The Greenville Gay Men’s Chorus, along with Columbia’s Midlands Men’s Chorus, will present “Songs for Survival” on Friday, June 2 at First Baptist Church, Greenville. The free 7:00 p.m. performance will be highlighted by the major work “When We No Longer Touch: A Cycle of Songs for Survival” by Kristopher Jon Anthony.  The upcoming Greenville Gay Men’s Chorus performance will also include musical settings of poetry by Maya Angelou as well as works by South Carolina composers.

Hailed as “a transformative work of raw beauty,” “When We No Longer Touch” is based on poems by Peter McWilliams, centered around the stages of grief that come from the loss of a loved one. The work was written in remembrance of those who died of AIDS and to benefit AmFar, the American Foundation for AIDS Research.

Anthony wrote the piece over 30 years ago when he was part of Turtle Creek Chorale, a Dallas-based gay men’s chorus. At that time, the chorus was losing members to AIDS every month, so he created the heart-felt Requiem with all the musical elements of a traditional mass, including an orchestra and vocal soloists. Sadly, Anthony never heard the work performed; he died of AIDS himself the day before its premiere.