ABOVE: The Orlando Gay Chorus in June 2019. Photo by Jeremy Williams.
When James Rode, the artistic director for the Orlando Gay Chorus (OGC), first realized that live performances of every kind — theaters, exhibits, shows, concerts — were being cancelled due to the COIVD-19 pandemic, he had a bit of a panic.
“I was like shit,” he says. “We had been working on our next concert, our singers had been working so hard, we had already spent money, it was heartbreaking.”
OGC — who is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year — had scheduled a concert at the Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center in Sanford on March 29. “Send in the Crowns” was going to be a tribute to legendary LGBTQ pop icons like Elton John, Madonna and Queen. As news of the shutdown of nonessential businesses started in mid-March, OGC’s spring concert was first postponed and then cancelled.
As Rode and OGC looked forward to their next concert, a Pride-focused concert called “Rainbow Vision” scheduled for May 16-17, quarantining and social distancing looked like it might continue through the summer.
“So as everything is continuing to get cancelled, we just took a step back and thought okay what can we do,” Rode says. “So I said let’s postpone the concert ‘til July and we’re just going to wait and see what’s going on.”
Interactions for OGC stopped as the community, and the country, started to shelter themselves. Then Rode saw that The Connecticut Gay Men’s Chorus started online rehearsals.
“When I saw that, I knew we had to do something,” he says. “Then I was really inspired by something Jennifer Foster [Executive Director of the One Orlando Alliance] said in one of our Alliance meetings: ‘We have to be cognizant of our members and their well being.’”
Rode knew that no matter how they did it, he had to bring the chorus together in some capacity.
“For 120 people this is their thing,” he says. “We have people that come in from Lake County, Polk County, Brevard County and for some of them this is the one gay thing they can do, so we need to keep them engaged.”
OGC started Wednesday night rehearsals on Zoom. They also held virtual workshops bringing in guest speakers from other musical organizations, holding classes like yoga for performers and more. When Come Out With Pride (COWP) started up its virtual “Stay In With Pride” shows, OGC supplied them with singers from the chorus.
“So I was talking with [COWP board president] Jeff Prystajko after some of our singers appeared on the show and he said ‘We would like to do more with you all, what do you think?’ I was like, ‘Well funny enough we really want to do an online concert.’”
Rode was inspired with what he saw COWP doing for “Stay In With Pride” and wanted to do something similar for OGC. “Rainbow Vision 2020,” a virtual OGC concert was born.
“This ‘Rainbow Vision’ is going to be a very different take than what the original concert was to be,” Rode says. “We’ve hired a team of video editors and I said from the beginning whatever we do it is not going to be 15 virtual ‘Brady Bunch’ squares. No one’s going to tune into that.”
The event will be a combination of live and recorded moments. Rode says the chorus has looked at each song and explored where they can put a different, more interesting take on them.
“We’ve got some ensembles, some full chorus ensembles, we converted some things into solos for people to do live, but they will all still be Pride power anthems,” Rode says. “A full OGC concert is usually around 16 songs, but I don’t think in this format that will work, so we are looking at keeping the entire show to 90 minutes.”
The show will include some inspirational pieces, including a take on the Indigo Girls song “Closer to Fine.”
“’Closer to Fine’ is going to be an ode to women who have been leaders in the LGBTQ movement,” Rode says. “We’re going to have pictures of them, quotes by them. Sylvia Rivera, Martha P. Johnson, all these women who have been vital in the fight for equality.”
There will also be some fun, upbeat performances including a Zoom-inspired parody of “9 to 5” and a take on “YMCA,” with costumes and all.
Along with the performances, the show will include a virtual silent auction, a preview of next season, a message to encourage community members to join the chorus and personal messages from chorus members as they celebrate 30 years of OGC, reflect on where they have been and look ahead to the future.
“These segments will be interspersed throughout the concert,” Rode says. “They’ll be people’s dream of what they hope Pride will be, what our community look like in another 20 years. We’ll hear from the founding members, we have 10 who are still with OGC.”
The OGC’s founding members segments are sure to be some of the show’s most poignant moments. OGC began with a small group of about 30 individuals on Valentine’s Day 1990 during another pandemic — the AIDS crisis, and for three decades now, they have been a part of the LGBTQ community through the highs — they sang on the steps of Orlando City Hall when Florida legalized marriage equality — and the lows — They performed at 110 Pulse-related events the first year after the tragedy.
“From its beginning all the way through, some people always ask why do we need a gay chorus?” Rode says. “Zebra Coalition is here to help the youth, The Center is here to do testing, Hope & Help is here to help with HIV healthcare; all of these organizations have their events, and OGC is there at those events, singing and performing and helping sell tickets. It’s a social thing for the members but it’s also a way for them to give back to the LGBTQ community. A community we all love.”
The Orlando Gay Chorus’ “Rainbow Vision 2020” presented by Come Out With Pride will be on July 8. Visit OGC and COWP’s Facebook pages for more information on how to stream the event.
