Rich joined the HMC Board of Directors in July 2020.

HMC has been in my blood since 2003. I joined as a singing member and found the best friends of my life. I was certainly young and had just come out as gay and was certainly in a low place. HMC became my family and I’m so very thankful to be a part of the board and help shape the future of this amazing organization.

What song makes you happy? 

All of the songs from naked man or from the charts “Rise Up” by Andra Day

What are you looking forward to the most after the pandemic? 

Seeing people I haven’t seen in over a year and TRAVEL!!

Hotel Phillips Joins HMC as Underwriting Partner

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Heartland Men’s Chorus, Kansas City’s gay men’s chorus, is pleased to announce Hotel Phillips as our Underwriting Partner for our 27th season.

This is the fifth season Hotel Phillips has supported the Chorus by providing rooms and banquet facilities for our visiting guests and receptions for audience members.

As an Underwriting Partner, Hotel Phillips will be recognized in all Chorus marketing and printed materials for the season and will receive verbal recognition from the stage before each concert.

The Hotel Phillips isKansas City’s downtown boutique hotel that is both historic and hip. It’s located within walking distance of everything the downtown experience has to offer. The hotel underwent a complete renovation last year offering guests luxury rooms with premium service.

KCMetropolis.org Editor’s Picks 2011-2012 season

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Two HMC concerts were chosen my the editors of KCMetropolis.org as “Best of 2011-2012 Season.”

Heartland Men’s Chorus: “All You Need is Love” (June 2012)

HMC’s debut performance in Muriel Kauffman Theatre was everything we love about HMC with even more elaborate and polished production value. The men of Kansas City’s resident feel-good choir radiate fun and joy, and beloved Beatles pop tunes were a perfect fit. This uplifting, heartwarming tribute to the Fab Foursome was full of HMC’s signature costumes, dancing, energy, and emotion.

Read Kristin Shafel Omiccioli’s full list

Heartland Men’s Chorus: “When I Knew” (March 2012)

This touching, energetic concert paid tribute to the moments when chorus members or their friends and family realized that they were gay. The program was half adorable-kids-story and half tear-jerking testimonials, and I was not the only one who was just openly weeping by the end, so moved was I by the experiences of these brave men and their families.

Read Karen Hauge’s full list

All you need is HMC

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Kristin Shafel Omiccioli | KCMetropolis.org

On the weekend just before Sir Paul McCartney’s 70th birthday, Kansas City’s resident feel-good choir Heartland Men’s Chorus delivered another entertaining concert series to sold-out audiences, this time featuring beloved songs of the Beatles.

The Heartland Men’s Chorus opened “All You Need is Love,” its debut performance in the Kauffman Center’s Muriel Kauffman Theatre, with an elaborate photo montage projected on a full-stage-sized sheer screen, set to the haunting “Because.” The striking images appropriately corresponded to the lyrics and included iconic shots of John, Paul, George, and Ringo, finishing with the infamous 1964 clip from The Ed Sullivan Show. After the Sullivan intro, HMC quickly launched into the boisterous “I Want to Hold Your Hand” as the screen was raised.

The program juxtaposed sweet, sedate love ballads with hard rock hits from the band’s abundant catalogue, including medleys, soloists, and dancing. Artistic director Joseph Nadeau selected excellent arrangements fitting comfortably into the chorus’s range, with rich harmonies and well-constructed polyphony. The men effectively conveyed each song’s mood and clearly enunciated the lyrics while putting their own HMC spin on the music, although occasionally I thought their projection might have been stronger in Helzberg Hall than in Kauffman Theatre.

Dressed as the lads fromLiverpool—complete with skinny ties, dark Edwardian suits, and mop tops—a faction of the chorus emerged to dance during the first medley of “Get Back,” “Revolution,” and “Back in the USSR.” Tracie Davis’ choreography added to the nostalgia with classic ‘60s moves like the jerk, pony, swim, and more. Choreography was peppered throughout the show between the dancers and a few simple moves for the chorus itself, notably on “In My Life,” “A Hard Day’s Night,” and “Yellow Submarine.”

The second half of the concert highlighted the Beatles’ more exploratory period of the late ‘60s. In a pleasantly creative and memorable moment, this half began with a photo of the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover projected on the screen. After a caption of “45 years later…” faded away, the screen rose to reveal the chorus members costumed in extremely colorful and spot-on ’60s garb—afros, paisley shirts, leather fringe, bellbottoms, peace necklaces, and several in the cover’s token neon marching band uniforms. The medley of bluesy rock anthem “Come Together,” dreamy “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” and trippy “Across the Universe” were enhanced by psychedelic lighting and imagery.

HMC’s premier 12-man ensemble the HeartAches performed two stand-alone songs, firstly the King’s Singers’ antiquated chorale-style a cappella version of “Can’t Buy Me Love.” Its second tune, “Blackbird,” was possibly the sweetest rendition of the evening, accompanied only by guitar and featuring lovely, tender singing and noteworthy unison whistling.

Other soloists were comparably impressive. The wistful love ballad “Michelle” was sung with a pensive quality and precise French by Benjamin Helmers. Steven Jeffrey Karlin and Ryan Harris-Hernandez’s treatment of the verses to “We Can Work it Out” were mildly angst-filled, giving their brief duet a theatrical feel. Greg Maupins and Jeff Williams assuredly captured the gritty essence of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” One of the night’s most musically satisfying moments was when the chorus joined John Edmunds after his confident, relaxed introduction to “Hey Jude.”

Compliments must be paid to the artistic and production teams, who, through their lighting and tech work, upgraded the already high production value of typical HMC concerts to Kauffman-level worthiness. The instrumentalists deserve credit for successfully recreating the Beatles’ signature ‘60s timbre and playing suitable solos throughout the show as well.

The encores encompassed what HMC is all about: touching images projected in the background of friendship, family, unity, peace, and harmony accompanied “All You Need is Love,” and a reprise of “A Hard Day’s Night” was full of dancing, energy, flare, and pure fun. Aside from a few intonation slips, a couple of hesitant entrances, and loss of steam in a few sustained phrases, “All You Need is Love” was well-paced ninety minutes of uplifting, heartwarming delight and a proper tribute to pop music’s most influential foursome.

REVIEW:

Heartland Men’s Chorus
All You Need is Love
June 16–17, 2012(Reviewed Saturday, June 16)
Muriel Kauffman Theatre,Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
1601 Broadway, Kansas City, MO
For more information, visit https://hmckc.org