All invited to Providence Gay Men's Chorus holiday show

By Tessa Roy
Posted 11/30/16

By TESSA ROY The Providence Gay Men's Chorus (PGMC) is set to kick off its 21st season and will start with one of Providence's favorite holiday traditions, The Providence Gay Men's Chorus's Holiday Show. The PGMC was established in 1995 by 12 gay men who

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All invited to Providence Gay Men's Chorus holiday show

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The Providence Gay Men’s Chorus (PGMC) is set to kick off its 21st season and will start with one of Providence’s favorite holiday traditions, The Providence Gay Men’s Chorus’s Holiday Show.

The PGMC was established in 1995 by 12 gay men who wanted to provide other gay men a safe, welcoming place where they would be free to express themselves. The chorus is about inclusion, respect, acceptance and providing a musical home for anyone regardless of sexual orientation, race, ethnicities, religious beliefs or educational levels.

“We provide a safe, welcoming, affirming space for our singing members, our volunteer staff and our audience,” said Artistic Director Kim Kuda. “There is no judgment here. We sing because we love to make good music together.”

The Providence Gay Men’s Chorus Holiday Show, entitled “Naughty or Nice,” will have a fun combination of familiar carols, choral classics and hilarious twists on holiday favorites. The evening will begin with a few familiar holiday songs done in typical PGMC fashion. This year, Kuda said the chorus is doing a jazz arrangement of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" using the tune of "What Child is This" but singing about a cold winter's night. The chorus has a tradition of doing a sing-a-long with its holiday audience, highlighting its goal of inclusiveness.

“We're all here together. My favorite pieces are always the ones that touch people. I want our audience to get a message from what we do,” Kuda said. “Sometimes that means tears, sometimes smiles. When I see an audience member reaching for a tissue or beaming from ear to ear, then I know I've done my job.”

A special component of the program includes songs that support the holiday benefit for the Providence Animal Rescue League. The PGMC will sing several tunes “to delight as well as warm your heart about our furry friends at this time of year.” The chorus will be accepting voluntary donations of pet food and supplies.

“Naughty or Nice” will end with the premiere of “Imagine and Believe,” composed by Kuda and written in direct response to the shootings at the Pulse Nightclub in June. Kuda said she worries about the members of the chorus “like a mother hen,” so the tragedy affected her deeply.

“Like so many other people, I was horrified and just so saddened,” she said. “I was relieved that it hadn't happened here, but in some ways I felt as though it had.”

After the horrific shooting at the Orlando gay club that killed 49 people and wounded 53 others, Kuda looked for comfort in the form of her piano. Within two hours, “Imagine and Believe” was born. She wrote of a world where violence and hatred doesn’t exist.

“I sat there, literally crying as my hands just made music. I didn't care what it sounded like,” she said. “I just needed the warmth of it to surround me.”

Kuda said that if people have not been to a PGMC show before, she hopes this will be one they choose to attend.

“I guarantee that they will enjoy it,” she said. “We make some really good music and I promise that our concert will kick off everyone's holiday season in the best possible way.”

“Naughty or Nice” will be performed at 7 p.m. on Thursday, December 8, Friday, December 9, Saturday, December 10 and at 4 p.m. on Sunday, December 11 at Beneficent Congregational Church, 300 Weybosset Street, Providence. The show is sponsored by Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island, Pawtucket Credit Union, Walt Disney World and JetBlue. Tickets are $25 each and are available online at www.provgmc.org or at the door.

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