As we moved quickly through January, we found ourselves back in the room together. Back to warmups, laughter between notes, and the quiet focus before a downbeat. Back to the simple and powerful act of breathing and singing side by side.

This season asks a lot of us. The world feels loud, uncertain, and heavy in ways that can be hard to name. And yet, what brings us back to rehearsal week after week is not avoidance. It is renewal.

Our spring concert theme, Inextinguishable Light, feels less like a title and more like a practice right now. Light does not mean pretending things are easy. It means choosing to show up anyway. It means reaching for one another. It means trusting that our voices, raised together, still matter.

Community has always been at the heart of the Oakland Gay Men’s Chorus. We build it through friendship and trust, by affirming one another’s individuality, and by creating a space where joy is real and courage is shared. In this room, we are reminded that we can do more together than we ever could alone.

Joy here is not frivolous. It is fuel.
Courage here is not loud. It is steady.

Every rehearsal is an act of care. Every chord we shape together is a reminder that connection is something we actively create. As we prepare for the spring concert, we are not just learning music. We are tending something brighter, something bolder, something meant to be shared.

Thank you for being part of what sustains this chorus and its work. Our light grows brighter because it is shared. Every voice that sings, every heart that supports, and every person who shows up in community helps make this work possible. As we move toward spring, may we continue to lift one another, listen deeply, and let the music we share be a source of strength and connection far beyond the room where it begins.

The light is not fragile.
And together, it is truly inextinguishable.