Each year the chorus presents three major concerts: in December, in the spring, and during Gay Pride Week. Other performances by the chorus include a more intimate program in the fall, called ‘The Chorus and their Friends,’ with Chicago singers and instrumentalists performing as a benefit for the WCGC. The WCGCs offerings to the community include their annual free Christmas night program, concerts at Park West for “Chicago Sings Against A.I.D.S. ,” and fund-raisers for the Howard Brown Clinic. Many members also share their time during the holidays caroling at hospitals and nursing homes.
Membership in the Windy City Gay Chorus is gained by a short audition, and members re-audition each season to demonstrate individual musical growth. Although some of the members of the chorus hold degrees in music or professional singing positions with other groups in the city, almost all are volunteer singers dedicated to the time and effort it takes to produce musical excellence. The WCGC is the oldest of three gay choruses in Chicago, the Artemis Singers and the Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus being the other two.
The WCGC is incorporated under Illinois charter as Windy City Performing Arts, Inc., and is funded through private donations, its members, and in part by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. If you wish to know more about our organization, receive our mailings, inquire about auditions, or donate your time in a non-singing capacity, please call or write us at: Windy City Performing Arts, Inc., 606 West Barry, #216, Chicago, Illinois 60657; 227-3853.
Windy City Performing Arts 