Found In Translation: A Musical Biography of the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus

by Michael Davis, Lavender Magazine, Published March 2004

When Mama Cass sang "Make Your Own Kind of Music" back in 1969, she never could have imagined the extraordinary results that would be achieved when future GLBT choruses started taking that suggestion literally.

At its March Our Legacy in Song concert, under the artistic direction of Dr. Stan Hill, the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus (TCGMC) will premiere Metamorphosis, a large-scale work newly commissioned by the chorus, based on the lives and experiences of its members.

"The first act of Our Legacy in Song will feature blockbusters from our repertoire that have been requested by the men of the chorus as well as our audience members as their favorite selections," Hill says of the other numbers that all fall under the "legacy" theme.

However, it's the second act, showcasing the new and deeply personal work, that's getting the lion's share of the attention.

Cowritten by Grammy-nominated composer Robert Seeley and celebrated lyricist Robert Espindola, the hourlong piece is composed of 12 songs accompanied by a 16-piece orchestra.

The James Sewell Ballet, known as Minnesota 's premiere dance company, will perform with the chorus. James Sewell founder and artistic director of the eponymous company, once heralded by The New York Times as "one of American ballet's best choreographers," created the dance himself.

Hill often has complained that traditional choral concerts could be, in his words, "paralyzingly boring." Under his direction, TCGMC always has strived to break out of that mold.

Hill knew from the start that he wanted the ballet involved.

"It reinforces the text with a visual counter­ point," Hill notes.

Metamorphosis is based on more than 80 personal interviews, group interviews, and essays, along with hundreds of hours of research, conducted over approximately two years.

Seeley admits it was no mean feat capturing the lives of 140 men in a 50-minute work.

"But I think we came up with something that speaks very clearly to what these guys were about," Seeley states.

Describing it as a joyful and uplifting work, Seeley adds, "So many of these men were happy with who they were and what their lives were all about, but it was a hard journey. They went through a lot of pain in their personal transformations."

And it is from this turbulent personal evolution that the piece takes its name.

"Their lives mirrored what a caterpillar might go through in the process of becoming a butterfly," Seeley suggests.

Hill, who has commissioned some of the most successful repertoire compositions in the GLBT choral movement - including NakedMan, Exile, and ExtrABBAganza - feels that commissioning music about the GLBT experience was both logical and inevitable.

As Hill explains, the basic reason for the new commission can be summed up in the maxim: "If we don't tell our story, who will?"

Hill believes the public is dependent, in its perception of gay men, on what it is exposed to. He cites jack on Will & Grace, as well as the men on Queer as Folk and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, as unfortunately common examples.

"Few, if any, of the gay men I know live up to either the lifestyle or over-the-top stereotype of any of these characters," Hill observes. "It's all hyperbole."

According to Hill, the original idea was to solicit a handful of stories from chorus members, have a dozen or so interviews, and go from there. But an overwhelming number of responses from the membership caused a rethinking of the project and a consolidation of similar themes.

So, rather than A Chorus Line - type assortment of biographical songs, the audience will be treated to an exploration of such issues as growing up different, relationships with church and deity, and being forced to live a double life.

Hill feels it was a turn for the better.

"There is a broader universality that makes the piece more appealing" Hill concludes. "We have far more in common with the living of our lives than we have differences. So, when the chorus sings their story, a straight member could also think to him or herself, 'Wow, they could be singing about my experience!'"

The James Sewell Ballet will include selections from "Metamorphosis" in its own spring performance series as well.

"All of us are delighted to be working with the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus," Sewell enthuses. "For dancers and for audiences, live music always adds something special to the energy of the dancing."

The chorus will perform the piece this spring at outreach concerts in Fargo and Duluth. It will be recording a Metamorphosis CD. It will present selections from the work to the worldwide GLBT choral community at the Seventh International Festival of the Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses in July in Montreal.

The world premiere in March, however, is the only currently scheduled opportunity to experience the work in its entirety with full orchestra and ballet. Although you'll have to come out of your winter cocoon for Metamorphosis, it just might change you!