14 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE DECEMBER 24, 1993

ENTERTAINMENT

Holiday concert debuts new Chorus director

by Kevin Beaney

The North Coast Men's Chorus opened its sixth season on December 11 with the now-traditional holiday concert, this year called "Welcome to the Holidays," and it was a resounding success. The evening was also the public debut of the Chorus' new music director, Timothy Robson, putting his spin on the group's evolution. Robson, familiar to Chronicle readers for his book reviews, replaced original music director Robert Bellisario, who left the Chorus last spring after five seasons.

This year's Chorus includes both familiar and fresh faces and is slimmer than last

year's 35 singers were on the risers. The sound was wonderfully blended with no overbearing sections. The musical selections ranged from obscure to sing-along familiar with several songs from the repertoires of the New York City Gay Men's Chorus and the gay a cappella quartet The Flirtations. Robson had confided earlier that for this inaugural concert his goal was to get the members comfortable with his style and to offer hints of future material and direction. Now, with the first performance under its belt, the group can begin to relax and experiment.

All Chorus members that I spoke with were delighted that Robson was leading

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them now, while still offering respect for Bellisario. Overall, the holiday concert was an aural delight and presented some refreshing changes, all reflecting Robson's influence. It was held at the Euclid Avenue Congregational Church of the United Church of Christ (next to the Cleveland Clinic) where Robson has been director of music and principal organist for the past several years. The lofty angled wood rafters in the intimate church allowed for the men's sound to carry easily and to resonate, even overcoming the muffling tendency of heavy winter coats in the audience. The second set opened with a modern instrumental duet, "Berceuse" by Philippe Gaubert, featuring Shawn Marsh on flute and Robson at the church organ. The concert was also welltimed, starting at the "gay standard" ten minutes late, offering one intermission, and ending in less than two hours. The inevitable encore was sung to the melody of "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" and offered an encouraging message to the listeners: "When I Come Out on Christmas Day." The thunderous applause at the concert's close was proof of its success.

Difficulties that I noted were minor. One of the parody songs, "Tomorrow Shall Be My Shopping Day," was filled with campy gay lyrics that were largely lost on the audience since it was sung quickly and the words were not enunciated clearly enough to appreciate. William Martin Jean, fresh from his performance in the Working Theatre's production of Love's Tangled Web, was guest narrator during this selection. The amount of "new" material was perhaps excessive. The entire first act presented works or arrangements unfamiliar to the audience. Frequently more than five sec-

onds (an eternity to me and, I'm sure, the singers) would pass between the time the song ended and tentative applause would start. For some of the slow a cappella songs this worked to advantage-it was pleasant and spiritual to hear the rich choral sounds reverberate and slowly fade away in the hall as the audience remained rapt.

The concert offered its share of lavendertinted songs, though fewer than in last year's performances. Two selections were dedicated in memory of two Chorus members who had recently died. The Coastliners, the eight-man touring subset of the Chorus, performed several Flirtations songs, and handled them superbly. The Flirtations themselves are scheduled to perform with the Chorus at its June program. For the April 9 concert, the Chorus is hosting the 80-member men's chorus from Pittsburgh, the Renaissance City Choir. Strong and confident, the Chorus has moved into its new era with gay pride and gusto.

Another first for the group was when they performed some of their holiday concert selections the next afternoon inside Tower City. For hundreds of holiday shoppers and children pausing for part or all of the half-hour program on Sunday, the singers were an impressive sight and received enthusiastic applause after each song. Playing it safe, they only performed the “nongay" songs, with the exception of the campy tale of health cuisine faux pas, "Christmas Brunch," to the melody of "Away in a Manger," but never fear-the words got lost in the cavernous atrium. Next year, perhaps, the shoppers will learn that these are more than just nice looking male singers in tuxedos.

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