STRENGTHENING CONNECTION AND PURPOSE AT THE NEW YORK CITY GAY MEN’S CHORUS

From 2007 to 2019, I was lucky enough to be the full-time conductor of New York City Gay Men’s Chorus. During my 12 years there, we reimagined and rebuilt NYCGMC into the world-class, world-renowned New York institution it should be. Here is what I took away.

So many choirs feel in decline because they need a new sense of why they sing. In 2007, NYCGMC needed to renew.

So we did an extensive consultation of our singers, audience and the surrounding community ecosystem. We discovered what the group meant to a new generation. Then we rebuild our message, our advocacy, our community and our sense of belonging. In the process, our singing transformed too.

At NYCGMC, the singing itself - our programming, repertoire, vocal sound and rhythmic approach - did not follow dogma. Instead, it was stylistically open. It emerged organically from who we were, and where we wanted to have impact.

Of course, it was essential that our performing was attractive and entertaining. But we sang only to connect and change lives. Our musical story-telling had to be authentic, contemporary, relevant, accessible and fun, to the LGBTQ+ community and the many allies who surrounded us in that amazing city.

There are takeaways for us all here. In these divided times especially, singing can have so much impact - on social cohesion and belonging, on mental health and wellbeing, on individual self-confidence, and on the singers themselves.

Seen this way, the role of the musical leader is to a community leader too. Passionate but always flexible, they should align the practices of the art to what the community needs.