A Life Changing Performance by James Finneral

A Life Changing Performance by James Finneral

Watching the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus (BGMC) is unlike any other choral performance you will see. The BGMC took the stage on March 8th 2015 at Groton Dunstable Regional Middle School. The BGMC consists of a handful of men that sing with passion and emotion, and try to get their message across to the public.

This was a special concert for the BGMC because they performed a selection of songs mainly by Stephen Schwartz who wrote music for the productions Wicked, Godspell and Pippin. This selection engaged the crowd because many of the audience members knew a great deal of the songs. For almost all the songs the chorus was backed up by Chad Weirick the piano accompanist. Weirick was a huge asset to the BGMC, performing many mind boggling solos as well as providing nice background music for the chorus. It was refreshing to see the BGMC start off the performance by singing The Spark of Creation in unison and then proceeding to put in solos during other songs. A huge reason why the BGMC was so successful when they performed was because they kept the audience engaged at all times. A prime example of this was before the song Popular from the Broadway musical Wicked, a few members of the chorus put on a very comedic skit of one individual being excluded at first and then being changed by the others to be “popular”. The skit also brought forth a very meaningful message as the person who was changed by the others ended up not going along with the changes and saying he was fine the way he was. The BGMC kept implementing powerful messages in their songs about overcoming the discrimination against homosexual human beings. It was such an emotional and powerful performance that it even moved some people to tears. One more aspect that needs to be recognized was the performances of James Patrick Lobo and Andrew Martinez as they sang For Good from Wicked. The chemistry that Lobo and Martinez had on stage was clear to everyone in the building. After their moving performance it turned out that Lobo and Martinez actually had their first rehearsal three hours before the show which made it that much more impressive.

Attending the BGMC is unlike any other choral performance because they are singing about issues that many people face each day. They keep the crowd engaged with their emotional performances, but they are also having a ton of fun while doing it. Between the talent of the singers and piano player, as well as, the strong messages behind the songs, the BGMC is definitely worth going to see.