The Gay Men’s Chorus of South Florida is making a set list and checking it twice as they prepare for their pair of holiday concerts. Each show will conjure up all the holiday feels in their own, unique way.
The first is at Sunshine Cathedral on Friday, Dec. 13 at 8 p.m. with the second at the Seminole Hard Rock the following Tuesday, Dec. 17, also at 8 p.m.
“Hard Rock is like Radio City. That’s where we pull out all the glitz and glamour,” GMCSF President Jonathan Sanz said. “It’s a boom! It’s an excitement!”
The Hard Rock show will feature special guest star Todrick Hall. The rising LGBTQ icon first came to fame on season nine of “American Idol” then as a standout artist in his own right and is BFFs with Taylor Swift, having co-produced the video for You Need To Calm Down.
Hall is quite the get, but Sanz said all it took was sliding into his DMs.
“It’s kind of amazing how it all happened. [Artistic Director] Gabe Salazar reached out to him in his DMs after seeing [Hall] in a concert. Through a very easy process, we got him, and it’s so exciting.”
The other show will have a more traditional vibe.
“I sometimes push my family towards the Sunshine Cathedral show rather than the Hard Rock,” Sanz said. ‘It’s just so beautiful in there. With the decor, the lighting, and the sound, it’s just such a resonant space. Our chamber work as a chorus just soars in that room.”
Sanz, who loves the fun stuff but is secretly a traditionalist at heart, gushes when he talks about the Sunshine show.
“The music we get to do is so gorgeous. There’s stuff in this concert that makes me melt. I got some of the music before the first rehearsal, and I was in tears.”
Having a volunteer chorus learn two shows and perform them just four days apart isn’t easy.
“It speaks to the versatility of the chorus. We can do a more serious, traditional concert for the holidays and also let our hair down. They’re different concerts but equally fitting for the holiday season.”
Sanz says people who come to both will see completely different shows, but have the same feelings at the end.
“Either show, you’re going to walk out feeling a little lighter, a little brighter and go into the community and spread that love.”
For more information and tickets, visit GMCSF.org.
