Matthew Schulte joined the HMC Board in 2015.
He is also a member of the Kansas City Royals Family. Matthew started with the Royals 10 years ago in the front office. While he started out in the Ticket Sales department, he has spent most of his time in various roles within the Marketing team. He now serves as the Senior Manager of Special Events and Promotions and is responsible for the giveaway items and special ballpark events. He was involved in executing MLB Jewel events that the Royals hosted, including the 2012 All-Star Game Festivities, 2014 Postseason, and the 2015 World Championship.
He was also a member of the Kansas City Chamber’s Centurions Leadership Program and received an ACE Diversity Award from this same Chamber.
Heartland Men’s Chorus brings the music of The Beatles to life
/in ReviewsSteve Wilson | Examiner.com
The Heartland Men’s Chorus performed their final show of the season and their first show in their new venue, The Muriel Kauffman Theatre inside the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, on Saturday to a sold out house. “All You Need Is Love” is a musical tribute to the Beatles, Dr. Joseph P. Nadeau Artistic Director.
The show begins as the curtain goes up and projected on a thin screen in front of the chorus is an old time black and white television set. On the screen of the television appears Ed Sullivan introducing the “youngsters from Liverpool” for the first time on American television. From the opening number and right up to the curtain going down for the final time the chorus rocked the house. Several times the audience interacted with the chorus, clapping to the beat of the music.
The third medley began with “Eleanor Rigby” and then a solo performance by Benjamin Helmers of “Michelle.” That was followed by a solo presentation by John Edmonds singing “Hey Jude”. The solo performances like the ones to follow were magnificent.
After the intermission the chorus returns to the stage wearing clothing reminiscent of the 1960’s. Greg Maupins and Jeff Williams began with solo performances of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” Other solo performers were Steven Jeffrey Karlin, Ryan Harris-Hernandez, Eric Aufdengarten and Brandon Shelton. Two songs later the Heartaches again took the stage for “Blackbird.”
Several of the songs were accompanied by dancers in front of the chorus. The dancers were choreographed by Tracie Davis. The dancers and the special effects on the wall behind the chorus only enhanced an already spectacular show. During the performance Rick McAdams stood to the right front of the stage interpreting the show with sign language.
From the stage hand that helped build the set, to the musicians, the chorus, the dancers and everyone involved in the show congratulations for creating a memorable program for anyone who had the good fortune to attend it. There could not have been a more spectacular end to their season. One can only speculate how good the next season might be.
Tears and triumph for “When I Knew”
/in ReviewsBy Karen Hauge March 27, 2012
The Heartland Men’s Chorus performed to sold-out crowds all weekend at the Folly Theater, and their musical documentary “When I Knew” brought the house down during an afternoon of heartwarming and moving musical storytelling.
Now in its 26th season, the Heartland Men’s Chorus presented their spring concert this weekend to packed audiences in the Folly Theater. “When I Knew,” was constructed in two parts: the first was a child-friendly presentation that HMC had performed for 650 elementary students just days earlier; after intermission the program took on a more serious tone and addressed the experience of coming out for members of the Chorus and their family and friends.
The group began with “Don’t Laugh At Me,” a ballad-like plea to end bullying from the perspective of any person who has ever been the butt of someone else’s joke. The group sang with a gently blended and balanced sound that was complimented by unobtrusive, tasteful playing from Robert Lamar Sims on piano, joined by bass guitar and drums. The second piece brought The HeartAches to the stage, a nonet of tightly woven voices that performed a touching rendition of “Not While I’m Around” from Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd.
The rest of the first half was a program called “Oliver Button Is a Sissy,” based on the book by the same name by Tomie dePaola. Commissioned in 2000 by HMC and three other gay men’s choruses, this program was designed to teach kids about bullying and acceptance through the story of a little boy who is teased because he likes to sing and dance more than anything else in the world. The story was narrated by Chris Hernandez, reading from an oversized copy of the book from a comfy winged armchair on stage. The chorus functioned like the chorus in a Greek play, echoing sentiments in the story, providing commentary, acting as a host of other characters, and setting the mood to great effect. The best moment of their performance was certainly the crescendo of demonic taunting that wove “Oliver’s a sissy” together with “I see London, I see France,” creating a dizzying siren that reflected the nightmare of being terrorized by your peers. Oliver himself was played by Steven Jeffrey Karlin, whose exuberant singing and dancing was effective and engaging even on the small stage of the Folly. The singers were accompanied by a small orchestra for this piece, and by Rick McAdams, a sign language interpreter whose expressive and musical signing was a beautiful addition to the entire concert.
The second half of the program commenced with a more solemn mood, beginning with the hushed and prayerful “If You Only Knew” from Michael Shaieb’s cantata Through a Glass Darkly. Sensitive, lyrical oboe playing by Jason Paschall added another plaintive layer to the performance, which was already heart-wrenching as the chorus performed behind a screen upon which childhood pictures of the men in the Chorus were projected.
Dan Savage joined the Chorus on stage for the remainder of the concert, to wild and enthusiastic applause. Savage, the Seattle columnist whose “It Gets Better” Project achieved runaway internet fame in 2010 as a response to recent suicides of gay teenagers, joined the Chorus to narrate the second half of the concert, reading anecdotes contributed by chorus members about the experience of when they first knew they were different. The narration was accompanied by animation and pictures on the screen that descended before each song, and each song sung by the chorus was linked with a particular anecdote. My favorites from this collection of songs were “Sixteen,” a medley of songs that was fun and bouncy, and showed just how much the singers were enjoying themselves; their happiness was infectious! Josh Krueger and John Edmonds performed a duet on “Pushed Down the Stairs” which was some of the strongest, most passionate singing I heard from soloists all afternoon. The HeartAches took the stage once again, fully tuxedo-ed to perform “Affirmation,” a spunky song about standing up for yourself.
“When I Knew” was commissioned by HMC for this performance, and was a touching multi-media event, featuring voice recordings of choir members and their families explaining when they knew they were gay or when someone they loved was gay. The choir sang well, though they tripped ahead a little bit on the piece’s syncopated rhythms, and the interspersed voice-overs were sweet and moving.
The emotional tour-de-force of the afternoon was the penultimate piece on the program. “All this Joy,” sung once again from behind a screen, was dedicated to boys who committed suicide, whose pictures were projected slowly in front of the audience. The choir performed their absolute best of the evening, reaching a climax both musically and emotionally. Tears and sniffles abounded for me, as I openly wept rather than taking notes, until a kind seat-neighbor took pity and gave me a tissue, with a look that clearly said, “I’m right there with you, but seriously, your makeup is just everywhere.” The total experience was hugely powerful, and many more people than just me were reaching for their tissues.
The concert ended with a joyful rendition of “Born This Way” that was fun and had the audience cheering, as the singers all stripped off their jackets to reveal T-shirts (à la Glee) with the identifiers they have learned to take pride in, from “Likes Guys” to “Likes Gals” to “Sissy.” The concert was an enormous success, and HMC should be proud of the lasting positive impact they continue to have on Kansas City.
REVIEW:
Heartland Men’s Chorus
When I Knew
March 24 and 25, 2012 (Reviewed March 25)
Folly Theater
300 W. 12th St., Kansas City, MO
Copyright © 2012 KCMETROPOLIS.org Used by permission.
Heartland Men’s Chorus teams with Dan Savage to increase awareness of bullying
/in ReviewsLibby Hanssen | The Kansas City Star
The Heartland Men’s Chorus’ “When I Knew” production tugged at the heartstrings with an emotional and uplifting performance Saturday night at the Folly Theater.
The 160-member all-volunteer ensemble, directed by Joseph Nadeau, performed for a sold-out crowd. Presented by the Bacchus Foundation, the concert focused on issues faced in the gay community: bullying, awareness and acceptance.
They teamed up with columnist/activist Dan Savage for the latest presentation in HMC’s series of musical documentaries. Savage is co-founder of the “It Gets Better” video campaign directed at supporting and protecting gay youth.
Throughout the concert, Robert Lamar Sims provided steady, sensitive accompaniment on piano and sign language interpreter Rick McAdams added dramatic and evocative gestures.
The first half of the program addressed the problem of bullying and opened with a directed “Don’t Laugh at Me” and Stephen Sondheim’s “Not While I’m Around.”
The chorus then launched into a presentation of the children’s story “Oliver Button is a Sissy,” written by Tomie dePaola. The half-hour musical, composed by Alan Shorter, was co-commissioned by the chorus in 2000. The story was narrated by Chris Hernandez and the title role of a tap-dancing, imaginative young boy was performed by Steven Jeffrey Karlin.
The second half of the program featured a variety of works interspersed with personal stories from chorus members and friends of the ensemble. These stories explored the individuals’ first awareness of their sexuality and included coming-out stories. Savage narrated the selections, which included his own reminiscence.
Projections cast on a scrim added dimension to the stories and songs. Witty, well-designed illustrations accompanied Savage’s words. Vintage photos of children were illuminated during “If You Only Knew;” photos of gay youth lost to suicide were shown while “All This Joy” was sung in their memory.
“When I Knew,” by Daniel Doss, was commissioned for this presentation and included voices of solidarity in prerecorded stories. It was a tear-jerker.
A brief montage from the “It Gets Better Project” was followed by rousing applause.
The program tempered the heavy emotional message with some fun numbers, like the cheekily empowering “Affirmation.”
The finale was an enthusiastic rendition of Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way.” The men whipped off their tuxedo jackets to reveal message t-shirts proudly emblazoned with “GEEK,” “SISSY” and “LIKES GUYS,” while joyously dancing under rainbow-colored strobe-lights.
For their encore, the chorus invited a group of teenagers to join them in performing “I Sing Out.”
The program will be repeated at4 p.m. Sunday, preceded by the panel discussion “On The Way to Better” at 1:30 p.m.