Phoenix Gay Men’s Chorus won’t stop singing out

At a time when the queer community is under direct attack from the current political administration, the Phoenix Gay Men’s Chorus remains a bastion of inclusivity and creative joy.

Founded in 1991, Phoenix Gay Men’s Chorus has uplifted queer voices for over 30 years. Through fully staged performances that include costuming, video productions, dance and of course song, the chorus brings attention to issues in the queer community such as discrimination, suicide prevention, conversion therapy and health care.

Their next concert is "Turnabout: A One Night Only Drag Show Extravaganza" on April 12 at Kobalt Bar. Proceeds from  the event will go to raise funds to restart the group's LGBTQ+ youth chorus.

The chorus’s new Artistic Director, Antonio Lozano, brings over 20 years of experience as a Tempe public school teacher to his role. Passionate and dedicated, Lozano came on board in July and is leading the Phoenix Gay Men’s Chorus into an era of even more inclusivity, welcoming people of any gender identity at a time when they are being turned away from many public spaces.

Producing everything from family-friendly Christmas shows to all-out drag performances that cover showtunes and pop medleys, the group aims provide a fun, safe and enjoyable experience for all, while still staying true to their queer identity.

Phoenix New Times recently spoke with Lozano about how he came to be artistic director, how music can break down barriers, tackling heavy themes through song, being unapologetically inclusive, what straight allies can learn from queer creativity and remaining a source of inspiration in challenging times.


Phoenix New Times: Let’s start with the history of the Phoenix Gay Men’s Chorus and when you came into the picture.
Antonio Lozano: The way I got into ties with the Phoenix Gay Men’s Chorus was through mutual friends who sang in the chorus. I’ve been a public school educator in Arizona for 20 years. I teach in Title 1 school districts, so my friends were like, “Hey, the artistic director is thinking about leaving. You should apply.” They had been trying to get me to sing in the chorus, but the time commitment wasn’t feasible. I started at a new school where I had assistants, so I thought maybe it could work and I applied. They went through a national search. I went through a whole audition process. You had to submit recordings of you conducting ensembles, go in for an in-person audition. They narrowed it down to the top three, and I got the job.

Do you feel like your educational experience is helpful in your new role?
Being a public educator and teaching in the schools that I have taught in really helps me. We have seniors in the chorus who are not trained musicians; they just want to sing. Having that experience helps me educate them and get them to a point where they’re successful in the chorus and they don’t want to leave. I’m very much a methodical teacher and instructor, so the way I go through it, is we break it into chunks and learn one at a time, and by the end of rehearsal, the next thing they know, they have two songs learned.

That sounds very empowering.
I do it simple, easy and fun. That creates buy-in and the members want to do even more; they are hungry to be good. They want to be one of the best choruses in the country, and they can be. There is so much talent here in Arizona.

The chorus tackles some pretty intense issues, like bullying, suicide prevention and HIV. How do you explore these issues through music and bring some beauty to them?
The way we approach it is what I like to call "message through song." People don’t like to talk about the uncomfortable, but when you put it through music, all of a sudden the uncomfortable isn’t so uncomfortable anymore. Especially in the current political climate we’re in, we want to always have a message of "Yes, these bad things are going on, but we’re not giving in to the bullying." We’re going to stand strong in our vision and mission, and show our community that we are a pillar of strength. No matter what, as long as we do it together, we will survive and we will get through this.

You’re very inclusive at a time when, let’s be real, even some queer organizations are erasing trans and nonbinary people from their organizations. As a nonbinary person myself, I love that and want to talk to you about the importance of inclusion. Why is it important for the Phoenix Gay Men’s Chorus to include members who are trans men, and nonbinary people?
I like to say this: Music knows no gender. Music is omnipotent. It’s everywhere, it’s in everything that we do. When I actually took over the chorus, there was verbiage in our by-laws that was specifically geared toward men. We were preaching that everyone is included, but our own verbiage made us noninclusive. We have to include everyone, and we don’t turn away anyone based on how they identify. We only turn them away if they can’t sing

That’s a good bar. I’m picturing the "American Idol" auditions meets "Sister Act" meets gay people in the desert.
Yes, exactly.
So speaking to spectrum and inclusivity, I’m curious if you have many allies who come to shows.
Whether they are gay or straight, many of our patrons and singers have children. So we don’t want to be offensive to children. We try to create programs that I would bring my own grand-niece to. Yes, we are a gay chorus, and there are times when we will be over-the-top gay because that’s who we are. We make it family-friendly. We want to pay homage and thank our community members and patrons who are straight.

We’re battling a lot of hate and discrimination from the current political administration. How does Phoenix Gay Men’s Chorus continue to be a source of love, light and creative joy?
The only way to be a source of inspiration is to be true to ourselves. We have to be honest about who we are; if I can walk out to that stage or walk out to my queer community and be true to myself, I think that speaks to everybody. That’s what we as an organization do. We are not perfect people, but we try to stay steadfast to our mission statement, that no matter who you are, you can be whatever you want, as long as you commit.

We’ve talked about how music humanizes. What are your thoughts about what it is about music that allows us to see each other more clearly?
What I love about music is it’s a universal language. No matter what, it is the same thing here, in Europe, in Asia, no matter where you go. Sound does something to the human. We try to use music to change people’s hearts, to change their mindsets. If we do it properly, that is super achievable. ... We use our music to help move people’s hearts and souls.

The next Phoenix Gay Men's Chorus performance is " Turnabout: A One Night Only Drag Show Extravaganza" on April 12 at Kobalt Bar. Tickets start at $10 for the performance, which is raising funds to restart the group's LGBTQ+ youth chorus. Visit the group's website for more details.