Members of the Orlando Gay Chorus perform during a Pride event at the Orlando VA Medical Center in Lake Baldwin. (Photo by Jeremy Williams)
ORLANDO | After nearly eight years, Orlando Gay Chorus has said farewell to artistic director James Rode and hired long-time OGC contributor Harold Wright to the position, effective July 1.
“(Hiring Wright) is just such a breath of fresh air into this organization that I think is only going to let us continue to grow,” board of directors’ chair Sean Mundyschein says.
Wright began his journey with OGC in 2014, working as associate director alongside Clay Price until 2018. Now, four years later, Rode is moving on to new opportunities and Wright is returning to OGC to take his place.
Wright has taught music to people of all ages and backgrounds, from toddlers to seniors and from church choirs to community clubs. He spent 11 years working for Florida public schools, teaching music to students in grades kindergarten to 12th grade.
“Adults are just children in older bodies,” Wright says. “Being in community groups, you have a lot of different upbringings and a lot of big personalities. But I’m still keeping the foundation of building a warm, welcoming culture and environment within the learning environment of the chorus.”
As artistic director, Wright says his main roles include choosing music, building show ideas, perfecting the chorus in rehearsals and connecting with other LGBTQ organizations within Orlando. Despite smooth sailing with Rode, Mundyschein says he looks forward to seeing OGC evolve with a new person leading the way.
“James Rode left us in such a great place in order to move forward with the chorus. Harold has the knowledge and experience of this chorus, he knows the inner workings, he knows how we sound, and he’s been a part of our family for so long now,” Mundyschein says. “He knows what’s going to work for us and what’s going to make us great.”
As Wright assumes his new position as artistic director, he sees plenty of opportunity to build upon what OGC has already done over the last 32 years. As an already prominent program in the nation, Wright sees OGC rising even higher to the top.
“I’d love to grow OGC to be even bigger than what they are now, so the number one goal will be to recruit and retain,” Wright says. “We’re one of the largest mixed LGBTQ choruses in the nation, and I’d love us to be the largest and the best.”
Mundyschein says after the announcement of Wright’s hiring, many former OGC members have decided to return to the program in order to perform with Wright again. His goal of increasing member recruitment and retainment has already begun, not even three weeks into the position.
“Harold is so beloved in our family, of course, and some people are coming out of the woodworks and coming back to join us because they said, ‘Ah, I love Harold. I’m so excited. I can’t wait to sing with him,’” Mundyschein says.
In addition to growing the community from within, Wright hopes to build more connections across Orlando. OGC continually performs and volunteers at various charity events throughout the year, and Wright says increasing this outreach will benefit nearly everyone involved.
“I’d like us to be more present within the community, not only with the LGBTQ community but the greater Orlando community. We can be more present to make us a little bit more known to the communities of all backgrounds and cultures,” he says.
OGC is hosting auditions for anyone who wants to join the chorus on Aug. 3. These auditions will then follow a whirlwind of holiday performances, including a spooky “uncut” cabaret for Halloween and a holiday spectacular in December.
“One of my personal philosophies of teaching music is a quote that says, ‘As the world teaches one to be an individual, music teaches a world of individuals to be one.’ Our chorus really just takes that and serves it on a platter,” Wright says. “With what we do through our voices, we really do unite and it’s just such a wonderful thing. I’m so excited to be a part of the chorus and in the role of artistic director now. I’m excited to see where we go.”
For information on joining the chorus and to find out about upcoming performances, visit OrlandoGayChorus.org.
