Season 16, Changing Hearts, Winter Concert
Walking Together featuring Tyler’s Suite
with Sylvia McNair, Mayor John Hamilton, Benjamin St. John, and Colin LeMoine
Sunday, November 19, 2017 | 7:00pm
Buskirk-Chumley Theatre, 114 E Kirkwood Ave, Bloomington, IN
Parking is free in downtown Bloomington on Sundays
Tickets are available at the BCT Box Office, bctboxoffice.org, from members of the chorus, and at the door (while seats last).
$15 general admission
$12 for students and seniors
12 and under free.
Quarryland Men’s Chorus, a positive performance-based community for gay and bisexual men/trans men and their allies, presents their annual winter concert entitled Walking Together. Walking Together features the men of the chorus, renowned vocalist Sylvia McNair, Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton, Indiana University (IU) BFA student, Colin LeMoine, and IU Jacobs School of Music student, Benjamin St John, performing Tyler’s Suite.
Tyler’s Suite is a new and lauded nine-piece choral movement dedicated to the memory of Tyler Clementi, a talented young musician who died by suicide after being bullied by his roommate during his first weeks of college.
Created under the leadership of composer Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Pippin) and Dr. Timothy Seelig (Conductor/Artistic Director of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus), Tyler’s Suite explores the voices and experiences of Tyler and his family through the music of nine of today’s top composers: John Bucchino, Ann Hampton Callaway, Craig Carnelia, John Corigliano, Stephen Flaherty, Nolan Gasser Jake Heggie, Lance Horne, and Stephen Schwartz.
This powerful collection of songs moves audiences and singers alike and ultimately shines a light of hope for a safer, kinder world in line with the mission of the Tyler Clementi Foundation, which works to end all forms of online and offline bullying in schools, workplaces, and faith communities.
For fifteen years, the chorus has been under the direction of Barry Magee, who announced his retirement after Season 16, Changing Hearts.
“For me, connecting our musical offerings to our purpose of giving voice to the historical, present, and future experiences of those in the queer community has always been a priority.” The issues presented in Tyler’s Suite have been and continue to be critical as witnessed by the number of suicides and reported violence toward the queer youth community. The selection of Tyler’s Suite, according to Magee, “is not intended to portray Tyler as a martyr or necessarily a special case, rather a vehicle for telling the story of so many who are targets of bullies every day. Every rehearsal the music brings up personal experiences for the chorus members and we hope the audience also walks away being moved by the music not only in pain but in a call to action. Silence isn’t an option.”
Other concert selections will feature music that inspires, uplifts, and calls the audience to action for the LGBTQ+ community. Walking Together is presented in partnership with Bloomington PRIDE PRISM Youth Community, the Tyler Clementi Foundation, and South Central Indiana agencies who will be on-site to provide information regarding safe places, counseling, and programs for youth and adults.
Tyler’s mother Jane Clementi will attend the performance. She will speak about Tyler, her family’s experience and the foundation they established that fights for internet safety and to protect all children from bullying, especially online forms of bullying.
The Tyler’s Suite project is made possible in part by the Indiana Arts Commission, the Brown County Community Foundation Inc., and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. Additional funding has been provided by the Bloomington Arts Commission.
Doors will open at 6:30 pm for this general admission event, and the show is expected to last roughly 2 hours. It will be followed by a reception featuring BLU Boy Café and Cakery desserts and Board + Blade appetizers, which will last app. 1.5 hours.
