As Shakespeare said: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Even something as basic as the name of the organization was a very big deal requiring much conversation. A number of gay choruses were being formed across the country at this time. Not all chose to openly identify themselves as gay in their name. Some, such as the Turtle Creek Chorale, chose a subtle approach by naming themselves after the gayborhood in Dallas. Others, such as the Seattle Men’s Chorus, played it safer by omitting any reference to gays in the name. No group should be judged by what their decision was at the time. Among other items of concern, there were genuine safety issues involved for many chorus members.
From the very beginning our group has always identified itself as the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus. Early on, the official business name of the group was changed to Bay State Performing Arts, which remains today the corporate name. This was done for a purely practical reason: money. Many businesses and individuals did not want to be seen as supporting a gay group. By changing the corporate name to remove the reference to gay, members were able to get their employers to contribute matching funds for donations that they would not have been able to secure for the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus. But in performances and marketing, the group has never been called anything but the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus. Indeed, as recently as our tour of the Middle East in 2015 we were requested to be promoted as the Boston Men’s Chorus, but refused and demanded that our full name, Boston Gay Men’s Chorus, be used.
Arts organizations face even more challenges than many other non-profits. In addition to all of the usual issues around mission, fundraising, and other business, there is the issue of artistic direction. This is always a complex issue for arts organizations There are multiple levels of concern that need to be addressed. The BGMC, for example, was concerned with meeting the needs of the members (to sing the kinds of music that would keep members interested in performing), meeting the needs of the audience (to attract them to come to see performances), and meeting the artistic needs of the music director (to perform music that would be interesting and fun, but challenge the performers to grow and the audiences to enjoy different kinds of music). Combine this with the other stresses of a fledgling organization and stress compounds in every direction.
Early in 1985, the chorus saw its first small ensemble group. The Front Line was a cabaret ensemble group. The Front Line was led by John Van Etten, the chorus’ assistant music director. The eight members of the troupe performed popular, jazz, and Broadway numbers at clubs like Chaps, Sporters, and Club Cafe. The March concert that year also saw a new feature. Jody Steiner became the first in a series of individuals providing ASL interpretation of our concerts. The tradition continues to today, with all of our major concerts including interpretation.