The versatile chorus raises its voice — and its wings. After 25 years, it now includes men, women, trans and nonbinary members, and the occasional Sugar Plum Fairy.
Writer: John Schmacker
Photos: Courtesy Gay Men’s Chorus
I imagine that LGBTQ folks who came of age around 2000 or later might think of the 1980s as the Gay Dark Ages. Back then, there were no civil rights protections for us. In some states, parts of our lives were illegal. There was no marriage, no way to establish kinship with the one you love. Unless you were good at keeping your secret, serving in the military could lead to a dishonorable discharge. In many professions, good luck keeping a job.
People were seen as either straight or gay, until bisexual people stepped forward. Transgender people were there, too, as they always have been, but they were even more invisible. At the same time, the AIDS crisis was killing our friends.
In terms of LGBTQ progress, the 1980s are ancient history. It seems like a long time ago, but I was born smack in the middle of World War II, so the ’80s were, what, just a few years ago? That was the start of an age of enlightenment. So much has changed since then.
It was during such a time, in 1985, that a few courageous gay men gathered around the piano in my basement with the idea of forming a gay chorus. We had seen gay choruses forming in other cities with bigger and better organized gay communities. If they could do it in San Francisco, New York City, Minneapolis and Atlanta, were we crazy enough to try it here in Des Moines? Well, why not?
We didn’t start out with much, and it was slow going that first year. We found an amateur but earnest director, one who could at least keep a beat, and an accompanist — an alcoholic pianist whose rehearsal attendance was, well, spotty. We sang hymns and other tunes, practiced harmonizing and attracted a few more singers.
Eventually, a trained church musician stepped up as our director, and we found a reliable accompanist, a church organist who fit right in. We were on a roll.
And what should we call our promising new group? There was some argument about that. I wanted it to be the Des Moines Gay Men’s Chorus, but we knew the “G word” would scare some people off. It was just too much for the ’80s. So we became the Des Moines Men’s Chorus — a compromise that fooled nobody, of course, because everyone knew exactly who we were.
We numbered about 20 by the time of our first concert, which took place in the auditorium at the Des Moines Art Center. Attendance was gratifying, given that the publicity was almost entirely word of mouth. Our program consisted of songs about rain: rainy days, rainbows, umbrellas. It was a hit.
As we gained more singers and experience, we held several concerts over the next few years in a variety of venues around town. Our audiences grew, and so did we. Somewhere in those early years we established a snappy concert uniform: black slacks, white shirts, lavender bowties and cummerbunds. (Tame by today’s standards, when no amount of colorful clothing or rhinestone-studded bling is over the top.)
The pinnacle of our early success was a performance at the quadrennial GALA (Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses) Festival in Seattle in the summer of 1989. Just by showing up, our 25 singers astonished folks from across the country. “Des Moines? Seriously?” But we showed them: We put Des Moines on the gay map. We sang “The Iowa Corn Song,” some Meredith Willson pieces from “The Music Man” and more. It was a very homegrown program, and people loved us for it. That GALA Festival was a mountaintop experience.
But five years later, we tumbled back down. We lost our director, couldn’t find a replacement and eventually folded. We all hoped it would be only a temporary setback.
In 1999, Randy Buikema, the music director at Westminster Presbyterian Church, rekindled the idea of a gay chorus in Des Moines. He brought together many of the same men who’d sung with the original group, and he attracted many more.
By then it was finally OK to call ourselves the Des Moines Gay Men’s Chorus — now “Gay” was our middle name. And what a difference just a few years had made! The new group held its first concert at Cottage Grove Presbyterian Church with a program that featured Randall Thompson’s “Testament of Freedom.” The music was set to text by Thomas Jefferson, who wrote about the courage it takes to stand up against a despotic and tyrannical government.
The chorus has been singing music that matters ever since.
We sang the national anthem to a nationwide televised audience at the Iowa Democratic Party’s annual fundraisers. We sang at the inaugurations of Tom Vilsack and Chet Culver. The Republicans have noticed us but haven’t invited us yet.
Buikema led the group for many years until his career called him to Minneapolis. Sadly, we never paid him a dime for his work. We took volunteerism to its extreme. Since then, the chorus has been led by several directors and a small staff, and we’ve built up enough budget to pay them.
Now that the Des Moines Gay Men’s Chorus is celebrating its 25th season, it’s grown into something far beyond its humble origins. We now have some 80 singers, managed by a well organized board of dedicated and talented leaders, including Ben Hagen, our long-serving accompanist and pianist extraordinaire. We maintain an ambitious calendar of concerts and other performances. Weddings and funerals. Corporate meetings. House parties. Christmas caroling. We do it all. We’ve also returned to GALA Festivals, in Miami, Denver and Minneapolis.
Through the chorus, men and women have found community, friendships and leadership opportunities that have changed their lives. Many singers have brought more talent to the group than any of us pioneers could have predicted.
And about those women: Our membership has expanded over the past few years so that, ironically, you no longer have to be gay or a man to sing in the Des Moines Gay Men’s Chorus. We’re proud to be inclusive, but it’s created a conundrum. Is it time to change our name? Should we drop the “G word”? Go back to our origins in the Gay Dark Ages? I don’t think so.
At a time when many state lawmakers try to minimize the visibility of Iowa’s LGBTQ community and interfere with our lives, we won’t go along with that. As the gay equality movement has taught us, invisibility is the enemy.
The chorus now includes two smaller groups. HarMANY is made up of auditioned singers who often take on more challenging music. The newer ensemble, TRANScendent, is Iowa’s only singing group made up of transgender and nonbinary individuals — and one of just a handful nationwide — and it wows the crowd at every concert. The singers wear tuxedos, black dresses and everything in between.
Des Moines is blessed with several esteemed choral groups, notably the Des Moines Vocal Arts Ensemble and the Des Moines Choral Society, who present first-rate concerts that cover a wide range of music. Their concerts are inspirational. The Des Moines Gay Men’s Chorus is all that and more. If you go to one of our concerts, you’ll enjoy beautiful music, you’ll laugh and you might even shed a tear or two. Our latest Christmas concert featured a bell choir, a bagpiper and a surprise visit from a memorable Sugar Plum Fairy from “The Nutcracker.” You just can’t get that anywhere else. Tchaikovsky would have loved it.
So many years, and so many lives, have come and gone
since the day those few courageous gay men gathered around my piano. The piano is still there. Sitting on the bench, in the quiet of my basement, I think about what has come from that gathering of friends. Today’s chorus is something far beyond anything any of us could have imagined. That humble beginning has changed lives. It’s brought out the best in so many of us. It has attracted talent and developed leaders. It’s sparked hundreds of friendships and several marriages. Des Moines is a better place, and our gay community is much stronger, because of the hard work and talent of so many people over all those years. I’m proud I was in the room where it all started.
The chorus sang last year’s “Silver Bells” holiday concert at St. John’s Lutheran Church. They rehearse at Walnut Hills Methodist Church in Urbandale. Photo: Amanda Parker / Sweet Story Photography
The beat goes on
A timeline of the Des Moines Gay Men’s Chorus
1985
The Des Moines Men’s Chorus forms in John Schmacker’s basement.
1987
The chorus performs its first concert, “Winterscene,” at the Des Moines Arts Center.
1989
The chorus performs at the GALA Festival in Seattle.
1992
At Wartburg College, administrators canceled a concert but rescheduled it after students and locals protested.
The chorus disbands after struggling to find a new artistic director.
2001
Under a new name, the Des Moines Gay Men’s Chorus forms under the direction of Randal “Randy” Buikema (pictured).
2003
The chorus performs at Gov. Tom Vilsack’s inauguration and Iowa Democratic Party’s Jefferson-Jackson nationally televised dinner.
2005
The chorus joins other local choirs and the Des Moines Symphony to perform “The Lord of the Rings Symphony.”
2005
Ben Hagen joins the chorus as principal accompanist.
2006
Rebecca Gruber (pictured) is appointed as artistic director.
2009
The chorus presents its first cabaret concert, which features the debut of the HarMANY small ensemble.
2014
HarMANY performs at the 80/35 Music Festival.
2017
The chorus presents “Our Bodies, Our Lives” with the Project for Primary Health Care. Portions of the AIDS Quilt were on display for the concert.
2021
The chorus presents its 20th anniversary concert under a downpour at Water Works Park.
2022
Eric Shepard (pictured) is appointed as artistic director.
2023
TRANScendent, the chorus’ small ensemble of trans and nonbinary singers, makes its debut.
2024
The chorus is featured on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” to promote a concert of her hits.
2025
TRANScendent receives One Iowa’s Courageous Six Award.
2026
Chase Shoemaker (pictured) is appointed as artistic director.
Timeline compiled by Jordan Black.
NEXT CONCERT: The Silver Party, June 26-27, Sheslow Auditorium, dmgmc.org
Contributing writer John Schmacker is a retired certified public accountant and nonprofit executive. He was honored as one of dsm magazine’s LGBTQ Legacy Leaders in 2021.
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