December 2, 2010
By: Joe Siegel/TRT Reporter
The Boston Gay Men’s Chorus will be spreading some holiday cheer next month with a series of concerts titled “Joy!”
Under the direction of Reuben Reynolds, the performances will be held on Sunday, Dec. 12 at 2:00 pm, Friday, Dec. 17 at 8:00 pm, Saturday, Dec. 18 at 8:00 pm, and Monday, Dec. 20 at 8:00 pm. All concerts are held at New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall and these concerts will be recorded for future CD release.
Now in its 29th season, the 150 member Chorus has won acclaim for its outstanding musicianship, creative programming and community outreach. Regularly listed on the Boston Business Journal’s Top 25 list of Boston’s largest performing arts organizations, the Chorus performs for more than 10,000 people annually. The BGMC has appeared throughout New England and coast to coast and has 10 CDs in its growing discography.
“Our mission is to create a more tolerant society through the power of music,” said Steven Smith, Executive Director of the BGMC.
Smith said the holiday concerts will reach 4000 people in Boston and in Provincetown. The audiences for the holiday shows typically attract an equal mix of gays and straights.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to provide a gay presence to the holidays and bring GLBT and straight people together,” Smith noted.
The shows will feature more than a dozen traditional carols and songs arranged for chorus and brass. The Majestic Brass will be special guests. Gwyneth Walker’s Rejoice features What Child is This and Good Christian Friends Rejoice. Jackson Berkey, co-founder of Mannheim Steamroller, has arranged O Come, All Ye Faithful, Still, Still Night, and Joy to the World.
The BGMC’s accompanist and resident arranger Chad Weirick has provided a new arrangement for Pictures of a Season, a resounding panorama of Christmas tunes inspired by Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Audiences will enjoy Weirick’s eclectic take on Deck the Halls, Children Go Where I Send Thee, Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day, Carol of the Bells, and Do You Hear What I Hear.
The BGMC will go all out for a rendition of Eric Lane Barnes’s Christmas Cheer, complete with pom poms, pleated skirts and a routine even GLEE’s Sue Sylvester wouldn’t choreograph. The program also features acclaimed choral composer Eric Whitacre’s Lux Aurumque and cabaret songwriter John Bucchino’s Grateful. Rounding out the selections are Craig Carnahan’s Welcome Yule and music for Hanukkah including L’Dor Vador and Shalom Santa.
Tickets for Joy! are $46, $36, $26, and $16 and are now on sale by phone by calling 617-542-SING. All tickets can also be purchased securely on the web at www.bgmc.org. There are no service charges, but New England Conservatory adds a $2 restoration fee to all tickets. Tickets are also available in person at the Jordan Hall Box Office, 30 Gainsborough Street, Boston. All performances are sign language interpreted and wheelchair accessible. More information is available at www.bgmc.org or by calling the BGMC at 617-542-SING.
