RECAPPING OUR 35TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON

ANNUAL REPORT 2015-2016 528 HENNEPIN AVE., SUITE 307

MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55403 612-339-7664 TCGMC.ORG

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2015-2016 Artistic Staff

Dr. Ben Riggs, Artistic Director Timothy De Prey, Principal

Accompanist Jerry Rubino, OutLoud! Director

Administrative Staff Jeff Heine, Executive Director

Christopher Taykalo, Marketing & Development Manager

Stephanie Gaw, Operations Manager

Becky Groen & Ron Brunk-Parker, Accountants

TCGMC Artistic Director, Dr. Ben Riggs, conducting the Chorus at the 35th anniversary one night only concert “A Night at Northrop.” Photo by Paul Nixdorf.

The Chorus: The Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus (TCGMC) is Minnesota’s largest LGBT non-profit arts and cultural organization. The Chorus provides a safe and welcoming environment for gay men to gather in fulfillment of its mission.

Mission Statement: Gay Men Building Community Through Music

Strategic Vision: The Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus will transform the lives of individuals and the community by providing musical programming that is exceptional, entertaining, educational and essential. We see a world that celebrates equality and inclusion, inspired to action by the LGBT choral movement.

As one of Minnesota’s most prominent LGBT arts organizations, TCGMC fulfills its mission by providing a safe haven for artistic expression among gay men and by inspiring social interaction through its regular concert season and outreach performances. In addition to being both an ambassador and a safe space for the LGBT community, the Chorus also changes lives through the performance of significant music. To quote our 35th anniversary commission, Two Boys Kissing: “This is it. This is now the way things are. The story is going to spread, and we hope that maybe it’ll make people a little less scared of two boys kissing than they were before!”

Our 35th Anniversary Concert Season: Under the Mistletoe: A Holiday Romance (December 11-13, 2015);A Night at Northrop: the 35th Season Concert Event (April 2, 2016); Two Boys Kissing (June 17-19, 2016)

RECAPPING OUR 35TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON

ANNUAL REPORT 2015-2016 528 HENNEPIN AVE., SUITE 307

MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55403 612-339-7664 TCGMC.ORG

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Highlights of the 35th Anniversary Season n

Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus celebrated its landmark 35th anniversary season with a special one night only concert event at the renovated Northrop on the University of Minnesota campus on April 2, 2016. The Chorus also continued its tradition of special outreach performances:

• Five local television performances on WCCO-TV and TPT-2 in celebration of its 35th anniversary;

• The Chorus performed at the Minneapolis Foundation’s 100th Anniversary celebration in September, 2015;

• The Chorus performed at the National Coming Out Day Luncheon in downtown Minneapolis in October, 2015;

• TCGMC’s Chamber Singers performed on stage at the Guthrie Theater, playing the role of “the chorus” at the Guthrie’s production of The Events;

• The Chorus performed with Cantus and the Minnesota BoyChoir at the ACDA-MN conference in November, 2015;

• The Chorus was actively involved with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships at Xcel Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. TCGMC Chamber Singers performed the national anthem before the short program competition on Friday, January 22. The Chorus appeared on local Saturday morning programming broadcast live from the Xcel Center on Saturday, January 23. The entire Chorus performed live at the Exhibition Skating program on the evening of Sunday, January 24. U.S. Figure Skating champion Ashley Wagner skated to the Chorus’s live performance of John Lennon’s “Imagine;”

• The following weekend, the Chorus’s performance with Ashley Wagner was televised on NBC Sports to an estimated audience of 1.5 million people;

• TCGMC performed a total of 24 outreach performances in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, rural Minnesota and Iowa.

GALA Festival in Denver, Colorado. The Chorus attended the quadrennial GALA Festival, hosted by GALA Choruses. The festival was held in Denver, Colorado and the Chorus performed its 35th anniversary commission Two Boys Kissing to a full house at the Boettcher Concert Hall on Tuesday, July 5, 2016 (see photo below). TCGMC’s Chamber Singers and OutLoud! also performed at the festival.

New CD Releases. The Chorus also released two new CDs (see left).

TCGMC released “this is the wonder,” a holiday CD commemorating Principal Accompanist Timothy De Prey’s 25 years with the Chorus.

The Chorus receives a standing ovation at the conclusion of its performance of “Two Boys Kissing” at GALA Festival in Denver, Colorado, on Tuesday, July 5, 2016.

TCGMC released the studio recording of “Two Boys Kissing,” the new commission in honor of their 35th anniversary season. “Two Boys Kissing” was based on the young adult novel by David Levithan and was composed by Joshua Shank.

RECAPPING OUR 35TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON

ANNUAL REPORT 2015-2016 528 HENNEPIN AVE., SUITE 307

MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55403 612-339-7664 TCGMC.ORG

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TCGMC Board of Directors 2015-2016

Executive Committee Paul Blom*, Board Chair

CEO, Right at Home Alyssa Johnson Paquette,

Board Vice Chair Development Operations Specialist,

Minnesota Public Radio

Laurel Chu, Treasurer Thomson Reuters Michael Brown*,

Secretary Architect, RSP Architects

Erik Anderson* Chorus President

IT Manager, Lifetime Fitness

Nathan Croner*, Chorus Vice President

Pharmacy Technician, Target

Board Members

Eric Ayen* Psychiatric Social Worker

Hennepin County

Greg Anderson Partner, Software Development and

Marketing Application Design Services

Dennis Clausen* Retired

Matt Helgason*, General Manager, Potbelly

Chris Mellin* Senior Production Artist

Peterson Mills Hooks Advertising Bob Prentiss*

COO, Bob the BA

Tom Schierholz Communications Consultant

FrameWright

Vince Therrien Blue Cross Blue Shield

*Denotes Singing Members

At a special VIP pre-concert reception before the 35th anniversary concert, A Night at Northrop, the Chorus recognized its legacy of exceptional leadership. From left: former Artistic Director Craig Carnahan, former Executive Director Jon Lewis, former Artistic Director Dr. Stan Hill, former Executive Director Joann Usher, Executive Director Jeff Heine and Board Chair Paul Blom. Photo by Paul Nixdorf.

RECAPPING OUR 35TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON

ANNUAL REPORT 2015-2016 528 HENNEPIN AVE., SUITE 307

MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55403 612-339-7664 TCGMC.ORG

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“Whereas, Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus is celebrating 35 years fulfilling its mission of gay men building community through music; and

“Whereas, the Chorus is one of the State of Minnesota’s largest LGBT non-profit arts and cultural organizations, providing a safe and welcoming environment for gay men to gather in fulfillment of its mission; and

“Whereas, the Chorus is a dynamic choral leader that changes people’s lives through the excellent performance of significant music, providing musical programming that is exceptional, entertaining, educational and essential; and

“Whereas, the Chorus is guided by its vision of a world that celebrates equality and inclusion, inspired to action by the LGBT choral movement; and

“Whereas, the Chorus has commissioned some of the best known works for gay men’s chorus, including Metamorphosis, Through a Glass Darkly, the Kushner Trilogy and the forthcoming Two Boys Kissing, and over 30 other original works;

“NOW, WE, THEREFORE, BETSY HODGES, Mayor of Minneapolis and CHRIS COLEMAN, Mayor of St. Paul, do jointly proclaim Saturday, April 2, 2016

TWIN CITIES GAY MEN’S CHORUS DAY

in the Twin Cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, and encourage all the members, staff, supporters, friends, family and fans of Twin Cities Gay Men’s to celebrate the positive impact of this LGBT choral organization here in our community, the State of Minnesota and our nation.”

TCGMC Executive Director Jeff Heine receives a joint proclamation from the Mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul at the 35th anniversary concert, “A Night at Northrop,” on April 2, 2016. Photo by Paul Nixdorf.