About the Piece
Inspired by the stories of chorus members, this world premiere commissioned by the Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus* (PGMC), under the artistic direction of Joseph J. Buches, takes you on a musical journey spanning three decades. Highlighting the evolution of PGMC from a few members singing Christmas carols in bars to an empowering and essential force in the community, Raise Our Voice shares our struggles, celebrates our victories, and looks forward with hope to turning the vision of our wishes and dreams into reality.
Raise Our Voice premiered in Philadelphia in 2012 and was performed in Denver at the GALA Festival 2012, an international choral celebration featuring more than 130 gay and lesbian choruses and 6,000 singers from across the globe.
The creation of the piece began with librettist and PGMC member Chip Alfred surveying, interviewing, and reading everything he could find about PGMC, its history, and its members. The themes in Raise Our Voice are universal — harmony, equality, unity, overcoming adversity, and raising our voice about what we believe in, rejoicing about how far we’ve come while reminding us that our quest for equal rights isn’t over.
*For more information about the Philadelphia Gay Men's Chorus, visit www.pgmc.org.
A truly modern gay anthem.”
“
Dr. Gil Pereira
President Emeritus,
Phialdelphia Gay Men’s Chorus
About Lyricist Chip Alfred
Chip Alfred has been lending his talent to the Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses (GALA) for two decades, including The Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus, The Tampa Bay Men’s Chorus, The Ft. Lauderdale Gay Men’s
Chorus, Voices of Kentuckiana, North Carolina’s Triangle Gay Men’s Chorus and the Triad Pride Men’s Chorus (the first and only LGBT chorus in the region), which he co-founded.
With ten Addy Awards from the American Advertising Federation for creative work, Chip is a regionally and nationally published journalist who has penned articles for Philadelphia Weekly, Out in Jersey, South Florida Gay News,G3 Illustrated, and A&U: America’s AIDS Magazine.
A graduate of San Francisco State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Communication, Chip is the former Director of Communications and Development for Philadelphia FIGHT. He also served as the Creative Director for LGBT History Month at Equality Forum.
About Composer Michael Djupstrom
Composer and pianist Michael Djupstrom's work captured first prizes in the international composition competitions of the UK's Delius Society, the American Viola Society, the Chinese Fine Arts Society, and has received awards from
institutions including the American Academy of Arts and Letters (Charles Ives Fellowship), Pew Center for Arts & Heritage (Pew Fellowship), S&R Evermay (Grand Prize, Washington Awards), Music Teachers National Association, College Band Directors National Association, New Music USA, American Composers Forum, Académie musicale de Villecroze, Symphony in C, and the Columbia Orchestra, among many others. MacDowell awarded him one of its prestigious artist residencies for the composition of his String Quartet No. 2, "Romanian", commissioned by Arizona Friends of Chamber Music for the acclaimed Dover Quartet.
Djupstrom's music has been performed and broadcast across the USA as well as in the UK, France, Spain, Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Romania, Austria, Germany, Canada, South Africa, Australia, Chile, Colombia, Taiwan, China, and Japan. In recent seasons, his special interest in Romanian classical music led to performances at the George Enescu Festival of McGill University, a recital highlighting contemporary Romanian and American works at the annual Meridian Festival in Bucharest, and to advanced Romanian language study with the assistance of a Romanian government scholarship. A 2020 grant from the S&R Evermay Foundation helped share this excitement for Romanian music through the creation of a new chamber music series in White Bear Lake, Minnesota.
As a pianist, Djupstrom's passion for chamber music has led to concerts for the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, the British Library, Brooklyn Art Song Society, Astral Artists, Brooklyn Friends of Chamber Music, Yale University, and many other presenting organizations worldwide. As an ensemble member, he has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Philadelphia-based new music ensemble Relâ̂che. His festival appearances include Hong Kong's "Intimacy of Creativity," Tanglewood, Music From Angel Fire, Brevard, and the Académie musicale de Villecroze, and he has performed in major metropolitan cities throughout the world, including Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Detroit, Washington DC, Houston, Atlanta, Hong Kong, Paris, London, Madrid, Bucharest, Tokyo, Shenzhen, Montréal, and Aix-en-Provence. Djupstrom has recorded for American Public Media's popular "Performance Today" radio program, Radio Television Hong Kong's Radio 4, and the Equilibrium, American Modern, and Meyer Media labels.
A committed music educator, Djupstrom teaches chamber music at the University of Pennsylvania and maintains a private composition and piano studio. Previously, he taught composition at the Curtis Institute of Music, theory and orchestration for Boston University, ear training for the University of Michigan, and piano at Settlement Music School. He has been a guest teacher and presenter at the National University of Music of Bucharest, International Saxophone Academy, Rowan University, Rice University, Westminster Choir College, Shasta Community College, International School of Brussels, Montana State University, Paris Conservatory, and Yichao Music Training Center in Shenzhen, China.
Read more about Michael: www.michaeldjupstrom.com
A moving tribute to music as a transformative force for a better world.”
“
Sandy Smith
Writer, Editor
Hear The Songs
Raise Our Voice may be performed in its entirety as a four-song cycle. The final title movement may also be performed as a stand-alone piece.
For information, contact:
Composer Michael Djupstrom at mdjupstr@yahoo.com
Lyricist Chip Alfred at chip.alfred@gmail.com
Obtain The Rights
If your organization is interested in securing performance rights and/or purchasing sheet music for “Raise Our Voice,” please visit the ASCAP website for more information.
“
This piece sends a message that collective voices have the power to change the opinions of the majority. Though the journey is not yet over, Raise Our Voice makes a graceful and dignified argument for the promise of a life of liberty and equality for all.”
Suzanne Weintraub
Performer
Read the sheet music with lyrics:
Read more about the Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus in my feature article in Philadelphia Weekly:
