New queer chorus seeks diverse voices

Calling all queer singers: Three former members of the LanSINGout Gay Chorus have banded together to form a new, even more inclusive choir and are holding open auditions this Sunday.

Queer Heart of Michigan welcomes adult members of all vocal ranges (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) and all queer identities. The idea stemmed from a choir festival held by the Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses.

“We were performing with LanSINGout, and it was so cool getting to hear how so many queer choruses can be very, very different,” director Jonathan Thurston-Torres said. “There were all-lesbian choirs, all-gay choirs, completely mixed queer choruses. Some were all about the show choir mentality, very performance-heavy and fun-heavy, and some were much more solemn and serious. Some were very activist in nature.”

The diversity on display underscored to Thurston-Torres, as well as their Queer Heart co-founders, Chester Kosinski and Tabs Abernathy, the need for a more diverse chorus in Lansing.

“We kind of thought, you know, Lansing has had an awesome lesbian chorus for a while, Sistrum. It’s had a wonderful gay chorus, LanSINGout, for a long, long while. Maybe it’s time to try an all-queer chorus, something that no matter what your vocal range is, this is a space for you, and we’re going to have vocal parts for you,” Thurston-Torres said.

The audition materials — and the repertoire for the first concert — will consist of songs from Disney movies and other animated films. Singers will do some sight reading and should prepare a Disney piece to perform a segment from. The choir is also seeking one or two pianists, who are invited to audition Sunday as well. Rehearsals start the following Monday at 7 p.m. and continue weekly.

“We wanted to start a bit big and crazy and fun for our first show, and it’s harder to hit harder than Disney. So, we have a lot of queer-coded Disney and animation songs planned,” Thurston-Torres said. “For a lot of queer people, things like musicals are just home for us. And regardless of what generation you are, you definitely have some Disney movies in your childhood somewhere. So, we’re trying to include songs that cover all the different generations.”

That includes Disney hits from both stage and screen, such as “Be Our Guest,” “When You Wish Upon a Star,” and even a special arrangement of the “Mickey Mouse March,” as well as a Disney villains medley “to really give us that queer-coded Ursula and Jafar and Scar energy,” a Renaissance madrigal version of Smash Mouth’s “All-Star” from the “Shrek” soundtrack and “Duel of the Fates” from “Star Wars.”

“We’re trying to really make sure the repertoire has interesting, queer-coded songs, things that we can use to celebrate being queer in Lansing, but also songs that are good motivators for change,” Thurston-Torres said. “We want to really be pushing for a lot of trans rights right now and a lot of visibility with a lot of LGBT issues. So, we want to give the community some light, but also some fire, too.”

Though it’s only just beginning, Thurston-Torres hopes to eventually integrate the choir with the larger LGBTQ+ community in Lansing, both through philanthropy and performance.

“I’m a board member for the Lansing-Area AIDS Network. I’ve kind of been doing a lot in the community activist-wise, and I’d like to see this group be kind of a staple in the community,” Thurston-Torres said. “I’d like to see us doing stuff at Lansing Pride events. I’d like to see us giving money to different charity organizations that help out with LGBT issues in the area. I’d be okay with taking us to other cities — Grand Rapids, Detroit, Ann Arbor.

“I’m ambitious,” they continued, laughing. “We’re just really, really excited to start a new chapter in Lansing queer history.”