“We really are a family,” the 28-year old advertising professional says of the chorus. “It really is like home now.”
Brewer had been singing in choirs and doing theater since he was in grade school. As a member of his high school chorus, he even included a track by the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus (“Deck the Halls in ⅞”) on one of his many choir playlists. “So I’ve known for quite a while that there are gay choruses out there,” says Brewer.
Finding himself without a performance outlet after college, Brewer spent some time learning about BGMC. He finally auditioned one January night and hasn’t looked back since.
“There’s nothing, to me, like singing with a group of people and feeling the resonance when you kind of hit that sweet spot with voices, knowing that you’re kind of all on the same wavelength,” says Brewer, who will be among the BGMC members on our South Africa Tour in June.
As the place of his grandfather’s birth and early childhood, Brewer has long wanted to travel to South Africa. In addition to learning more about the country and its culture, Brewer is also interested in learning about South Africa’s work with LGBT refugees and asylees and about the countries and cultures from which they fled.
“Just knowing how many people are seeking refuge from the countries in Africa where it’s essentially illegal to be gay,” says Brewer, “I think it’s really important to go and learn more about those cultures and those societies.”
He’s excited about the prospect of performing as part of a proud gay chorus for people who might never have imagined such a sight—or that they could be part of it.
“I do it for the fact that there might be that one person in the audience who says, oh my gosh, it’s incredible to see, you know, now 200-plus guys in tuxedos all just being who they are and being proud about it. Hopefully it would inspire someone else to do the same.”