That summer we brought the music we performed on the tour and the full version of capable of anything, to Denver for the GALA Festival. We were to perform in an unopposed, one-hour “Coffee Concert” (i.e., 9 a.m.) at Boettcher Concert Hall. Wondering how many people would show up for such an early concert, we were pleasantly surprised to enter the stage and discover a capacity crowd. We took them on the emotional roller coaster we had been through, finishing to a thundering standing ovation when we finished. After wandering through the backstage maze to find our way out, we burst into the plaza to even more applause coming from every direction. It was an incredible end to a three-year process.
The following year we celebrated the chorus’s thirty-fifth anniversary. The chorus published the original version of this book, celebrating the 35th Anniversary. There were multiple events culminating with an anniversary concert at Symphony Hall in June 2017 with a very special guest, Broadway actress Sutton Foster. Of the 175 members singing in the 35th Anniversary concert 41% had been in the chorus for at least 5 years, and 35% had been a member for 10 years or more.
At the end of a wonderful 2017–2018 season, the chorus added to our firsts. On Thursday, June 7, 2018, we took the field at Fenway Park and became the first LGBTQ+ chorus to sing the national anthem for the Boston Red Sox at their annual Pride Day. Many members stayed afterwards to watch the Sox play the Detroit Tigers. Two days later we marched in Boston’s annual Pride celebration. And two days after that, on June 11, we boarded planes for our next historic tour—this time in Africa.
124 singers, staff, and supporters left that evening, and after a day-long flight, an overnight stay in the airport at Doha, Qatar, and another day-long flight, we finally arrived on the 13th in Johannesburg, where we were warmly welcomed by members of South Africa’s Mzansi Gay Choir. The beneficiary of our first concert was the Kliptown Youth Program. The funds raised created the first-ever LGBTQ support initiative at KYP. First settled in 1891, Kliptown is one of the oldest and poorest areas of Soweto. We toured the area, where we learned about its history and the work of the youth program. Children and adults who live in the area greeted us warmly with song and dance, and we got to sing a bit for them. We later performed at the Soweto Theatre to a packed house.
One of the songs we performed on the tour was “Tshotsholoza.” Often called South Africa’s second national anthem, the song had its origins in workers from South Africa and immigrants from Zimbabwe who toiled in the mines under Apartheid. The protest song is sung in Zulu and Ndebel and is wildly popular throughout the country. It is a call and response song. At our second Soweto concert, where we performed at Wits University in Johannesburg, magic happened. As we finished, the crowd burst into thunderous applause. As Reuben picked up the microphone to speak to them, an audience member in the back of the hall sang out “Tsotsholoza” and the audience started singing to us. We chimed in and the hall rang with the sounds of the audience and chorus giving a rounding encore of the song.
After an overnight safari on a reserve near Johannesburg we flew to George, a coastal city on the southern tip of Africa. There we were scheduled to give a free concert for the community and participate in the first LGBTQ+ Pride to be held in the city. At a press conference Malvin Naik, the mayor of George stated his opposition because of his “Christian conviction.” The mayor paid a political price for his comments. He received a lot of backlash, both locally and from his political party. Other members of the city government greeted and welcomed us. The concert and Pride march took place, the only casualty being our video drone. It was a very different kind of Pride than what our celebrations in Boston have become over the years, and it was a great privilege to be a part of it. We then headed to our final destination: Cape Town.
Our adventure continued with the earliest call time we’ve ever had for three appearances on the rooftop stage for the long-running Expresso morning show, seen by some 10 million people each day. In our first appearance we sang “When the Saints Go Marching In” on the rooftop as the sun was rising over the city. Between appearances we went into a different studio to wait, hosted by the station’s pet dogs. The staff provided drinks for us and the chefs who prepare food for the show made fresh muffins for us in the kitchen of that studio. When we returned to the rooftop studio to perform “Tshotsholoza,” the crew and hosts were extremely excited and danced along. While in Cape Town we got to visit Table Top Mountain and visit the Cape of Good Hope.
Our concerts in Cape Town were fundraisers for People Against Suffering, Suppression, Oppression, and Poverty (PASSOP) and The Triangle Projects AIDS/HIV program. PASSOP supports African LGBTI+ asylum seekers, refugees, and immigrants. Before the concert we had the opportunity to hear a number of stories from those whom the project had assisted. It was one of the most moving moments of the tour. We ended with a lovely dinner with singers and dancers. This was followed by a surprise nighttime visit to the tour center on Table Top Mountain where, looking over the lights of the city, we had a champagne toast. After two weeks of incredible adventures and performances, our exhausted but exhilarated troupe flew home to share our stories with friends and family.