December 1 is World AIDS Day. In honor of
that we feature the Gay Men’s Chorus of
Los Angeles (GMCLA), the oldest, largest, and most prestigious
Gay Chorus in the United States. It was formed in 1979 at Plummer Park Community Center in Los Angeles, with 99 members.
Its first public performance was
at the National March on Washington for
Lesbian and Gay Rights that October and they also performed at n the first ever national LGBT concert at the Washington Memorial.
As GMCLA continued to grow
throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s the AIDS crisis did not spare
its members, the chorus suffered the
loss of its musical director, Jerry
Carlson, as well as over 20 other members by 1988. Ultimately, over 150
members were lost to the AIDS pandemic
leaving only eight original members
of the chorus as members now known as the “First
Nighters.”
The Chorus has grown in size, gained
professional artistic and administrative staff, toured nationally and internationally, released 16 CDs, and appeared with numerous stage, film, and television
celebrities including Billy Porter,
Lily Tomlin, Angela Lansbury, Bea Arthur,
Jerry Herman, Melissa Manchester, Mary
McDonnell, Stephen Schwartz, Liz Callaway, Lance Bass, Jennifer
Holliday, LeAnn Rimes, and Christy Metz. The Chorus has appeared
on several television broadcasts
including the 85th Academy Awards, Access Hollywood, Will
& Grace, The Ren & Stimpy Show, Mad
TV, and a six-episode arc on
Six
Feet Under.
Members of the GMCLA doned ugly Christmas sweater in a holiday performance.
Back in 2011 I was honored and astonished when Chorus members commissioned an original choral setting from my poem Rainbows Are Not Enough as a retirement salute to their long-time music director. The poem was included in my 2004 Skinner House Books collection We Build Temples in the Heart.GMCLA’s annual Holiday Spectacular concerts are highly awaited seasonal programs. This year due to another plague, the Corona Virus, the annual holiday show will be shared virtually on Saturday, December 12.
Today’s selection, Christmas Wish was featured in the
2016 program and featured the Aftershock
ensemble in an arrangement by Brad Stephenson and conducted by Gavin Thrasher.
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