entertainment

Members of the Chorus. Photo Sheffick

To

BY T.G.B.

he San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus at Ford Auditorium brought Detroit audiences exactly what they were expecting: fine artistry and 144 personable stout-hearted men. In fact, the only disappointment of the evening had nothing to do with the chorus. It had to do with a poor turnout. Less. than half of the Hall was filled and Ford Auditorium isn't very large. If the Detroit gay community expects to be treated with respect and taken seriously as a force who will support their own cultural events, then the time is now for doing so. Numbers are important.

Those who were present were wildly enthusiastic over the singers and their repertoire. The acclaim was very emotional and

precipitated a number of encores. Yet, the evening's finale was merely the icing on the cake. A confection rich in texture as well as taste. The first part of the program was devoted to classicial music by composers as diverse as Schubert is from Copland. The Schubert selection is called "Night Song in the

San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus

Forest" with a text by Johann Seidl and the singers conveyed the pastoral delicacy of the lyrics with no apparent effort. It is fair to say that they did the same for the rest of the bill, although, there were a wide range of styles.

The concert began with "Behold Man," written in 1961 by the American composer Ron Nelson. It is a brief work, intricate and powerful, celebrating humanity. How fitting that the chorus chose to conclude the first half of the concert with "Simple Gifts" by another American, Aaron Copland. "Behold Man" may be conceptually dif ferent from "Simple Gifts," but still the message is the same.

Briefly, during the first part of the program, most of the chorus members departed the stage allow. ing for a small group within the ranks, known as the Chamber Singers, to do their thing. Beginn ing with "Fire, Fire My Heart" by Thomas Morley we were priviledaed to hear talented soloists from the chorus delight the ear with a humorous madrigal. This they followed with a folk song known as "Movin' On" by Raymond Hannislan.

In an undertaking where a musical group is spotlighted, the accompanying musicians often get overlooked. Therefore, when the chorus reassembled to close part one of the concert, they were ably abetted by the Bay Area Women's Brass Quartet for "Wisdom Is Beautiful" by Wallingford Riegger and "Bucciante (Sound the Trumpet)" by Giovanni Gabrieli. By the way, why weren't more women attending the concert? Could one call it reverse discrimination?

Intermission was followed by a number of selections lighter in tone and possibly easier to criticize. Let's gloss over "All That Jazz" by John Kander and "Ritz/Rhythm" by Irving Berlin, Roger Kahn, and Joshy Meyer because they are better suited to cabaret than to concert hall and get to the highlight of the evening's entertainment.

"We Kiss In A Shadow" from "the King and I" by Rodgers and

Hammerstein, is usually performed as a lead-in song to the more famous "I Have Dreamed". Here, the chorus stayed with the former number and in doing so brought an awareness to the audience of the import of this very special tour. How often in the past can one recall an openly gay group perfor. ming nationwide? How many enter. tainers on the road (or at a specific engagement) use their homosexuality as a drawing card? Or to be more precise, as a gesture of pride? Let's hope that this group is not an exception and that other talented people will benefit by what clearly can be looked upon as an example of achievement triumphing over public opinion and prejudice. And while on the subject of talent, bass, Tad Dunlap of the chorus, is responsible for composing the selection, "I Understood" with words by Harvey Milk. Milk, it should be remembered, was the San Francisco mayoral assistant, who was shot and killed while still in office by an ex-policeman.

The work is positive and elegant in it's simplicity and a worthy addition to the concert. Conductor.

Dick Kramer, brought the written. portion of the concert to a close with "I Shall Not Die Without A Hope" by Randall Thompson. The text, written by Thomas Jefferson in 1821 hasn't lost any of its relevancy over these many years. The title of the complete cantata is The Trestament of Freedom" and it applies to the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus all too well.

Following the concert was an afterglow sponsored by the Detroit Area Lesbian-Gay Council held in the Ponchartrain Hotel ballroom. Jeremy Zeltzer was a major force in getting this party organized and underway. This was the perfect opportunity for many from the audience to mingle with the singers. who had the good sense to wear name tags. Maybe, there was one person at the afterglow who felt inspired to want to join the chorus. Is it possible that they audition and accept people other than San Francisco residents to grow an develop as singers under their leadership? But then, they'd have to change their name to The United States Gay Men's Chorus. Bravo!

The Afterglow for the Chorus at the Pontchartrain, set up by Detroit's Lesbian and Gay Council was a huge success! Photo Sheffick

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San Francisco Gay Mens Chorus at the Ford Auditorium June 11th. Photo Sheffick METRA MAGAZINE 12