The New York City Gay Men's Chorus Presents Spring Concert, BEGINNINGS

The New York City Gay Men's Chorus has announced that tickets are now on sale for the spring concert, Beginnings.

Performances will take place on May 7th at 8:00 PM and May 8 at 2:00 PM at the NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts (566 LaGuardia Place, NYC). Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased at www.nycgmc.org or by calling 212.998.4941

With COVID-protocols in place, and having missed the opportunity to perform a 40th Anniversary concert, the Chorus is overjoyed to once again take the stage and share music and dance with a live audience. Beginnings is NYCGMC's first in-person concert since 2019. Performing inspiring and uplifting music from Beyonce, Tracy Chapman, Barry Manilow, Stephen Sondheim, Marc Anthony and more, the Chorus will celebrate its return and reflect upon the past two years through song, dance, community, and fun.

"For forty-two years, the New York City Gay Men's Chorus has been a renowned performance arts organization known to elevate the contemporary issues of the day. After two years of the covid pandemic and national social change, it is both empowering and affirming for the chorus to return to stage and share messages that speak truth to power through music," said Troy Blackwell, Chairman for the NYCGMC.

The show will be performed by a chorus of more than 200 members (including 74 new members) and will be conducted by Artistic Director Jared Brayton Bollenbacher, accompanied by Aaron Dai and performed by the New York City Gay Men's Chorus. The show features choreography by Sean Segerstrom and is Directed/Produced by Jo Lee with an original script by members of the chorus.

In the NYCGMC tradition of queer performance joy, Beginnings will also include drag queens dancing in boxes, original video content, mash-ups, flashlight choreography, acting and singing in the aisles, and a special performance by TONEWALL, the super-charismatic queer a cappella group of the Chorus.

Regarding the upcoming performance, Mr. Bollenbacher shared:

"The last two years have been extremely stressful for many of us and for many different reasons. As a choral organization, the risk of singing together in-person has never been so high. That stress for our singers' health and safety, teamed with the political, societal, and relational stress that so many of us have felt deeply gave us the opportunity to re-evaluate how we live.

For us at NYCGMC, the last two years have brought to light some difficult truths about the organization, and ourselves, that we needed to address long ago. Coming back together is the start of a new chapter. A new chapter in music, policy, community, leadership, and goals. I want this concert to mirror some of the struggles we've had and to reflect upon our collective goals to do better. To be better. In many ways, this concert is as much as some endings in how we operated as much as it is about our new Beginnings."