Our Voice Milwaukee - Burning Brightly banner
Our Voice Milwaukee’s 80-member chorus under the direction of director David Hein presents its annual holiday concert on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 14 and 15 at United Methodist Church of Whitefish Bay. The LGBTQ vocal ensemble represents the community’s long history of making music.
When I last wrote about OVM in May 2022, it was to announce the group’s first post-pandemic concert. At the time, their contingent of singers numbered barely a baker’s dozen. I spoke with the group’s then-president Carl Wagner and with long term supported and member, Mark Roeker, for some insights into the organization and its history. I reached out again to speak with Roeker who first joined the chorus as a founding member 14 years ago in 2010. Back then the chorus was known as City of Festivals Men’s Chorus. The name, however, never quite resonated. Musing on his role in the name change, Roeker said, “Today, Our Voice Milwaukee says it all.”
Roeker mentioned that OVM recently had performed for the Courage Milwaukee fundraising gala event with 600 in attendance, singing “You Will be Found” from the musical, Dear Evan Hansen. They also performed for a Coming Day Event at St. John’s on the Lake, “Michael’s Letter to Momma”, a song from Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City. The latter Roeker described as “a highly emotional piece,” rhetorically asking “can you imagine 80 voices singing without it being impactful?”
Need for Community
I asked about the growth of OVM’s membership in just two years. “The explosion of membership since the pandemic reflect a need for community”, Roeker said. “We spent our lives alone when the corona virus happened and it emphasized the fact that a lot of us were alone.”
Roeker had been a member off and on over the years. When asked why he decided to return to OVM, he replied, “I thought it was time because our rights are once again being challenged and we all need to band together to fight for our rights. The fastest way to someone’s heart is through music. If music has the right stories we can change lives. I’m one of ten children and there are times in a family’s life cycle where you have to stand up for someone else.” Reflecting a moment he added, “My family and I have always stood up for the underdog. We care about those who don’t have someone to stand up for them.”
Entitled “Brightly Burning,” the Our Voice concert program ranges from traditional to contemporary. Roeker named a number of the songs in the concert’s program, including “In the Bleak Midwinter,” “Hard Candy Christmas” (a Dolly Parton tune from Best Little Whorehouse in Texas), a version of “Silent Night” by Dan Forest, “Blow Blow Thou Winter Wind,” Cindy Lauper’s “True Colors” and the classic English carol “A-Wassialing.”
Positive Repertoire
“What I like most about the repertoire is its positivity”, Roeker said. “From song to song, it’s feel-good choral music of the season without too much traditional fare. It is the introspective, what we need right now. With 80 members singing, it changes everything. It’s not a typical chorus.”
As for the four score of chorus members, Roeker described their diversity, “It’s mix of male, female, transgender and everyone else who just wants to sing. I’m 60, I’m much older than the average member who is under 40, some as young as early twenties. There are also some 75 and over. All are very talented. Six are choral directors themselves.”
We need this right now.
Performances take place Saturday, Dec. 14, 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 15, 3 p.m. at the United Methodist Church of Whitefish Bay, 819 E. Silver Spring Drive, Whitefish Bay.
Tickets are available online at ourvoicesmilwaukee.com/events.
