Singing & Board Member – Steve Dodge

While I was born in Southeast Missouri, I lived in Michigan for seven years before my family returned to Dexter, Missouri. I graduated from Southeast Missouri State University with a degree in Speech Pathology and earned a Master’s Degree in Special Education Administration from Central Missouri University. I retired from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Section of Special Education, as a Director of Instruction. After a year of consulting, a good friend called and asked me to work in her new restaurant. She taught me about cooking, and that has become a passion of mine in retirement. After ten years at the restaurant, I decided I was ready to REALLY retire.

I previously served on the Board from 1996 – 2003. I thought I was finished with my board role when I was asked to complete the term of a member who had resigned. I agreed to do so because I feel like the chorus is poised for a period of exciting growth, and I wanted to take an active role in that growth and development.  When the day comes that I no longer sing with the chorus, I want to feel confident that I have done everything I can to ensure its wellbeing and longevity.

My first HMC concert was the holiday concert of 1995, and I have sung in every concert since that time.  My favorite part is the excitement and energy on stage as we wait for the concert to begin.

Heartland Men’s Chorus plays a vital role in the Kansas City Arts Community. For the last 34 years, the chorus has entertained with a variety of musical styles, while also being a voice for social justice and equality.  

I feel like I live my life with a music score playing in my head all the time. My friends know that I have an uncanny knack for remembering lyrics. Singing provides me with an outlet for that music that is always swirling around me. I cannot imagine life without music.

– Steve Dodge

HMCKC Time Capsule – The Amazing Marilyn Maye

Dudley’s Dish: New Performance Night & Ticket Scammers

There are LOTS of exciting things happening at the Heartland Men’s Chorus Kansas City!

We are so excited to announce that we’ve added a third concert to our spring concert, Princes of Pop! The last two years in this concert cycle, we presented Whitney! and After All: 60 Years of CHER. Your support at those concerts has enabled us to add a third night to Princes of Pop on Friday, March 22 at the Folly Theater. Now comes the nail biting until we sell enough tickets to make it financially viable to continue the practice of 3 performances for each of our main stage concerts! Please tell everyone you know that there are plenty of good seats available at hmckc.org – the ONLY place to buy tickets. Again – the ONLY place to buy tickets is hmckc.org! 

We are not associated with any third-party ticketing sites such as Tickets Center, Vivid Seats, Ticketmaster, or Stubhub. These sellers inflate the price of our tickets, and we only receive the real price of the tickets – they pocket the rest. So remember – our tickets are priced between $35 and $55 each (not including box seats). Never pay more than that – if they’re asking for more – they aren’t us!

I’m also excited to announce that ELEVATE 2024 – our spring fundraiser will be held at the first stadium built for a professional women’s team in the world! Join us on Sunday, May 19 at the CPKC Stadium – home of the Kansas City Current Soccer Team! More information will be coming soon on our website, through email and via social media. It’s going to be a fabulous time with all your friends! Save the date now.

Thanks so much for your support of the Heartland Men’s Chorus Kansas City. We love the work that we do in our community, and it wouldn’t be possible without you. If there is anything that I can do to make your HMCKC experience better in any way, please reach out to me at dudley@hmckc.org. See you at the concert!

Cullen’s Corner: Becoming the Princes of Pop

Princes of Pop is underway, and the excitement is growing as we prepare to celebrate the evolution of male pop music with the incredible singers of HMC! We’re turning back the clock to the early 60’s with The Four Seasons and The Beatles, fast forwarding through the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s with Elton, Queen, The Village People, George Michael and finally highlighting some of the world’s newest male pop royalty. This show is going to feature more dancing than ever before with 15 auditioned dancers performing during six musical selections! I don’t want to give everything away, but we even have a special guest who appeared on America’s Got Talent to help us celebrate the one and only Michael Jackson! Before you know it we’ll be starting rehearsals for Rise Up, our summer production that aims to bring awareness to the important social issues of today while inspiring us all to use our voices for change. Then we’re off to the GALA Choruses Festival 2024 in Minneapolis where we’ll be performing alongside 7,000 other singers from 170 LGBTQIA+ choruses from around the world. We can’t wait to represent the incredible and amazing people of Missouri and Kansas here in the Heartland!

– Shawn Cullen, Artistic Director/Conductor