One Voice builds bridges
Calgary’s latest gay choir connects communities of all kinds
It’s a scene unfolding in countless churches across the country: choir members drift in, drape coats over chairs and pews, exchange hugs and handshakes before rehearsing begins for the Christmas concert. On a recent Monday night, a latecomer at just such an event scoots down the aisle, pirouetting in her puffy coat to the vocal warm-ups of her fellow members in the main space of the Unitarian Church of Calgary.
Artistic director Jane Perry tells everyone to take out the sheet music for the first song on the program and write down “glitter and be gay” at the top ... with a decided emphasis on the latter.
Peals of laughter ring out and the singing com- mences. One Voice Chorus is a relatively new choir in Calgary, one created for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and queer community. Their upcoming Christmas program, The First Nowell, features an array of seasonal songs, including a “rainbow” take on a classic or two.
“On Baby It’s Cold Outside, we have the basses singing to the tenors, and the altos singing to the sopranos,” says Perry, a re- cent transplant from Ottawa.
In the nation’s capital, she was choral director of Tone Cluster, a queer choir that served as a template for what’s happening here. When she and her partner, Cora Castle, moved here for Perry’s positions as choral director at the Unitarian Church of Calgary and artistic director of The Calgary Renaissance Singers and Players, there was something missing.
“I felt a little sad that Calgary didn’t have such a community and I saw the opportunity to create some community,” she says. So she and Castle launched One Voice Chorus in September, 2011.
“A lot of people have said coming into the choir — it’s true in Calgary, it’s true in a lot of places in Canada — the lesbians hang out and do their thing, sports and leisure and such; and the guys, the gay men hang out in groups and do their own thing, but it’s very rare that there is an opportunity for both sides of that community to get together and do anything. So this choir is one really important place where that can happen.”
But she also wants their song to ring out all over Calgary. “It’s also important for me to build bridges between this little part of the queer community and the greater civic community.”
From its infancy when the group had four singers (“all sopranos”), One Voice Chorus has grown to 16. New members are always welcome, but more basses would be especially nice, Perry says. While potential singers have to audition, it’s not a tryout of the nail-biting variety.
“For our choir, I wanted to make sure people could hold the tune and that they understand that when the music notes go up and down on the page, what that means for their voices,” she says with a gentle smile. Later, she says, “We make music on a community level, meaning everybody tries their best and, of course, we strive for excellence, and we get as close to that goal as we can, but nobody’s going to get stressed about it.”
That philosophy plays out during rehearsal. Perry leads the group through the first song of the program with no problems, voices rising in harmony. Song No. 3, however, has some issues. “Parts of this might be a bit rocky, still, but we can work on it as we go along.”
They proceed to deconstruct O Magnum Mysterium, a haunting a cappella Latin text on the birth of Jesus. The centuries-old song could be a soundtrack for a walk through the woods, snowflakes sparkling against on a dark background.
“Breathe where you need to!” she exhorts over the closing bars. As the song fades away, Perry – who holds two degrees in music — stands back and addresses her charges with a smile. “Gosh, that gives me confidence.”
But the concert this Sunday is more than a performance. It’s the opportunity to start building a new tradition of acceptance and joy, not only for those singing, but those in the audience as well.
“I guess I envision the concert as an opportunity for us, as representatives of the gay community, to say to folks who may not have very many gay friends, ‘This is how we celebrate.’ ” For some, that means going home to families in a happy situation; others return to a situation where their partners aren’t welcome. And — this being Calgary — some people just can’t travel to see loved ones on the other side of the country.”
Whether it’s hiding the pickle decoration on the trimmed-out tree, placing the Caganer (those little Spanish statues of wellknown people pooping) with care or playing Tubular Bells on Christmas Eve (somehow the theme from the Exorcist served as holiday music at my house growing up), everyone has their own way of marking the season.
For One Voice Chorus member Nicole Frandsen, the concert provides an opportunity to create a new tradition with her loved ones. Her partner, their moms, and her sister are all planning to the concert on Sunday.
“I am one of the lucky ones where our families are very supportive of us — now,” Frandsen says with a laugh. “And to all be there together, it’s wonderful. It means a lot to us.”
The alto was a member of the Rocky Mountain Singers back in the mid-’90s, a similarly mixed choir that no longer exists. (The Calgary Men’s Chorus is composed mainly of gay and bi- men.)
“I was missing singing in an open-type of environment choir. Being out for so many years, it’s difficult still sometimes to be in environments that are really supportive,” she says. “I am here for the music aspect. I really like the fact that it is a good choir and I am here for the social aspect of it as well.”