Chicago Gay Men's Chorus
| Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | CGMC |
| Origin | Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Genres | Broadway, choral, classical, jazz, popular |
| Occupation(s) | Men's Choir |
| Instruments | 150 voices |
| Years active | 1983-present |
| Website | www.cgmc.org |
| Members |
Artistic Director Jimmy Morehead Executive Director Jennifer Wright |
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.
The Chorus was organized in 1983 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. In 2006, CGMC joined the League of Chicago Theatres; the year also marked CGMC's twenty-fifth performance season. CGMC recently announced its 33rd season of performances. Throughout the history of CGMC, the chorus has been supported, in part, by grants from the Illinois Arts Council and by the Chicago City Arts Program.
CGMC has a regular yearly performance season that consists of a holiday show, and a spring 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.
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