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absolutely thrilled and said, ‘Of course I will, are you kidding?’” (Laughs) Haus went through the screening process, along
with other applicants and was one of three top choices after an extensive search—ending with his permanent appointment as artistic director. He is excited to take on the challenge. “I think that we have the opportunity to show that we have matured as a community and as an organization that is capable of great, fine music. Part of our commitment as well, is to education and training, to help make the members better musicians. We’re grappling with the best way to incorporate it all without losing the sense of identity that the gay choral movement comes from.” He extrapolated on his vision, “I think that we
need to move forward; in the early days of the choral movement, it was really the first non- confrontational, not sex-related, visible statement that the gay community had. It started in the ’70s and ’80s like I said and other than pride parades and early festivals, there really were few visible examples of the gay community. This was one of the first things we began to do outside of that. Organizations tended to be more ribald and risqué, with a lot of drag and humor. It was so necessary to do, but things are a little different now. The chorus has indeed grown and with that, challenges have occurred, but the focus of the organization stands strong, Haus talked about that. “I think that for some of the guys who joined early on, when the chorus was quite small, the growth was challenging as it got larger. Through growth there is always transition. Growth isn’t about a number, but with growth comes more opportunity, more respect in the community. We have a mission and we want the mainstream community to see gay men making great art. The more people that your organization has, the more resources that you have and the more you can do.” Haus continued on some of the latest changes
to SDGMC, “One thing that we have done since I came on board is to start the San Diego Gay Men’s Chamber Chorale. The group is 50 to 60 strong already and is devoted to nothing but master works music—wait until you hear them—they are wonderful.” He continued, “As a part of the evolu- tion, we also started a dance troupe. I think it’s the
16 RAGE monthly RAGE monthly | JULY 2014
“I think that we have the opportunity to show that we have matured as a
community and as
an organization that is capable of great, fine music.”
first ever as far as the GALA Choruses. I felt that as an arts organization, because there were so many gay men out there that were dancers, it was time to organize and for them to have a home. They are so phenomenal, I think it’s going to be some of the finest dance that we have ever had.” We asked about the immediate future and what
he sees musically on the horizon, “We do three con- certs a year traditionally and the summer concert is our big, pop-driven dance production concert kind of thing. This year we are doing LUV Madonna. She is such an icon and friend to the LGBT community and we are doing a bunch of her hits and Oscar-winning
rc haus
music she’s done. Things like “You Must Love Me” and “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” from Evita, to some of her classics, “Borderline,” “Like a Virgin” and “Papa Don’t Preach,” it’s going to be a lot of fun.” He added, “We’ve never done a whole concert devoted to one performer, so we commissioned world- renowned arranger, David Maddux, to help us.”
We can’t wait to see what’s in store!
For more information regarding SDGMC or to purchase tickets for their LUV Madonna concert on Saturday and Sunday, July 12 and 13, go to
sdgmc.org
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