The Big 10: Una Voce celebrates its history with concert

St. Petersburg In 2002, a small group of men decided Tampa Bay needed a chorus focused on musical excellence in choral music. Ten years later, Una Voce: The Florida Men's Chorale is boasting its largest numbers in its historyâ┚¬â€and the men are ready to celebrate.

Simply titled â┚¬Å”10,â┚¬Â Una Voce's concert celebrating a decade of music is at 8 p.m., Saturday, April 28 at the Palladium Theater in St. Petersburg. It will capture a handful of the brightest moments in the group's history, based on feedback rom its members and fans.

â┚¬Å”We did a survey of all of the songs we've ever done and asked what the favorites wereâ┚¬â€the ones that people thought we did extremely well,â┚¬Â explains Tom Barker, managing director of Una Voce. â┚¬Å”We sent it to our patrons, our members and those who have seen our shows and took the songs that made the biggest impression and impacts on our audience and members to put together our 10^th Anniversary concert.â┚¬Â

Barker says that Una Voce received more than 100 responses from that survey, giving an impressive cross-section of music to be performed at the April 28 concert. In all, the chorale will perform 15 songsâ┚¬â€ranging from sacred holiday classics to upbeat numbers from ABBA.

â┚¬Å”We've been planning this concert or about a year and been working on the music or six to eight months,â┚¬Â Barker says. â┚¬Å”When putting this number of songs together and memorizing them, it involves a lot of preparation.

Una Voce's members memorize each song, meaning they don't read music while on stage. It's a source of pride for the group, which has performed by memory since its first concert at St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Tampa in December 2002.

The first dozen

When DJ Holt first organized Una Voce in 2002, he found 11 other men who wanted to celebrate men's choral excellence. In those early days there was no board of directorsâ┚¬â€but that original mission statement is still in place today: â┚¬Å”To express through excellence in men’s choral music the inherent worth and dignity of all people in order to foster a global community that celebrates and embraces diversity.â┚¬Â

And Una Voce not only celebrates the diversity of the community, but the diversity within the organization. According to Barker, 40 of Una Voce's 42 performing singers are gay and span several generations. The youngest member is 22; the oldest is 78.

â┚¬Å”A lot of our members have musical backgrounds, meaning they have musical training,â┚¬Â Barker says. â┚¬Å”Almost every one of them has sung in high school, college, community or church choirs. Some have theater backgrounds.â┚¬Â

Counting non-performing members, Una Voce's has 54 active men in the organization living throughout Tampa Bay. Of those, five are original members.

â┚¬Å”Una Voce is Latin or â┚¬ËœOne Voice,'â┚¬Â Barker explains, â┚¬Å”and that's what the focus wasâ┚¬â€to get a group of guys together that would sing and act as one and be part of the community as one. The emphasis is on solidarity and on the single focus of being excellent in men's choral music.â┚¬Â

Today, Una Voce is a staple in Tampa Bay, performing charity concerts for LGBT organizations, churches, cancer research fundraisers and more. Barker says the group wants to continue supporting the community that has supported it so strongly for 10 years.

â┚¬Å”The community support is incredibly strong and we get more invitations to perform than we can actually manage,â┚¬Â Barker says. â┚¬Å”Those relationships are continuing to grow.â┚¬Â

A new spotlight

The collective members of Una Voce are excited or April 28, according to Barker. Performing at the Palladium theater is, in itself an exciting experience. But having a large presence in the community for a decade is a milestoneâ┚¬â€and one Barker doesn't take lightly. What is also exciting is the nation's new love affair with choral music, thanks to hit shows like NBC's SMASH, and FOX's Glee.

â┚¬Å”Those two shows have helped create a broader audience than we've ever seen before,â┚¬Â Barker says. â┚¬Å”It's brought choral music to the forefront.â┚¬Â

Barker is a fan of both shows and appreciates the level of detail in SMASH, which documents a production's creation from its raw beginnings.

â┚¬Å”It gives people insight into how much time and commitment it takes to be a performer and to be part of an ensemble,â┚¬Â Barker says. â┚¬Å”It shows that choral singers are performers who are dedicated to practice and commitment.â┚¬Â

The fabulous numbers in both shows also adds pressure to choral groups like Una Voce, Barker admits.

â┚¬Å”You see in Glee each week that these people aren't just standing and singing with a book in their handsâ┚¬â€they are performing,â┚¬Â Barker says. â┚¬Å”That's what we want to do and who we want to be. You have to make contact with the audience.â┚¬Â

Planning ahead

While Una Voce's â┚¬Å”10â┚¬Â concert is sure to be a hit and is the main focus of the group right now, it doesn't mean the men aren't looking further ahead. In fact, they're already well into rehearsals for this year's GALA Choruses festival, which is in Denver, Colo., in July. There, Una Voce will be one of more than 240 gay and lesbian choruses from all over the world performing for each other and celebrating their love of music.

â┚¬Å”We have an arrangement of Adele's â┚¬ËœSomeone Like You,' which we'll perform at the '10 concert,' and a new take on N'Sync's â┚¬ËœBye, Bye, Bye.'â┚¬Â

The group is also already piecing together its annual holiday concert, scheduled for December, and several fundraising performances peppered throughout the year.

â┚¬Å”We're performing at several local churches and we're heavily involved with St. Pete Pride this year,â┚¬Â Barker says. â┚¬Å”We're doing a benefit concert for Metro Wellness Community Centers and we'll once again sing the National Anthem at Tropicana Field before the Tampa Bay Rays take the field.â┚¬Â

Barker says he's confident in Una Voce both musically and financially, adding that the financial stability of the group makes him incredibly proud.

â┚¬Å”Productions cost about $10,000,â┚¬Â he says. â┚¬Å”The sustainability of the chorus is a direct reflection on the board's commitment to make Una Voce a vital part of this community. There are a lot of people hanging on by shoestrings these days. It takes a lot of time, effort and energy to make sure we're sustaining ourselves and we want to continue to grow our budget so we can continue entertaining and embracing the community.â┚¬Â

More Info:

WHO: Una Voce: The Florida Men's Chorale

WHAT: â┚¬Å”10,â┚¬Â the 10^th Anniversary Concert

WHERE: The Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg

WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday, April 28

TICKETS: $25-$60 at Una-Voce.org or 855-862-8623