Photo credit: Bim Florek
Our Voice Milwaukee will perform “Searching for the Light” at Plymouth Church (2717 E. Hampshire St.) Dec. 14-15, 2019.
Milwaukee’s LGBTQ choral scene represents a relatively brief but integral part of the city’s cultural history. While women’s and men’s choruses have evolved through various iterations and their membership has expanded and contracted over the years, they remain a Milwaukee musical asset.
Established in 1985, Fest City Singers (originally Festival City Gay Chorus) made its mark in the same year at the Gay Softball World Series when it performed the U.S. and Canadian national anthems accompanied by a Steinway grand piano on Mitchell Park’s baseball diamond pitcher’s mound. Its dozen-year-long run lasted until 1997 and featured concerts, caroling at bars and participation at AIDS victims’ funerals, as well as in World AIDS Day concerts.
Due to artistic difference within Fest City Singers, some members broke away in 1987 and created Cream City Chorus. Like Fest City Singers, it performed at a diverse range of venues and events. It would disband in 2012.
A new chorus, Men’s Voices Milwaukee, formed in 2001. Five years later, Women’s Voices Milwaukee made its debut concert alongside their male counterparts. The group recently performed its seasonal concert, “Winds of Change: Songs of Reflection, Renewal & Rebirth,” at Tied House’s upper room. Ironically, that venue was once the M&M Club, which was, until 2006, the hub of local LGBTQ life and scene of various musical events.
City of Festivals Men’s Chorus followed in 2011. In deference to the times, the men’s chorus has a more diverse membership today, its ranks including people of varied gender identity. The only demand it makes for members is to sing in the tenor, baritone and bass ranges. In light of that, the group has just changed its name to Our Voice Milwaukee—Chorus for Gay Men and Allies.
Our Voice Milwaukee (OVM) recently gave its inaugural public performance, a dress rehearsal for its upcoming concert, “Searching for the Light,” at Apostles Presbyterian Church in West Allis. Hosted by Milwaukee GAMMA, it was the first LGBTQ event to take place at that venue. I was among the fortunate attendees who heard the OVM concert. Unlike past programs when holiday standards comprised the repertoire, OVM artistic director Patrick Dill has selected a range of contemplative songs befitting the concert’s theme of darkness giving way to light. The selections fittingly present more traditional seasonal sentiments and offer relief from the incessant aural bombardment of “Jingle Bells” and “Santa Baby” one otherwise endures.
A stand-out of the concert’s first half is the wonderful, anthem-like setting of Robert Frost’s poem, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Randall Thompson. An exquisitely eloquent interpretation of Frost’s contemplative verse set on solstice night, experiencing this piece alone is worth the price of a ticket. In keeping with Our Voice’s broader celebration of light, the second half opens with the Hebrew song, “Ani Ma’amin.” In all, the program features a dozen songs that take the listener through a culturally all-encompassing holiday celebration.
For a respite from the commercial mayhem of the season and for a moment’s reflection, I highly recommend it.
Concerts take place Dec. 14-15 at Plymouth Church UCC, 2717 E. Hampshire St. Tickets are available through ourvoicemke.org.
