As a long time manager and consultant in the lgbt choral movement, one of the the questions I hear most often is some variation on “what’s our relevance.” It’s a great question, but one (at least with my U.S.-centric hat on) that we often mis-diagnose.
We are living through times of great change for lgbt people and the march of marriage equality gives us a new degree of optimism. But attend one concert block at a GALA Festival and you can see that we sing in very different environments at home. We are big blue cities, rural red regions, and every shade of purple in between. What’s passe in one place is cutting-edge in another. We are not all in the same place, but wherever we are, the experience of singing as an lgbt person (or an ally) is changing.
The gay pundit and blogger Andrew Sullivan has talked about a “post-gay” America, one that he views as “an inexorable evolution toward the end of a distinctive gay culture.” While Sullivan is hardly the last word on gay culture (or anything, in my book), it’s true that there are political, geographic, and social trends that are leading to a less homogeneous gay experience. What does this mean for our choruses?
When I’ve heard us talk to each other about the history of the lgbt choral movement, it often goes like this: “the first 10 years were about gay pride, the second 10 years were about HIV/AIDS, and the most recent 10 years were…” and then the conversation breaks down. What exactly have the past 10 years been about? The next 10? Is that just the gay men? What about the women’s and mixed voice choruses?
Ah, yes. Relevance. Many of us are activist-minded people. Finding relevance in the change we create and the community needs we address has been the way many of our choruses define success (and don’t get me wrong – this is a wonderful legacy). However, if we are facing a “post-gay” or at any rate a “less-clearly-definable-gay” future, our organizations may need to also look for relevance in ways that are less about reacting to the external political environment and more about setting the agenda for ourselves and our audiences. The audience consultant Matt Lehrman defines “relevance as “the measure of connection between the offerings of your organization and the expectations of your audience.” It’s my belief that if we are not taking our audiences on a journey that expands their expectations, then we are not being fully successful.
One historical example to think about is the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. The Ailey Company’s artistic roots are intrinsically linked to the civil rights movement of the 50s and 60s and Ailey’s dances were a cutting edge vehicle to relate the black experience to audiences and to serve as visible icons of African-American achievement. The company’s evolution since the 60s provides a model for being true to the voice, history and needs of a culture while at the same time creating a unique artistic vision that transcends identity.
Certainly for the foreseeable future, being gay-identified organizations will remain relevant. The “why” in “why we sing” is not going to disappear, just as racism and sexism have not disappeared from earlier civil rights movements. But our lgbt identity will not be the only piece of the puzzle we need to talk about with each other in order to become or remain successful arts organizations in our communities.
-Steven Smith is vice president of the GALA Choruses Board of Directors and former Executive Director of the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus. He is currently Executive Director of Revels, a Boston-based arts organization.
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