On Sunday, April 6, 2014, the new Fargo-Moorhead Gay Men’s Chorus had their first public concert. Welcome to the Show! was billed as this young group’s “coming out” concert. The new chorus performed a few songs on their own before welcoming their guests Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus to the stage. Both choruses performed together for the remainder of the first act. For the second act, TCGMC performed the new work “I Am Harvey Milk.” The concert was performed in the beautiful and historic Fargo Theatre.
TCGMC had just performed “I Am Harvey Milk” as part of their spring concert the weekend before the Fargo trip. During the concert, I made a stage announcement to our audience, telling them our chorus membership was holding a “baby shower” in the lobby for the new Fargo-Moorhead chorus. Most times when I walk on stage I am thanking them for their support of my chorus – but this time, would they consider supporting our brothers in Fargo?
Fast forward one week, to the concert in Fargo. We made a stage presentation to the Fargo-Moorhead chorus and their audience, presenting a check from the friends, family and members of TCGMC in the amount of $5,600. (I have always said we have the best audience in the Twin Cities. Once again, they proved me right.)
Welcome to the Show! was also billed as a fundraiser; instead of purchasing tickets, audience members were asked to make a donation to support the Chorus. The Chorus had also set up a silent auction in the lobby of the theatre. Local media was on hand, interviewing members of the choruses and capturing video of the performance.
The concert was a success, raising a total of close to $9,000 (at the time of this writing) and introducing the new Fargo-Moorhead Gay Men’s Chorus to one of the largest audiences ever seen at the Fargo Theatre. It was a successful outreach performance for TCGMC, allowing them to visit and perform in Fargo for the first time. It also gave TCGMC a chance to get their brothers in Fargo-Moorhead off to a good start. And given the size of the audience and the enthusiasm of the local crowd for their new chorus, FMGMC is indeed off to a good start!
But how did it happen?
In November of 2013, internet news sites had picked up a story coming out of Fargo: a new gay men’s chorus had been formed up there. The story gained a lot of traction, finally ending up in many Facebook posts, including one on the TCGMC’s private group page. Under the posting, one of TCGMC’s members wrote a simple question: “How do we support them?”
TCGMC’s Artistic Director Dr. Ben Riggs had already been in contact with FMGMC’s Artistic Director Jon Landre for a couple of months, advising Jon on the process of starting up a new chorus. But what could we do collectively to support a new chorus – especially so early in its formation? The answer was simple: help them raise funds and get money in the bank.
By early January, the plan was in place. TCGMC would rent a couple of coach buses and make the four hour trip to Fargo to rehearse with the new chorus and put on a concert. TCGMC would use outreach funds to pay for the buses while the singing members would take time out of their own schedules and pay for their own accommodations. FMGMC would work on securing a performance venue, preferably one they could continue to perform in for the future and handle advertising and marketing the show. They would also organize a dinner event for both choruses. TCGMC agreed to provide a small amount of money to help with printing posters for the concert.
TCGMC left on the morning of Saturday, April 5, arriving in Fargo for an afternoon rehearsal with the Fargo chorus. That evening, the two groups had dinner together, followed by a karaoke party. The following morning, both choruses met at the Fargo Theatre for warm ups and a successful concert.
“You guys were outstanding,” a Fargo-Moorhead chorus fan in Fargo wrote on TCGMC’s Facebook page. “Thank you so much for your generosity and support of our boys here in Fargo-Moorhead. It meant a great deal to our community to have you here alongside our guys.”
It all started with a question. “How do we support them?” I can think of no better way to illustrate the values of GALA Choruses and the Chorus that I am proud to be a part of.
Jeff traveled with the Chorus for their entire historic “Great Southern Sing Out Tour” in the summer of 2006, as part of the Chorus’s 25th anniversary season. After seeing the positive impact that the Chorus made on the audiences in the cities they visited in the deep South, Jeff decided that he needed to have a more active role in this organization. He started as a volunteer and then moved in to a board position in 2007. A native of the Twin Cities, Jeff is a graduate of Macalester College. He resides in the North Loop district of downtown Minneapolis.
- It Started with a Question - April 18, 2014
