HMCKC HeartAches Return!

For two decades now, the Heartland Men’s Chorus has utilized a small group of singers to perform different styles of music while representing the chorus when all 90-150 members weren’t available. From difficult acapella barbershop music, classical chamber selections, or Broadway-style theatrical moments, the HMC small ensemble was often the first boots on the ground delivering the mission of HMCKC into the KC community.

The first small ensemble of HMC was called “Heartbeat”, created under the leadership of Reuben Reynolds III in the Spring of 1992. Under the leadership of Joe Nadeau, “The Heartaches” were born and stayed together through his final performance in 2014. The ensemble then changed its name to “The Burnt Ends” with Artistic Director Dustin Cates and kept that name through 2019, the start of Artistic Director Shawn Cullen’s tenure with HMCKC. After the COVID-19 Pandemic, HMC reemerged with 77 singers, and the focus was on building back the full ensemble, but now, 140 strong, Artistic Director Shawn Cullen has resurrected the small ensemble, embracing the name of the longest tenure of success, “The Heartaches”. Auditioned this past July 2023, 16 members of HMC have been chosen as members and made their debut performance with Liz Callaway and Ann Hampton Callaway at this season’s Evening of Note.

Look for The Heartaches during this season’s holiday production and save the date(s) February 8, 9, and 10 as The HeartAches perform their stand-alone cabaret, “What’s Love Got To Do With It” at the Black Box Theater, just in time for Valentine’s Day 2024.