ORLANDO, Fla. — Wednesday nights sound a little different these days. Some members now sing solo, others tape rehearsals parts to get songs ready for performance.
What You Need To Know
- Orlando Gay Chorus celebrating 30th anniversary
- Chorus still rehearsing with social distancing, virtual sessions
- Group will hold a virtual concert on July 8
The crowd-like atmosphere inside Orlando Gay Chorus is thinning out because of pandemic restrictions.
“It’s hard not being able to be together and listen to one another,” said Russell Macomber, a founding member of the Orlando Gay Chorus.
But being apart is even harder.
“I’ve known some of them, the eight members of our founding members, I’ve known them for 30 years," Macomber said. "And I miss them."
Virtual and socially-distanced rehearsals are now a requirement.
“People who know have been telling us that singing together is one of the most dangerous things you can do,” said Pat Andrews, a founding member of the Orlando Gay Chorus.
But the Orlando Gay Chorus has been finding ways to overcome challenges and fears together, ever since their first meeting in 1990.
“Oh Lord, scary as heck," said Stephen Brooks, a founding member, as he remembers his first meeting with the Orlando Gay Chorus.
“We had a couple of gentlemen who literally didn’t want their names on the programs, where they were teachers or other things where that would have caused major problems for them,” Macomber said.
But for the first brave members coming in, they were ready and eager to join in.
“Ooh wait, gay? Sing? Hold on now! We might have something here,” Brooks said.
“But when we walked in, I realized that here was something, an organization that could actually change the world,” said Orlando Gay Chorus founding member Fred Berliner.
In those three decades since that first meeting, they’ve seen society evolve and grow to embrace the LGBTQ community, especially after the tragedy at Pulse.
“The first group they called on to go and do some of the memorial concerts and outreach, things like that, was the gay chorus,” Macomber said.
But this year's pandemic has presented challenges.
“I have been at home since they first put the shutdown in place beginning of March," Macomber said.
And for some, it's brought back a familiar experience, helping them get through the coronavirus stronger together.
“We, well I speak for myself, went through the early days of the AIDS epidemic. So when you’re going through a time-period of fear, misinformation, hysteria and loss, isolation, that kind of thing, we’ve been through that,” Brooks said.
“The whole world changed on us when we weren’t looking and like any organization, you have to adapt,” Andrews said.
So while events move online, they decided one rehearsal was important enough to be held in-person. Together, the founding members are coming together to fine tune a song they'll sing together at their next virtual concert.
“We’re just getting to be slightly more mature and it might be the last time we sing with each other," Berliner said. “It means a huge amount to us."
The words in the song have a way of drawing these friends back in.
After spending 30 years together, these founding members now stand six feet apart when they sing. But still, it's the music that's kept them all in tune with each other throughout the years, and ready for the next song and challenge life brings.
The Orlando Gay Chorus will be celebrating their 30th anniversary through a virtual concert, 'Rainbow Vision' on July 8. Find more information on the Orlando Gay Chorus website.