At 25 Years Young, IT GETS BETTER for Capital City Men's Chorus

The best of us get reflective when we hit milestone birthdays, and that's certainly the case with the Capital City Men's Chorus, the longest continually running men's chorus in Austin, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this season. Founded in 1989 by sixteen volunteer members, the Capital City Men's Chorus (CCMC) now has over fifty members.

For their 25th Anniversary Season, the chorus has taken a reflective and insightful approach as they look back on their history and the history of the LGBT community. "We kind of have an arch to our 25th season," says Marketing Director Scott Poppaw. "We start with It Gets Better on September 20th, and then we continue with our Fall Fundraiser which will be all about where we've been over the past 25 years. The Holiday Concert in December will be about where we're at now with a home for the Holidays theme. And then later in the year we'll do another concert that will celebrate our 25th anniversary."

Looking back on their history and the struggles of the LGBT community seems a natural idea given the origins of most gay men's choirs. "The impetus for the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus was the assassination of Harvey Milk," says CCMC's Artistic Director, Dr. Jeffrey Jones-Ragona. "A group of men came together and sang at a candlelight vigil rather spontaneously, and someone said, 'Hey, this is a good idea.'" More choirs came about during 1980s as the AIDS epidemic threatened the community. According to Jones-Ragona, "Most gay men's choirs started off singing at funerals of those who had passed away from AIDS."

As many of the issues that affect the LGBT community, politically and otherwise, have diminished over the years, the CCMC has had plenty to consider. "We've been thinking a lot about, 'What's our time and place now?'" says Poppaw.

That question has spurred CCMC's "Why We Sing" campaign in which they will film a series of short YouTube videos featuring their members and personal explanations why each participates in the organization. "I love the whole 'Why We Sing' idea," says Jones-Ragona. "That's something I've been wrestling with. I don't want to pretend that the problems have gone away. They haven't. They might not be as bad, but they're still there."

Capital City Men's Chorus kicks off their season on Friday, September 20th with It Gets Better at the Long Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are $10-$40. For tickets and more information, visit www.thelongcenter.org/event/it-gets-better.

For more information on the Capital City Men's Chorus, visit www.ccmcaustin.org.

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