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
Heartland Men’s Chorus Announces Season Marked by Growth and Change
/in Press ReleaseHeartland Men’s Chorus has announced its 28th season: a series of programs notable for its scope and variety. It will also be the last season programmed by outgoing artistic director, Dr. Joseph Nadeau. Nadeau will conduct the chorus for its holiday concert in December, and then join the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles as artistic director. The entire season was programmed by Nadeau before the announcement of his departure, and it will reflect his artistic vision and ambition.
“Joe’s artistic leadership is largely responsible for the phenomenal growth of HMC during the past 15 years,” said Kathy Dunn, Board chair. “We’re lucky to have one last season to savor his artistic influence as we continue to grow.”
That growth is evident in the season ahead, which includes the Midwest premiere of a major new work co-commissioned by the chorus, and an expansion of its season from seven performances to eight.
The chorus begins its season with the holiday concert, Baby, It’s Cold Outside, December 6-8, 2013. More than 3,000 audience members each year join the chorus for its holiday program due to its mix of traditional music and outrageous humor. This season’s offering is woven around the theme of winter weather. The chorus will sing “White Christmas,” as one might expect, but the comic songs “Lavender Christmas” and “Black Christmas” are also on the program.
“We’ll also get the chance to showcase the musicianship of the chorus,” said Nadeau. “We’ve got some numbers featuring tight harmonies arranged by Deke Sharon, the arranger for the group Straight No Chaser and musical supervisor on the film ‘Pitch Perfect.’”
March 29 and 30, 2014, the group presents the Midwest premier of the oratorio I Am Harvey Milk, a song cycle written by Broadway composer Andrew Lippa (the Tony Award®-nominated composer of The Addams Family and The Wild Party), commissioned by HMC and five other gay men’s choruses. Celebrating the life and legacy of the first openly gay person elected to public office in California, the work’s eleven movements represent the eleven months Milk spent in office before his assassination.
“I was struck with Harvey Milk’s quote ‘You gotta give ‘em hope,’” said Nadeau. “I think audience members will find this concert inspirational and informative, but above all hopeful.”
Gateway Men’s Chorus from St. Louis, Missouri, will join HMC for the concert, and HMC will travel to St. Louis for an encore performance the following week.
The chorus presents Vegas, Baby June 13-15, 2014, its most elaborate physical production to date. The concert will feature the music of Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra from the Las Vegas “Rat Pack” era, as well as hits from contemporary Las Vegas headliners such as Celine Dion and Bette Midler. Guest artists include renowned Liberace impersonator Martin Preston and magician David Sandy.
“And our own unique take on Las Vegas showgirls, of course,” added Nadeau.
Guest conductors for the chorus’s spring and summer concerts will be announced in autumn. All performances take place at the Folly Theater, 300 West 12th Street, Kansas City, Missouri. Season tickets from $72.00 – $114.00 are available now by phone at (816) 931-3338 and online at https://hmckc.org.
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Heartland Men’s Chorus to Bid Farewell to Dr. Joe Nadeau, Artistic Director for 15 Years
/in Press ReleaseHeartland Men’s Chorus congratulates Dr. Joe Nadeau on his appointment as Artistic Director of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles. He will begin his new post in August and will lead HMC’s artistic efforts through the December 2013 concert.
A national search for the next Artistic Director of Heartland Men’s Chorus will commence in early fall, with the goal to announce the new appointment in early 2014. HMC maintains a consistently strong position administratively and financially, with a deep and broad base of community support. The organization is well positioned to attract top artistic talent to lead the organization to the next level of excellence and success.
Joe joined the HMC staff in 1998. During his 15-year tenure, the Chorus has grown dramatically in terms of members/ singers, audience, and local and national recognition. More than 140 men now perform in a concert cycle to consistently sold-out houses. A three-concert, four performance season has increased to a seven performance season, drawing the largest audiences for choral programming in our region.
Under Joe’s leadership, the Chorus earned a reputation for cutting-edge, relevant programming. This includes the development and pioneering of the unique musical documentary format, which has now been adopted by choruses all over North America. The musical documentary combines visuals, narration and other production elements, with excellent choral performance to illuminate timely societal issues. Presentation topics have included: gays in the U.S. military; treatment of LGBT members in faith communities; gays in Hollywood and as portrayed in film; songs of the civil rights movements sung by women, people of color, and the LGBT community; and stories of the coming out process. Through these moving concerts that entertain and educate, Joe has enabled the Chorus to achieve its vision: Our Voices Enlighten, Inspire, Heal and Empower.
Joe’s artistic vision will continue in HMC’s upcoming 28th season as the Chorus carries out the concerts he has planned. His final concert with Heartland Men’s Chorus will beBaby, It’s Cold Outside on December 6-8, 2013. Guest conductors will be invited to lead the Chorus for the 2014 March and June concerts. The March 2014 concert, a Kansas City premier of Andrew Lippa’s new work, I Am Harvey Milk, showcases the Chorus’s artistic national impact: Joe helped position HMC to be one of seven co-commissioning choruses for the work. He also conceived the final concert of the upcoming season,Vegas, Baby, scheduled for June 13-15, 2014. Among the most ambitious productions the Chorus has undertaken to date, it will mark the first time HMC has presented three performances of its summer concert. All season concerts will take place at the historic Folly Theater, HMC’s performing home since 1994.
The HMC Family extends its thanks to Joe, and extends congratulations and all best wishes.
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View the complete announcement and statement from Joe online
For more information:
General Contact:
Rick Fisher, Executive Director
Heartland Men’s Chorus
(816) 931.3338
hmc@hmckc.org
Marketing Contact:
Tom Lancaster
Kansas City Direct Response Marketing
(816) 471.1120
tom@kcdrm.com
Heart and soul to spare
/in ReviewsKristin Shafel Omiccioli | KCMetropolis.org
Bespectacled in iconic black plastic Buddy Holly frames, the gentlemen of Heartland Men’s Chorus opened the concert with a medley of “Music, Music, Music” and the concert’s namesake, “Heart and Soul.” This medley perfectly set the tone for an evening of happy times via the infectious tunes of doo-wop and rock n’ roll’s early days.
Common for many HMC presentations, a dance troupe joined the singers for several selections on the program. Dressed in appropriately poofy 1950s poodle skirts, nerdy plaid button-downs, and pitch-perfect greaser garb, the ten dancers punctuated the songs with classic dance moves throughout, from Elvis Presley’s loose hips on “Jailhouse Rock” and “Blue Suede Shoes” to swing-influenced steps on “Rock and Roll is Here to Stay,” and, of course, the hand jive on “Willie and the Hand Jive.” The male dancers took on the breezy choreography on “Jamaica Farewell” and the ladies enjoyed a spotlight on “Mona Lisa,” humorously recreating the famous painting. Though not always perfectly coordinated, I think had the dancing been tightly together it would have been too rigid for the show’s light atmosphere.
HMC’s small ensemble the Heartaches (this time as a sextet) was featured prominently throughout the evening, and rightfully so. Their harmonic intonation and vocal blend was well suited to the doo-wop sound on “Standing on the Corner” and “Sh-Boom (Life Could Be a Dream).” Members of the Heartaches stood out as soloists on tunes with the full chorus as well, notably Jeff Williams’s ringing tenor and steady vibrato on the first half closer “Be My Love,” and a gloriously hammy and theatrical “I Went to Your Wedding” sung by John Edmonds. Another superb solo was Todd Kendall Gregory’s falsetto lead on “Why do Fools Fall in Love,” complete with stylistic melismata and embellishments.
Artistic director and conductor Joseph Nadeau gave a historical note to introduce the concert’s token moment of gravitas, a tender rendition of the 1953 song “Secret Love” from the film Calamity Jane. The men sang the song’s heartfelt sentiment with sensitivity and emotion while Lamar Sims impressively handled the involved piano part. HMC had another powerful, emotional offering this evening with a rich, full sound on its encore, “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from Carousel—a moving, heartrending conclusion to the chorus’s 27th season.
Thanks to excellent arrangements by David Maddux, the chorus shined as a whole on this concert more than any other HMC show I’ve attended. Despite a minute number of hesitant entrances and unclear tongue-twisty lyrics, the chorus overall had strong projection and intonation, moved together well through transitions and any section’s counterpoint, and kept the energy level up all night. As a community or amateur ensemble, HMC is a cut above with its attention to detail with props and costumes, and the singers’ utter commitment to and enthusiasm for making music together, apparent in their facial expressions and body language during every performance.
REVIEW:
Heartland Men’s Chorus
Heart and Soul
June 8–9 (Reviewed Saturday, June 8, 2013)
Folly Theater
300 W. 12th Street, Kansas City, MO
For more information, visit https://hmckc.org