Sugar plum fairies will be abounding this weekend as the Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus opens its 30th anniversary season.
PGMC will host its annual holiday concert Dec. 9 and 10 at Prince Music Theater, 1412 Chestnut St.
The shows will kick off a yearlong anniversary celebration that will include a number of performances that will pay tribute to the milestone, all of which will be performed at the Prince.
History began repeating itself last weekend as PGMC members took to the Gayborhood for Christmas caroling — a tradition that first heralded the creation of the group in 1981.
Gerald Davis and three others formed PGMC that year and the group staged its first full concert the following year.
Throughout the 1980s, PGMC’s visibility among LGBT music organizations built, with the organization participating in its first joint concert in 1987, with the Baltimore Men’s Chorus and in its first festival of the Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses in 1988.
At the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, PGMC staged a number of fundraisers for HIV/AIDS causes, and its community commitment has persisted, said artistic director Joe Buches.
“We donate our time to a lot of different community events,” Buches said. “We just were at a World AIDS day ceremony and earlier this year we did things like the 25th anniversary of Action AIDS, where we had a piece composed for the event and had its world premiere then, and the 40th anniversary of the Metropolitan Community Church. A lot of organizations in the community will call us up and we’re happy to sing for their events.”
The audience base of PGMC is not just limited to LGBT community members, however.
In 1997, PGMC became the first LGBT performing-arts group to perform at Philadelphia City Hall and, in 2003, the singers participated in the dedication of the National Constitution Center, which was televised nationally.
“The LGBT community is our core community but we also do try to reach outside of this community,” said Greg Weight, PGMC president. “We do at least a few concerts at area high schools and universities every year and have recently really been trying to reach out to young people, especially given the increased attention to bullying and mental-health issues for LGBT youth. It’s important for us to make sure we’re singing to future generations both within our community and among our straight allies.”
In the past year, the chorus has performed at St. Joseph’s University and Bloomsburg University and has concerts scheduled at West Chester University and Hatboro-Horsham High School. PGMC performed for a crowd of about 400 at the Burlington County Amphitheater during a music festival this summer and will be performing at Johnny Weir’s ice-skating show at University of Pennsylvania later this month.
“We’ve been getting our name out there and raising awareness about who we are and what we do, so now we’ve been getting a lot of groups from outside the LGBT community getting in touch and asking us to perform, which is really wonderful,” Buches said.
While the chorus’ reach has expanded throughout the years, the organization itself has also seen tremendous growth.
When Buches joined in 2004, PGMC had approximately 40 members but now boasts a membership of about 130, with a dozen new members joining this anniversary season.
While PGMC undertook targeted recruitment efforts, visiting local piano bars and karaoke events, Buches said he believes a lot of the membership growth can also be attributed to the organization’s heightened visibility and reputation.
The group has now grown to the point where it is considering hiring an executive director in the next two years, as it is currently run by an all-volunteer board.
“The fact that we have this volunteer board that has been able to maintain things so well throughout the years, especially considering all of our growth, really says a lot about the guys leading the group,” Buches said. “But administratively, we’re at a point where we can make some changes now and bring on an executive director and we’re very excited about that.”
While looking to the future, PGMC also looked back on their past to incorporate old favorites into the anniversary season.
“Nutcracker: A Tale of Sugar Plum Fairies” will feature an array of holiday classics from around the world, with the second-half of the show devoted to “Nutcracker: Men in Tights,” a humorous take on the classic piece that the group performed in the past to widespread praise.
“It’s a really diverse mix of songs from ballads to upbeat numbers and with a fair amount of humor,” Weight said. “We have a really strong chorus right now, so it’s going to be a great experience.”
In March, PGMC will Present “Changes … In Good Times,” which will feature “Metamorphosis,” a fusion of song and dance for which PGMC will collaborate with Smoke, Lilies and Jade Arts Initiative. The chorus previously performed the first two parts of the trilogy that precede “Metamorphosis.”
June will bring the anniversary concert, “Legacy: Celebrating 30 Years Toward Harmony,” a retrospective look at PGMC’s history and future.
“Members of the program committee and myself went through all of our old programs and picked out songs that we think really had an impact on the chorus,” Buches said. “Some are the standards that we have done every year and others are pieces that really challenged the group.”
“Legacy” will feature a newly commissioned anniversary piece by collaborative accompanist Michael Djupstrom, with libretto by PGMC member Chip Alfred.
“This season will feature the whole spectrum from classical to show tunes to standards and ballads,” Buches said. “We’re at a really great point right now and we expect this to be a great season.”
Tickets to the holiday show can be purchased at www.pgmc.org or at the door.
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].