Buffalo Gay Men’s Chorus Presenting 2 Unique Shows

Buffalo Gay Men’s Chorus presents local debut of Tyler’s Suite in this weekend’s concerts

We’re a few weeks from the kickoff of Pride Month in Buffalo and across Western New York, but it’s never too early to get into the spirit, and this weekend is the Buffalo Gay Men’s Chorus spring concert, “Walk Together.”

The two concerts -- Saturday at 7:30 p..m at the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 1080 Main Street, Buffalo, and Sunday at 3 p.m. at University Lutheran, 3330 Main Street -- will feature two main sections of songs that talk about love, acceptance, support and family.

The first half of the show features songs written by Buffalo artists and songs about Buffalo, including Ani DiFranco’s “Angry Anymore,” “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls, and “Superfreak” from Rick James, in addition to some commercial jingles many people will remember -- “Talkin’ Proud,” anyone? There will also be popular selections, including songs from Elton John and “What Was I Made For,” by Billie Eilish, featured prominently in last year’s “Barbie.”

But it’s the second half of the concert that makes these shows really special.

On Saturday, the group will perform the Buffalo premiere of “Tyler’s Suite,” a nine-song piece commissioned by the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus in 2014 to honor and reflect on the life of Tyler Clementi, a college student, and violinist who was cyberbullied due to his sexuality and eventually died by suicide as a result of the attacks.

“The nine songs, all written by different composers of different genres, gives us insight into the precious life that was lost and inspires us to not only stand up to bullying but to be there for each other as we navigate life,” the BGMC says in a statement about the upcoming shows.

During Saturday night’s performance, Jane Clementi, Tyler’s mother, will be in attendance on behalf of her late son and the Tyler Clementi Foundation, a nonprofit organization established to help fight bullying online and in schools, workplaces, and communities of faith. Mrs. Clementi will also be participating in a panel discussion hosted by GLYS WNY, Inc., also at Trinity Lutheran, starting at 2 p.m. More information on the discussion, co-hosted by the Buffalo Gay Men’s Chorus and sponsored by Buffalo City Councilmember Mitchell P. Nowakowski, is available here.

Tickets for both shows are available at www.tickets.thebgmc.org.