Happy Anniversary

tonight I attended the 25th anniversary party of the Boston Gay Men's Chorus. under Jeff and Ken's persistent leadership (which they demonstrated throughout the course of the dinner in steadfastly wringing the best value for the Chorus as they could out of restaurant), the Membership Services Committee hosted the shindig at Maggiano's in the Back Bay. I was a little hesitant about attending even after I'd signed up because I wasn't sure how many "newbies" (I insist that technically I'm not new anymore since we auditioned and accepted a gaggle of freshmen in early January) would attend. having been around for 25 years, you can imagine that the Chorus has some well-established circles. there are some magnificently magnanimous people - like my good friend Jim McDonnell - who make sure to introduce themselves and to make new members feel right at home from the first rehearsal onward, but, understandably, it takes some time to break into the social network at the Chorus. anyway, I decided to go in the end and made it there just in time for dinner to be served (and thus avoiding any awkward pleasantries during the cocktail period).

I sat at a table with my best friends from the baritone section, Jim and Ethan, who were also with their respective husbands/companions. the menu was wonderful: fried ravioli, spinach and artichoke dip for starters; two salads; meat lasagna, fettucine alfredo, roast chicken, and eggplant parmesan (which, I'm sad to say, no one touched) for the main course; and profiteroles and apple fritters for dessert. there was also a delicious cake for the occasion, with champagne icing, nonetheless. the festivities for the evening included plenty of conversation but also some short speeches by the Chorus' luminaries: its three members who were part of the Chorus when it was first founded in 1982, among others. our delightful musical director, Reuben Reynolds, was asked to speak about the future of the BGMC, and he promptly admitted that he had no idea what the future held. wisely, however, he noted that the fights of the past have a nasty and unsurprising way of creeping back up in the future. he was referring to the gay marriage debate, which, with the reactionary voting that went on in the Massachusetts State House earlier this month, is slated to be debated again next fall and potentially advanced to statewide ballot in 2008. Reuben seemed to make a dire prediction: these issues will never die, and thus the work of the BGMC - as well as the myriad other social change organizations working to advance a more progressive view of society through music, art, or any other means - will never end.

Reuben's remarks made me think of the protests that MassResistance launched against the BGMC when those idiots caught wind of our concert through our advertising on WCRB. at the risk of giving them one more platform for their blatherings (I do, as a historian, believe in the value of reading primary sources, after all), you can read the protest on their blog here. in short, the group derided our holiday series as a "Sodomite Christmas Concert," where audience members would automatically and inevitably think about the chorus members' sexual proclivities instead of enjoying the spiritual and communal values in the music. setting aside the fact that these MassResistance must have almost next to no self control in their thoughts (nobody asked you to think about my sexual proclivity, and Jesus would likely disapprove of your mind being in the gutter), I looked around tonight at the anniversary party and tried to see if I could conjure up any vaguely sexual images about the musicians celebrating around me.


I couldn't do it. I did see old friends happy (but also sad) to have survived a devastating epidemic; happy to be busily engaged in a good cause through art; happy to be surrounded by friends and family. I saw couples who had been together for decades and only recently were allowed to officialize their love and gain the right to care for each other in sickness and in health. I saw professionals who've worked hard and dedicated their careers to challenging society's prejudices through song, and in so doing making the BGMC now the third largest arts organization in the Boston area and one of the best-loved gay choruses in the country. I saw older men teaching younger men about what it means to be aware and proud, passing on - along with some choice bits of gossip - a legacy built through decades of blood, sweat, and tears.

I saw, in short, people. slightly imperfect and majorly fabulous, perhaps, but everyone working towards a world where hate and name-calling would be a thing of the past. as Reuben points out, though, that might be an impossible goal, but it's mighty reassuring to have at least someone dedicated to building up rather than tearing down.

I figure that it's all in how you see people. tonight - and, I'm sure, for the next 25 years - I saw the good.

happy 25th anniversary to the Boston Gay Men's Chorus. here's to many more.