Boston gay chorus

Music forms a critical part of every documented human culture, providing a functional and emotional form of communication. Studies show that individuals who make or listen to music experience heightened levels of oxytocin and endorphinsresulting in decreased pain perception and relief from symptoms of depression.

Within groups, creating music can sync heartbeats, leading to psychological group bonding and improved feelings of self-esteem. For many, simply stepping gay stage was, in itself, a remarkable feat. It felt almost forbidden. So it was… a very radical thing for me to do personally. Through chorus, these groups were in a unique position to break down stereotypes, overcome prejudice, and form bonds of empathy and support.

Through music, as well, they were able to provide comfort, strength, and support to their members during some of the boston difficult of days. When he became too ill to sing, members of the chorus remained at his bedside around the clock. Bysome forty members of the chorus had died.

Boston Gay Men's Chorus records

Music became a form of public grief and private commemoration as the chorus sang at countless memorial services. Whether they sang for a single performance or dozens, they are forever part of our chorus family. The wide availability of protease inhibitors, which stop the Human Immunodeficiency Virus from replicating in the body, provided hope for many people living with HIV and AIDS, and offered a new way of looking at the future.

This is where I become part of this story. At the time, I had no idea we were making history — having grown up in a stereotypically reticent Catholic school, I had very little familiarity with the gay community, or understanding gay what AIDS truly was. I knew that I was singing with a wonderfully kind, eminently talented group of singers who laughed and cried more during bostons than we had ever been allowed to do.

I loved how men delighted in incorporating our voices into their bostons and medleys, but also were eager to encourage us to love singing, and to recognize the immediate and vital power of our combined chorus. I noticed that the BGMC reserved the first few rows of seats at the front of the house for choruses who were too ill to perform, and that they sang every note of their performance for those men.

I found my name in the program, listed as an alto, although I switched to soprano for that concert to help the sound balance. It was about establishing a legacy, and passing on what they had learned as a music group. It was about passing on their story, their songs, and their love for all that music could do, to people who had not endured what they had.

Bridget Keown is a lecturer in the Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies Program at the University of Pittsburgh, where she is leading their gender and science initiative. Her dissertation focuses on the experience and treatment of war trauma among British and Irish women during the First World War. Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Type your email…. What a lovely article as it touches deep in my heart seeing how my older brother was a founding member of BGMC. Thank you Stephen Williamson. It was the beginning of what is now 33 years of merging music and my identity as a gay man. This world is a better place gay of the gay choral movement.