While the rest of the US is wasting time ranting that queers hijacking Santa and Christmas, the cool queers of Florida are letting their actions speak. No ranting back, no tantrums, no naming and shaming, Florida’s gay community knows how to own every moment and make a party out of it.
It is an accepted fact that nobody loves Christmas like the south Florida queer Community. They are always ready for entertainment, fun, music, and good queer events at venues like Hard Rock Live.
Queer News Tonight’s favorite host Al Ferguson recently interviewed Mark Kent and Gabe Salazar from the Gay Men's Chorus of South Florida (GMCSF) talking about Christmas, music, their upcoming concert, and security under the present political environment in Florida. The interview also sheds light on the growth of the chorus since its formation.
The interview was conducted in one of the Bora villas at the Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood Hotel amidst a beautiful pool complex right below the guitar Hotel.
For those who do not know, Mark Kent is the executive director of the gay men's chorus of South Florida and Gabe is a new sensational personality that is now front and center in the LGBTQ+ community. Gabe is the artistic director of the chorus.
Gay Men's Chorus South Florida performed on December 18th at the Seminole Hard Rock
Hotel after a gap of two years, due to the pandemic. It was a gigantic Christmas concert and the queer community of Florida participated in this with all its glory.
Al started the interview by asking the chorus about its journey since its formation in 2010 and the early-days experience of the chorus.
Mark said the chorus was started by “a group of individuals who had a commitment to excellence and artistic quality”. The LGBTQ+ community in South Florida is huge and the priority of the chorus was to bring a talented performance ensemble to this area. He said, “ the chorus wanted to push the bar a little higher.”
A few leaders formed a community board and gathered and built infrastructure and formed the chorus on September 7th of 2010. In the following week, that is on September 14th, the chorus performed at the favorite queer church of South Florida, the Sunshine Cathedral.
The chorus talked about Reverend Dr. Darrell Watkins and Sunshine's involvement in supporting their endeavors. Mark said, and we agree that the Sunshine Cathedral focuses Beyond just their walls and just the service.
While introducing Gabe, Al shared how he met Gabe at Sunshine Cathedral. Gabe is a frequent singer on Sundays at the cathedral. During the interview, Al revealed his involvement in chorus Sarasota, which was surely a pleasant surprise for the viewers of the interview. Al called GMCSF the Ivy League member of Choruses in the US.
If anyone of you, yes, yes YOU, are interested in joining GMCSF as a singer in the tenor base range, Gabe said that they conduct auditions throughout the year and more data will be available on their official website. Though the name contains the word ‘Gay’, the chorus has members from across the LGBTQ+ community.
The chorus not only believes in entertaining its audience but also in representative communities across the world through different platforms. The very existence of the chorus speaks for the positive existence and importance of the LGBTQ+ community, and this is exactly what we need in today’s world where some groups of society are striving to cancel this existence.
The interview also touched upon some serious issues. In Florida and America, there has been quite a rise in the number of threats and attacks on the LGBTQ+ community.
The Department of Homeland Security has elevated attention to the potential of domestic terrorism against the LGBTQ+ community. We just witnessed the attack at Club Q in Colorado Springs.
Mark talked about the impacts of such attacks on him and the chorus performances. He emphasized the importance of standing together for each other in the community and not being afraid of hatred. He said, fear is what these attacks want to imbibe in the community’s mind and this is exactly what we should conquer through music, entertainment, and performances across the country and the world.
Talking about the performances, on March 24, 2023, the chorus is going to do its annual Spring Concert called ‘Songs of the Phoenix’ GMCSF is co-commissioning this event with other choruses like San Francisco. All the composers of the chorus are of different ethnicities, cultures, and backgrounds. Songs of the Phonix will be performed at Parker playhouse in South Florida.
The chorus also holds Gala Brunch every year. The motto of this event is not just to raise funds and support the community, but also to bring together the chorus family, artists, major donors, volunteers, and music lovers to celebrate the work chorus does. The event also holds auctions.
Not just this, in June 2023, the chorus is holding Disney Pride. They are working with Disney for quite some time to put together a show that incorporates 42 Disney favorite songs. The chorus is excited to be the first to present it here in the South. The tickets for this pride are already available on the official website of the chorus. The chorus appreciated the support from the Hard Rock Cafe.
Gabe took out time to share what the audience of the chorus should expect from the concerts. He invited people to attend concerts to feel a sense of hope and a sense of joy through the music.
And needless to say, the December 18th concert by the GMCSF met the perception of the people and stood to the promise it made. The audience will forever remember the performance by the Tony and Grammy award winner Shoshana bean.
The sell-out of the concert at Hard Rock Live was the single largest locally produced LGBTQ+ musical event ever in Florida.
While concluding the interview, Al asked Mark about his experience as the executive director of GMCSF, which is a 501c3 non-profit during the toughest period the community has ever faced, which is the COVID-19 pandemic, to which Mark said, “frightening”.
He added, “One of the things that always strikes me about nonprofits is they are driven by people with heart and passion and that's not only the people who work there and the people who benefit but the people who support it and during that time we brought all of our expertise and our intellect and our skills to the table but we survived we made it through.”
As Al said, "the chorus has been through some tough times, but now it is “roaring back.”And it will keep roaring loud with the help of the support it gets from the community and the work it is trying to do in return.”
This interview by the Queer News Tonight host with the famous and talented GMCSF is fun to watch. If you wish to know more about it, you can find the whole interview on the official website of Queer News Tonight.
