The headliner Friday evening at “Origins of Love: Celebrating Trans Day of Visibility” at Cooper Union’s Great Hall was Justin Vivian Bond, but the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus gave a beautiful, emotional and uplifting performance that almost upstaged the star.
The concert, a free show, was standing room only as the NYCGMC began with “I Am America,” one of the many tunes performed that were written or arranged by trans artists. The chorus included an affinity group, Euphoria, which consists of all trans and non-binary performers and the Youth Pride Chorus singers, who range in age from 13 to 22.
Designed to celebrate “self-love, visibility, and acceptance and to uplift trans and non-binary voices,” the concert was a resounding success. Artist Ethan Shoshan commented that it was “a very powerfully uplifting performance and a testament to our diverse queer, trans and gender non-binary community in a climate where we struggle and are attacked for just being ourselves.”
“It was special and touching that performers shared not only their favorite songs but also their personal journeys,” Shoshan added.
Bond fronted the choir for Melanie’s “Lay Down (Candles In The Rain)” before joining their regular band — Matt Ray (piano, musical director), Mike Jackson (bass), Bernice “Boom Boom” Brooks (drums), Nath Ann Carrera (guitar) and Claudia Chopek (violin) — for a set of songs written mostly by “our great lesbian, trans-singer and gender non-conforming songwriters.”
With all hands on deck, over 70 beautiful voices filled the hall under the enthusiastic direction of John J. Atorino, the artistic director of Big Apple Performing Arts and the NYCGMC. Atorino noted the significance of having Bond onstage with them, saying, “They have been a prominent voice in our community for decades and continue to perform at such a high caliber.”
“It’s been about 10 years since we shared the stage with Justin Vivian Bond, the last time being at The Town Hall for a holiday concert,” Atorino said. “Justin Vivian Bond is a trans artist creating beautiful music and performances in the world who we wanted to highlight in this year’s TDOV. NYCGMC and JVB are rooted in NYC’s LGBTQ community. Now is a time when our community needs to come together, create art together, collaborate, and support and highlight each other. We need way more of this!”
Bond recounted onstage what they replied when asked recently by an interviewer, “What do you want to tell all the queer children who are so afraid?”
Bond responded, “Being scared doesn’t solve problems. Being fierce, being together, that helps. If you don’t know what to do, don’t do anything. Don’t feel bad about it — you do what you can. You get together with your girlfriends, with your queer siblings, you hang out awhile, you come up with a good idea and then you do something. Until then, take care of yourself and give them everything you can to just show them that you will not be stopped.”
Amanda Rubin, a longtime JVB fan, was understandably moved by the show.
“It was a magical and beautiful evening,” she said. “Seeing the Youth Choir and hearing their stories was so poignant. Seeing the support they have for each other in the gay, lesbian, trans and non-binary community is profound. Justin Vivian Bond was a golden goddess wearing a designer veil and gown – seeing her looking so beautiful and singing so joyously brought me to tears. I came with two friends, one straight and one gay, who both have young family members who have recently transitioned. Knowing the punitive laws that are happening is heartbreaking, but you can never underestimate the power of the LGBTQ community. Also, it was wonderful that even the cis people were thanked for their support for this magnificent event.”
Atorino mentions, “We are so thankful for The Cooper Union for allowing us to perform together through this event. Furthermore, they presented this concert for free as they do with all of their programming,” before musing on the current climate.
“In a time when things are appearing ominous for the LGBTQ community,” he says, “when history seems to be rhyming with the present—we should be listening to folks who have been around and persevered. How are they creating art right now? Which tunes are they singing? What can we learn from them? What can they learn from us?”
The NYCGMC is online at nycgmc.org and Bond is at justinvivianbond.com.
