The Triangle Gay Men's Chorus celebrates gay icons

On Nov. 15 and Nov. 16, The Triangle Gay Men's Chorus entertained the communities of Durham and Raleigh with hits from Lady Gaga, Elton John, ABBA and more. 

This concert, themed Gay Icons, celebrated musical artists who are allies and friends of the LGBTQ+ community. Songs like “Born this Way” by Lady Gaga and more have become gay anthems over the years, helping people be confident in their sexuality and gender identities, especially in times when being gay wasn't widely accepted. 

Acceptance has been at the center of the Triangle Gay Men's Chorus, which was founded in 1995 from a group of 16 men. Today, you don't have to be gay or a man to join them, but creating a safe space is still very important for the chorus. 

“It was fairly political to create a chorus back then that had the term ‘gay’ in the title,” Drew Register, the acting president of the Triangle Gay Men's Chorus, said. “Since then, I think it's continued to meet that mission of just providing a space for people who want to create community with other LGBTQ people and who also want to sing and make music together.”

The Triangle Gay Men's chorus is a community chorus with no audition requirement. Anyone who supports their mission and sings with a lower voice can join. The chorus typically sings in the baritone, tenor and bass ranges, though they can also make space for altos. 

Upon joining, members have a five to 10-minute meeting with the chorus director, who determines their vocal range and places them in their respective sections. 

The chorus performs in two concert cycles — fall and spring. Each cycle, they perform in at least two of the three cities the Triangle is composed of, mainly Durham and Raleigh. 

Artistic Director Stanley Wilson was the creative mind behind the theme “Gay Icons.” Wilson had been working to restore audience engagement for the Triangle Gay Men’s Chorus concerts after COVID-19 caused his group, as well as other nonprofits, to struggle. 

“For a good number of cycles, I've really very actively gone after music that is well known in the hopes that it is appealing to bring audience members to our concert,” Wilson said. “For the gay community, the queer community, so many of these artists have been really important in terms of messages and creating anthems of sorts for the community. These artists, some of them are gay or queer artists, and some of them are not, but they're all songs that people know and really enjoy listening to.”

Wilson chose songs from a myriad of artists in pop, rock and musical theater. They performed two songs from Judy Garland, including the famous “Over the Rainbow.” They also performed “The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)” by Cher, “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen, “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga and songs by Whitney Houston, Elton John and ABBA. 

Register said the fun, lighthearted songs of their concert are a way for the chorus to celebrate queer joy. 

“Sometimes our concerts have more specific messages that we might be trying to provide, but I think we're just looking to create a space for people to sing and feel a little bit of joy, especially after a difficult election cycle with some pretty hateful things being said about people in the trans community as well as people in the gay community,” Register said. 

The theme was very well received by community members of Raleigh and Durham. Wilson said the Triangle Gay Men's Chorus had their largest audiences at the two venues Friday and Saturday night. 

“I'm really excited because I feel like we're moving in a really great direction in terms of bringing the organization back to what it was pre-COVID in terms of audience and budget and things of that nature,” Wilson said. 

In December, the chorus will hold their Christmas concert on the rooftop bar of The Durham Hotel. Then in spring, they will celebrate their 30th anniversary in a concert stacked with the chorus' greatest hits and featuring returning alumni from past years. 

The Triangle Gay Men's Chorus has been going strong for three decades, through the passage of important rights for LGBTQ individuals and the COVID-19 era that affected their community involvement and membership.

Concert planner for the chorus, Ron Lopez, said that seeking out community will always be important to people. 

“There's always been people that have wanted to express themselves through song and create a community that way,” Lopez said. “I think people have always sought that out. When you always have those people, they're going to gravitate towards each other, and it's a great thing.”

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