...were held in May, 2001. To the organizers’ surprise, there were 30 men lined up in the halls of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Buffalo waiting to sing for the Artistic Director.  By day’s end there were 36 chorus members.  By month’s end there were 45.  Soon there would be a dozen more.  Rehearsals began on September 11, 2001 a day of infamy that would be filled with national horror, fear and death.  The decision was made to go on with the rehearsal on a day that was destined to alter the course of history.  There was controversy around that decision, but, at the end of the day, it proved to be a wise one.  Forty men, many of whom didn’t know each other began to gather, eerily silent, in the Alliance Room of the Unitarian Church.  As the men and Wagner held hands for the very first time in a community circle, there were anguished murmurs of meditation and prayer.  It was a birth fraught with complications and anxiety.  They sang - “from you I receive, to you I give, together we share and from this we live.” They learned “How Can I Keep From Singing” and began forging the bonds that still hold them together to this day.  “How Can I Keep From Singing” was to become their theme song and was the very first music the audience heard as the BGMC processed down the aisles of the Unitarian Universalist Church for the  first time.  That inaugural concert “Music From the Heart,” presented on February 9, 2002, set the tone for all concerts to follow.  The energy that filled the church that night validated the reality of the Buffalo Gay Men’s Chorus, and the bonds formed that night continue to remain strong all of these years later. The audience that night was huge - the church was filled, chairs lined the aisles and sadly, people had to be turned away at the door. All concerts after that were offered twice in one weekend and six years later, they are considering adding a third concert to each series and a third performance of each one.  Their audiences continue to be huge and diverse, and the BGMC performs pieces in English, French, Italian, Latin, Spanish, German, Hebrew, Zulu, and Swahili, and feature sign language interpretation for the deaf and hard of hearing.  The BGMC has also commissioned two pieces for their concerts:  the six-part Adamic Songs, featuring poems by Walt Whitman with music by Roland E. Martin; and Yes!, a poem by Countee Cullen, the Harlem Renaissance writer, set to music by Adolphus Hailstork.

...coming as they grew in stature and musical expression.  Three awards from Artvoice’s “Best in Buffalo” proclaim them “Best Chorus.”  They have been invited to sing on the stage of Kleinhans Music Hall with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra twice - once for a subscription concert in 2004 and later for a benefit for the orchestra and the Olmsted Conservancy in 2006, with Maestra JoAnn Falletta conducting.   Mary Louise Nanna, founder and conductor of Ars Nova asked them to sing on her Viva Vivaldi Series. BGMC was recognized by the Empire State Pride Agenda in 2005 with the ESPA Award for Community Service for the excellence of their music and their dedication to the community.  In March 2008, the BGMC was chosen to receive the prestigious Buffalo and Erie County Arts Council Award for exceptional contributions to the arts and cultural community in Western New York.  The citation reads as follows:

“Your nomination and selection to receive this award is a testament to the years of time, talent, personal and professional resources you have invested in supporting, promoting and advancing art and culture in our region.  You are an outstanding model of leadership by example.”

Their success has brought many requests from worthy organizations to perform benefit concerts, and they try very hard to honor these. They have received grants and gifts and much support from both the gay community and the community at large along the way and they are eager to give back. 

A major force in the success of BGMC has been the impressive dedication of the all volunteer chorus itself.  These men take the chorus’ artistic ambitions seriously: they are resolute rehearsal attendees and have worked hard to build their choral skills.  The chorus’ social impact on the community at large has been unprecedented and immense.  The very existence of this chorus in a relatively conservative community has helped make enormous strides in acceptance and equality for the GLBT community here.  In addition to enlightening the community at large, the chorus has been an important factor in raising the self esteem of a historically marginalized society.  Its high profile has established the BGMC as a positive model for those who are grappling with the negativity all too often imposed on homosexuals. And so the hard work continues with each note sung by the intrepid men of the Buffalo Gay Men’s Chorus.

Some of the Benefit Concerts for which the BGMC has raised their voices:

• World AIDS Day Memorial Services

• AIDS Community Services Annual Fundraisers, “Cause for Celebration”

• Domestic Violence Awareness Fundraiser

• Fundraiser on behalf of Police Officer Patricia Parete

• CARES Benefit for the University of Buffalo Dental School

• AIDS Family Services, 2 Benefit Concerts

• Katrina Relief Funds, Benefit Concert

• North West Pennsylvania Rural AIDS Alliance and the Unitarian Universalist Church of Erie Pennsylvania, Benefit    

• Southern Tier AIDS Community Services and the Katharine Jackson

• Carnahan Foundation Benefit

• Habitat for Humanity Benefit Concert 

• Concert benefiting roof repairs at Blessed Trinity Roman Catholic Church

• Amherst Unitarian Universalist Church, Benefit Music Program

• Tree Lighting Ceremony for Women’s and Children’s Hospital

• Benefit for the Darwin Martin House (Frank Lloyd Wright, architect)

• Benefit Concert for and with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Olmsted Conservancy 

• Mark’s Place, Niagara Falls, NY, Benefit Concert 

• St. Paul’s Cathedral, Youth Program, Benefit Concert

• MOCHA project presents Creating Hope Through Art

We  have also provided complimentary tickets to their performances for GLYS (Gay and Lesbian Youth Services), and Gay and Straight Alliances in schools.

• Albright Knox Art Gallery, Gusto at the Gallery Series 

• Blessed Trinity Roman Catholic Church

• Botanical Gardens

• Buffalo Bisons Baseball Stadium, National Anthem

• Buffalo Convention Center

• Church of the Ascension

• Elmwood Festival of the Arts

• Erie Basin Marina                                                                        

• First Baptist Church, Niagara Falls                                

• First Presbyterian Church                                                         

• First Presbyterian Church, Viva Vivaldi Series            

• Fredonia Opera House

• Hamilton Collegiate Center, Jamestown Campus, Jamestown Community College

• Hochstein School of Music, Rochester                                                                            

• Holy Trinity Lutheran Church                                    

• HSBC Bank Auditorium

• Kleinhans Music Hall, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, 2 concerts

• Langston Hughes Center                                                                           

• Masonic Lodge, Erie, Pennsylvania

• Montante Center of Canisius College                     

• North Presbyterian Church

• Orchard Park United Methodist Church

• Orchard Park Presbyterian Church

• Performing Arts Center, Rockwell Hall, Buffalo State College  

• Performing Arts Theater of Ithaca, NY                                                 

• Pride Parades and Performances                                                           

• Roush Recital Hall, Fredonia State Campus                                                                       

• St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral                                                   

• Statler Towers Golden Ballroom                                            

• Tacoma Performing Arts Center

• Temple Beth Zion                                                                        

• The Nichols School                                                                                      

• The Performing Arts Renaissance Theater in Montreal, GALA International Festival

• Trinity Episcopal Church                                             

• Trinity Lutheran Church of Buffalo

• Trinity United Church, Beamsville, Ontario                        

• Unitarian Universalist Church of Amherst                  

• Unitarian Universalist Church of Buffalo        

• Westminster Presbyterian Church