We are nearing the end of 2016, a year that hasn’t come without its challenges.
It was just a little over six months ago that Heartland Men’s Chorus had our final performance of “I Rise!” HMC’s 30th Anniversary Concert. Our weekend of concerts planned to celebrate our 30-year history of meaningful music making. Little did we know that we would wake on that day to the news of the worst mass shooting in American history at the Pulse Night Club in Orlando, Florida.
Just a few weeks after our concerts, the Heartland Men’s Chorus learned of the cancer diagnosis of Rick McAdams, our long-time sign-language interpreter. Rick passed away this past summer. Just a few weeks ago, all too soon, we lost long-time singer and assistant accompanist for the chorus, Steve Karlin. And, regardless of your political persuasion or opinion of the results of our recent elections, we can all agree that we are a divided nation that desperately needs healing and unity.
Despite the challenges, the world has a way of offering perspective. Last week the HMC production team spent Saturday cleaning out the HMC production storage units. Consequently, you’ve never seen a bigger collection of feather boas and size 14 high heels. As we were going through 30 years of production supplies, we came across a handbook from Heartland Men’s Chorus’ first year in 1986. As we thumbed through the pages, we found the names of the revered founding members. We found the weekly newsletters, which were definitely created on a typewriter. But most striking were the names, hospitals and room numbers that were written throughout the book. It was a much-needed reminder of why we sing . . . that we sing for something greater than ourselves . . . and that we have truly come quite a long way.
–Heartland Men’s Chorus
