Today we’d like to introduce you to Joe Nadeau.
It was a hot July 12 evening in 1979. A small group of men opened the doors to a room at the Plummer Park Community Center in Los Angeles (now West Hollywood), waiting and wondering if anybody would show up. They had posted flyers around the neighborhood announcing the formation of a new gay chorus and this night was to be its first rehearsal. To their great surprise, 99 men appeared and a chorus was born. Within three months of that rehearsal, founding director Harold Kjellberg led the group through its first major event: the March on Washington, D.C. and the first national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) concert at the Washington Memorial.
While public understanding of gay life has evolved much since 1979, there is still fierce resistance to lasting change by opponents to LGBT equality. And the road to today has not always been easy. Through the height of the AIDS crisis, the Chorus lost over 150 members. Only 12 original members remain. As a result, GMCLA has a deep history of service within the LGBT community, singing at countless memorials, making and commissioning music that helps the community to mourn, to celebrate, to dream, and to prepare for victory.
For over 38 years, the Chorus has built an international reputation for musical excellence while remaining deeply rooted in service to the Los Angeles community. Hailed by the Los Angeles Times as “one of the last important links to a glorious tradition in music,” GMCLA has more than doubled in size to over 250 singers, added professional and artistic staff, toured nationally and internationally, released fifteen CD’s, commissioned more than 300 new works and arrangements and appeared frequently on national television. The Chorus membership donates over 60,000 volunteer hours annually to make GMCLA’s mission of musical excellence and community partnership a reality.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
GMCLA is a unique organization – it is a performing ensemble that is made of members within the LGBTQ community. That means that whenever we perform, we are essentially making a political statement. Since 1979, there have been occasional internal struggles related to staffing, budgets – the typical ebb and flow of any non-profit organization but perhaps our greatest challenge was the AIDS crisis.
From the late 1980’s to early 2000’s GMCLA witnessed the death of over 150 of our members. It was common during that time to be singing alongside a someone one week, and singing at their memorial two weeks later. During this devastating time, the chorus became a source of support, family, or “church” for our members – where we came together to hold each other up, mourn those who passed and acknowledge the contributions each of these individuals made to the chorus. It was difficult, but we made it through with each other’s help. To quote a song by Holly Near – we are literally “singing for our lives.”
Since the AIDS crisis, GMCLA has also been the voice of the LA community in many political battles – from LGBTQ people serving in the US military, Marriage Equality, Trans Rights, and Gender Equality,
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
GMCLA is a non-profit community-based choral group. We are primarily known for our spectacular concert performances (typically 3 subscription concerts per year) that really concert “events.” GMCLA performances include not just world-class men’s choral music, but we also combine staging, lighting, sound, costumes, dancing, and sets for an unforgettable concert experience.
Over the years, we’ve appeared on social media, television, and film including Will & Grace, Six Feet Under, Mad TV, Parks & Recreation, Veep, Spike TV, The Mindy Project, Access Hollywood Live, Good Morning America, The Ellen Show, Why Him? (2016 film), and the Academy Awards (2013). GMCLA has also performed for two sitting US Presidents (Bill Clinton and Barak Obama) and last year was a featured performer at the memorial service for Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher.
GMCLA also has an unprecedented Youth Outreach program. Currently, GMCLA has four separate programs where we bring a message of hope, love, and acceptance to young people in LA and across the US through music. During the past ten years, GMCLA has reached over 60,000 young people through these programs and many other choruses across the country have used our work as a template for their own youth outreach.
Our programs are:
1. Alive Music Project (AMP) – GMCLA visits area middle schools and high schools to perform for the entire student body. We use music education and LGBTQ history/understanding and partner with GSA’s and school choral programs to bring a message of love and acceptance.
2. it gets better project Tour – GMCLA has a unique touring cast that travels across the country to do week-long residencies in various communities across the US. The week consists of working with schools, community leaders, parents, and teachers to find ways to make their communities places where everyone can live their true authentic selves. The week culminates with a live performance which includes members of various community choral groups in the final song.
3. Arts for Incarcerated Youth Network (AIYN) – GMCLA is extremely proud to be part of a network of arts organizations that goes into LA youth detention centers. Every 12 weeks, GMCLA goes into these centers to create music opportunities for these young people and help them find their “voice.” It has been a truly life-changing opportunity for not just the young people we serve, but also for those of us participating in this program.
4. Partnership for LA / Arts Community Network – on the horizon, GMCLA is also looking at being part of developing choral music education programs in underserved schools. This is a new program for GMCLA and we are excited to help bring music to LA communities starting in the spring of 2018.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Next Season (2018-19) GMCLA will be celebrating our 40th Anniversary. We start the year on Oct 13 at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, where we will host a special concert with our friends from the Mexico City Gay Men’s Chorus. This concert will help build bridges, not walls between our two countries. The week will include many appearances, performances, and events and will be an exciting collaboration between our two choruses.
Our season continues with our annual Holiday Spectacular Dec 14-16 at the Alex Theatre – which is a holiday performance you won’t want to miss! It’s called “spectacular” for a reason. Our spring concert Heartthrobs will also be at the Alex Theatre on March 30-31 and features GMCLA’s take on the music of BoyBands throughout the ages.
From the Four Tops to the Beatles, to *NSYNC and Backstreet Boys – this concert will be fantastic. We close out our 40th anniversary season with our 40th celebration concert which also coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. We’ll be joined by our friends from New York City Gay Men’s Chorus (also celebrating their 40th) and other LGBTQ choruses from around the country to present a stunning finale to our concert season.
Contact Info:
- Address: 8920 W. Sunset Blvd. Suite 200B
West Hollywood, CA 91604 - Website: gmcla.org
- Phone: 424-239-6492
- Instagram: @gmcla
- Facebook: @gmcla
- Twitter: @gmcla
Image Credit:
Jim Geiger, Matthew Alexander, Gregori Zabilski
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