To celebrate National Coming Out Day, we are sharing the story of one of our members, Jacob Horton. Jacob joined the chorus in 2019. During our Summer Concert, Rise Up, he shared his story with our audience at The Folly Theater. Here is his story:
So, while I was always an effeminate kid, my coming out story was in “tiers,” and I didn’t really come out to most of my family on my own, and in fact, I was outed to most of them.
The first one that found out was my Mom. I was 14 and in 8th grade, and I was just going through a lot, and mentally, I was feeling low. I found solace in a boy a year above me who was out at the time, and I was just pouring out feelings of fear and uncertainty with coming into my own as a gay man on top of saying I liked him via text.
Needless to say, my mama’s intuition kicked in, and she could tell something was up. I had a flip phone then, so she saw my texts. Her only regret was that I was too scared to tell her because she was completely accepting (she comes to our concerts too!).
My sister was the next one, and she found out from my mom, but she was immediately accepting because she is an open member of the LGBT community herself.
It was really just them two when it came to family that knew for the longest time, but something was eating at me because I hadn’t told anyone else.
My dad was the one I was most scared of telling just because we had differing views on things and I did not want him to stop loving me. We ended up having an argument over text, and I just so happened to blurt out that I was gay. He then called me to say that I am his son and he loves me unconditionally. We have been on greater terms ever since.
Then, for the rest of my family, I have to thank the chorus for helping me “come out.” My family knew how much the chorus meant so much to me, so they started researching so they could know more and start coming to concerts. They knew we were primarily a chorus of gay men and we did a lot for the LGBT community, so they began to ask my mom lots of “questions.”
Every time she told someone, she did it out of love and didn’t mean any harm. I thank her a lot for it because while I have “come out” in different ways to my family, I have always been met with blankets of love and acceptance.
I feel so grateful and lucky to have them.
– Jacob Horton, Tenor 2
Dudley’s Dish – Today, we need you more than ever
/in BlogOur voices sing for progress, your support makes us stronger. Welcome to season 39 and the wonderful legacy that is the Heartland Men’s Chorus Kansas City!
We remain hopeful and steadfast in our vision of singing to inspire a world of love and acceptance. And while that seems daunting at the present time, we must sing on. We are so excited about the season that we have planned for you! The chorus sounds incredible in their preparation for the holiday concert, and I personally can’t wait for Y’all Means All in March. But now, more than ever, we look forward to our DO IT WITH HEART TOUR early this summer, bringing music that matters to communities of Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas, where LGBTQ+ voices fight to be heard. But wait – there’s more! Ignite the Night – Evening of Note 2025 is coming on Saturday, January 11 at the historic Midland Theatre! And we are so excited to announce our special guest and entertainer, Nina West! It’s going to be a fabulous time, and we’re excited for you to experience it.
In order to make all of this happen (especially the tour) I hope that you will support HMCKC in any way that you can. Ticket sales only provide 33% of our revenue, meaning every contribution – no matter the size – makes a significant impact.
Please consider making a donation today by visiting hmckc.org and clicking the donate button. Please consider making your gift a recurring one, but whatever you can give, I thank you for making a difference!
Audrey Lorde once said “Only one thing is more frightening than speaking your truth. And that is not speaking.” We must sing on – but today, we need you more than ever.
Dudley Hogue
Executive Director, Heartland Men’s Chorus
Cullen’s Corner – Thank you for standing with us
/in UncategorizedAs we prepare to open our season with All is Bright, I want to share just how important this performance has become, “from the podium”. This season was planned through a hopeful lens of winning the battle against an ideology of greed, hate, ignorance, and intolerance with this year’s recent election. Suddenly things have changed. While it has always been a mission to share messages of love, acceptance, and unity, this season brings an even deeper significance. We’re stepping onto the stage with a renewed sense of purpose in a time when our voices are needed more than ever.
The reality we face today is challenging. Many of our trans members — and the trans children of our community — are under attack. The rights of women who support our chorus and our sibling choruses are being questioned and restricted. And with initiatives like Project 2025 promising to roll back protections and even marriage rights for LGBTQ individuals, we’re faced with an uphill road ahead. But our commitment to sharing messages of love and acceptance will not waver. Instead, it grows stronger.
All is Bright is our chance to bring people together in the face of this division. For everyone who has ever felt unseen, we are here to say, “You are valued, you are loved, and you are not alone.” We believe in a Kansas City — and a world — where everyone deserves to live authentically, to feel safe, and to be celebrated. Each note, each lyric, and each performance is a way for us to shine that light of hope, resilience, and courage.
Our season is no longer just about the music; it’s about rallying as a community and showing that we will not be silenced or discouraged. To our loyal season ticket holders, new audience members, corporate sponsors, and cherished community partners: thank you for standing with us. You make it possible for us to keep singing and advocating, to keep providing a safe space for those who need it, and to keep inspiring hope in a divided world.
We are proud to be a part of this community, and we invite each of you to join us as we share All is Bright — a beacon of resilience, unity, and love. Together, let’s bring light to a world that needs it now more than ever.
With unwavering hope and gratitude,
Shawn Cullen
Meet New HMCKC Member – Michael Reyes
/in BlogHow did I find HMCKC?
My husband, Les, and I had the pleasure of seeing a couple of shows by HMCKC in the past—Princes of Pop and the Tribute to Whitney Houston. The tickets were actually gifts from Les’s family, who knew that we had enjoyed seeing concerts by the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington when we lived there. They also knew about my background in singing, so every time we mentioned these shows, the response was , “You need to audition for the chorus (HMCKC).” This past summer, the chorus had a booth at the Pride Festival, and that’s when I finally decided to take the leap and put my name in that I wanted to audition.
What’s it been like so far?
Having seen the chorus perform before, I knew there had be a lot of rehearsals. When I saw the agenda for our first rehearsal, I thought – WOW that is a lot to cover! I realized I couldn’t just show up without practicing the songs at home, so I made sure to work through the materials provided. From the very beginning, everyone was so welcoming, and I had a great time at the first practice. As I learned the songs better and got to know some folks in the group, each rehearsal became even more enjoyable!
What Am I looking forward to the most for All is Bright
I’m really excited to perform amazing music alongside my new chorus family and share our joy with the community!
What should audiences expect from the concert?
For some people, the holiday season is like the perfect ending to a Hallmark Christmas movie—full of warmth, love, and happiness. For others, there can be various levels of angst:, whether it’s the stress of gift-giving, strained family relationships, or missing loved ones who are no longer with us. No matter what Christmas means to you, we want to create a space for pure JOY! Our concert will have something for everyone. We want to entertain you with traditional religious carols, festive secular songs with a dash of glitz, glam, and sparkle, a bit of dancing, and more!
Heartland Men’s Chorus Performs at GALA Festival 2024
/in BlogThe sports world may have the Olympics but GALA Choruses hosts Festival every four years. It had been 8 years since we gathered due to Covid cancellation in 2020, and we were more than excited to return with festival veterans and many new singers.
Festival is not a singing competition but a choral celebration where 7,000 LGBTQIA+ delegates gather to sing for our siblings in song. A safe space to meet others over the common bond of making music together and telling wonderful stories through song.
HMCKC had strong representation with 140+ singing and non-singing delegates. The HeartAches performed in a Small Ensemble Showcase and were a feature in one of the nightly Blockbuster Concerts.
“Through their powerfully strong, melodic voices, Kansas City’s Heartland Men’s Chorus educated, inspired, motivated, and asked us to self-reflect. While being thoroughly entertained and enlightened, an endless flow of tears of pride and self-awareness were shed throughout their captivating concert,” said Dennis Maddux-Phillips after watching via Livestream Pass.
The full chorus performed a stunning 20-minute set and then joined with the Kansas City Women’s Chorus for two songs to finish our concert block with 160 voices strong.
“… it was the most moving thing we’ve seen and we’ve never heard a GALA Chorus sound that good,” said a Portland Gay Men’s Chorus member.
It truly was an honor to represent Kansas City at the Minneapolis, MN hosted event in July. Four months later we are still celebrating the success we had there in building community and celebrating pride while singing to inspire a world of love and acceptance.
National Coming Out Day – Jacob’s Story
/in BlogTo celebrate National Coming Out Day, we are sharing the story of one of our members, Jacob Horton. Jacob joined the chorus in 2019. During our Summer Concert, Rise Up, he shared his story with our audience at The Folly Theater. Here is his story:
So, while I was always an effeminate kid, my coming out story was in “tiers,” and I didn’t really come out to most of my family on my own, and in fact, I was outed to most of them.
The first one that found out was my Mom. I was 14 and in 8th grade, and I was just going through a lot, and mentally, I was feeling low. I found solace in a boy a year above me who was out at the time, and I was just pouring out feelings of fear and uncertainty with coming into my own as a gay man on top of saying I liked him via text.
Needless to say, my mama’s intuition kicked in, and she could tell something was up. I had a flip phone then, so she saw my texts. Her only regret was that I was too scared to tell her because she was completely accepting (she comes to our concerts too!).
My sister was the next one, and she found out from my mom, but she was immediately accepting because she is an open member of the LGBT community herself.
It was really just them two when it came to family that knew for the longest time, but something was eating at me because I hadn’t told anyone else.
My dad was the one I was most scared of telling just because we had differing views on things and I did not want him to stop loving me. We ended up having an argument over text, and I just so happened to blurt out that I was gay. He then called me to say that I am his son and he loves me unconditionally. We have been on greater terms ever since.
Then, for the rest of my family, I have to thank the chorus for helping me “come out.” My family knew how much the chorus meant so much to me, so they started researching so they could know more and start coming to concerts. They knew we were primarily a chorus of gay men and we did a lot for the LGBT community, so they began to ask my mom lots of “questions.”
Every time she told someone, she did it out of love and didn’t mean any harm. I thank her a lot for it because while I have “come out” in different ways to my family, I have always been met with blankets of love and acceptance.
I feel so grateful and lucky to have them.
– Jacob Horton, Tenor 2
HMCKC Time Capsule – The Amazing Marilyn Maye
/in BlogDudley’s Dish: New Performance Night & Ticket Scammers
/in BlogThere 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
/in BlogPrinces 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
Meet the new HMCKC Board Chair Eric Aufdengarten
/in BlogSponsor Spotlight – Aspis Consulting
/in BlogAspis Consulting joined as a sponsor during Season 37 and has continued to support the chorus in so many ways. The cybersecurity consulting firm also became part of our Disney Producer’s Circle that helped HMCKC produce and bring to the stage at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, ‘Disney Pride in Concert.’
“Aspis Consulting’s values include community and diversity. There is no greater joy for us than when our values align with a worthy community organization. By sponsoring a local arts organization such as the chorus, we live our values and display our authentic selves out loud. We view our partnership as an investment into a shared mission of building community, celebrating pride, and empowering authenticity.”
Jeff Wagner, Aspis