Voices from our Chorus
David Guerra on Sewing Costumes, Singing Truths, and Finding Family
By June Kamerling
I had the absolute pleasure of interviewing our dear Tenor 1 member, David Guerra, for this issue. I hope all of you readers will enjoy getting to know David and their amazing talents, as I did during this interview. Read on:
I always ask first, How did you find the chorus and when?
“I first saw the chorus onstage in 2014 at the Oakland Pride Festival. I didn’t know anything about them at the time, but I was impressed.”“Later, I discovered that Rev. Laurie Manning at Skyline Community Church, where I attended, had a relationship with OGMC (at that time, Oakland East Bay Gay Men’s Chorus). The chorus had been coming to sing at the church’s Easter Sunrise Service for several years.”
“I went that Easter and heard the chorus perform “I Sing Out”. It touched me deeply. I’d been struggling with family issues related to my identity, and the power of that song had me sobbing in the front row.”
“The June 2016 shooting at the Pulse Nightclub horrified me. Pastor Laurie planned a vigil, and I helped with that. We invited members of OGMC. I talked to Lawrence Turner, who was president of the OGMC board at the time. He and I worked together to sing “I Sing Out” as a duet. It was amazing!!”
“After the service, Lawrence called to me, ‘David! You need to join our chorus!’”
“I wasn’t totally sure about being a part of the chorus, but my husband said, ‘Do it. Audition.’ I did, and in the Fall of 2016, I was part of the chorus. Billy (Dr. William Sutherland) was the Artistic Director at the time. Billy was so lovely, supportive, and sweet. I learned so much under his direction.”
“Though I’d sung in other choruses over the years, being with this chorus was a community I’d never experienced before. Being in a male space was really important to me. It allowed me to grow and feel more comfortable in my own skin.”
“All these guys were my brothers and part of my chosen family. The camaraderie, hugs, and support are awesome. They understand what it’s like to be alone and to choose a family that is not your blood family. Knowing that others understand means everything.”
“I occasionally brought my daughter, Al (Alegra), to the rehearsals. As a skilled artist, she would sit and sketch the chorus during rehearsal. The guys loved it, and some used their portraits as their social media avatars. She’s now OGMC’s graphic artist for all of the marketing art.”
“In the fall of 2017, my husband, Claude, was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. When I announced to the chorus how bad things were and how we were struggling financially, members donated to a Meal Train fund to help us out. The chorus raised about $1200, which touched my heart.”
“As a costumer, I volunteered for the first time to help make costumes for our holiday concert. But in the summer of 2018, we did a Disney show based on the songs of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. Belle, from Beauty and the Beast, had a solo. Al auditioned for Belle, got the part, and became an OGMC member.”“This was her first concert, and she opened the show with her solo! I made her a Belle costume, and she looked SO darling. She killed it, and I was behind the curtain “kvelling” (a Yiddish term for bursting with pride).”
“I made a dress with a rat corsage for Dave Woemmel’s performance of ‘That’s How You Know’, from the Disney show Enchanted. I created a trench coat with pockets filled with fake books for Fred Rogers, who played the librarian in Beauty and the Beast. I made other props and costumes and loved every second. I also made the drag costume for Shawn Simon as Ursula, the Sea Witch from The Little Mermaid. It was stunning!”“For our show A Prairie Homo Companion, I wrote a couple of skits. I worked with Fred on a skit along the same vein as ‘Who’s on First?’ but with music-themed drinks and bars in Oakland.”
“A year later, I made cheese costumes for the song ‘Carmina Ricotta’ by Eric Lane Barnes. I worked with Dennis Whitaker, who was in charge of costumes at the time. A bunch of the guys came over to help sew and put props and costumes together. Fred Rogers, Steve Smith, Peter Nye… everyone helped make this happen.”“During the pandemic, Al and I participated in the virtual chorus performance of Wally B’s ‘Love is All That Matters’. There were no rehearsals during the pandemic, and even when the chorus started up again, Al and I had to stay isolated to protect Claude. I was caregiving 24/7, and I missed the community and creative outlet OGMC offered.”
“After my husband passed in 2023, I came back to the chorus. Being among my friends and singing again helped me deal with the loss and grief. I was able to perform in two concert seasons before I had to deal with my own cancer diagnosis and treatment. The support and love from the chorus members during that time has been phenomenal.
I SOOOO want to come back again, and I will. I’m out for a few seasons, but NEED to be connected to my chorus family. It’s fulfilling to me to be able to sing and to create. And it’s my gift to the chorus”.
My next question to David was: How has the chorus changed? You missed a chunk of time… do you notice any big differences pre-pandemic to now?
“We had a lot more people pre-pandemic, but we are growing again. Women were coming in, and that was new, as long as they could sing tenor or lower. We are called a “Gay Men’s Chorus”, but we are not all gay, and we are not all men. The chorus has become much more diverse: lesbians, non-binary, trans, and straight. When I came in, it was all guys, both gay and straight. Then Al joined. After that, things became more inclusive.
Now the Tenor 1’s have a handful of women, and there are a few Tenor 2 women.
The higher voices add to our sound and our richness. We’ve got all the ranges of orientations. It’s a great variety.”
“This is who I am: I’m a singer who loves this community. I love to share the gift of music. I love to use my talents to benefit the organization. This is my family, and I sing out!”/
