This August, the Denver Gay Men’s Chorus will hold auditions for its 40th season. The Rocky Mountain Arts Association and its member choruses have maintained a passionate commitment to the lives and wellbeing of LGBTQ+ individuals and strive to be welcoming and respectful to everyone, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or gender expression.
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The Denver Gay Men’s Chorus has been an LGBTQ catalyst for change through musical excellence since its founding in 1982. With more than 300 concerts during its 38-year history, this 140-member ensemble is now recognized as the premier gay performing arts organization in the Rocky Mountain Region. Through its diverse and socially charged programming, DGMC’s reimagined choir concerts entertain, educate, inspire, and empower audiences to foster acceptance and tolerance throughout the greater Denver area and along Colorado’s Front Range communities.
DGMC has performed in Denver and around the U.S. in acclaimed concert halls including Boettcher Concert Hall, the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, Gates Hall, the Paramount Theatre, the Red Rocks Amphitheatre, and Carnegie Hall. Additionally, they have delivered groundbreaking performances at Coors Field, in the US Air Force Academy Chapel, and on the steps of the Colorado State Capitol as part of inaugural festivities for Governor Jared Polis. They have traveled to 12 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada and have made joint appearances with several gay men’s choruses in major U.S. cities.
They have premiered new-commissioned choral works by 14 composers, including Andrew Lippa, Nathan Hall, Alan Shorter, James Deignan, and Craig Carnahan. Guest artists that have given extraordinary performances alongside DGMC include Alan Cummings, Margaret Cho, Diane Schurr and Ann Hampton Calloway. DGMC has performed twice with the Colorado Symphony.
In the name of advocating for a better tomorrow, DGMC has collaborated with The Matthew Shepard Foundation, the LGBT Community Center of Colorado, the Colorado AIDS Project, One Colorado, the Boulder County AIDS Project, Out Boulder County, the Colorado LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce, PFLAG Boulder County, and the It Gets Better campaign. In order to raise community awareness of issues surrounding homelessness and housing insecurity, DGMC committed to a yearlong Street Requiem Project in Denver, Colorado Springs, and Fort Collins. In 2018, they began pioneering an educational outreach program to nurture safe learning environments and support anti-bullying efforts in Colorado schools. DGMC’s future is full of endless possibilities as their mission statement, “building community through music,” drives their imaginative motivation for success!
Off Kilter! is a dynamic a cappella troupe comprised of singers from the larger Denver Gay Men’s Chorus. This 17-member ensemble performs throughout the year at numerous small venues in the Denver metropolitan area and engages communities, supports causes, and entertains audiences of all ages with a repertoire that ranges from classical to contemporary. In recognition of their musical excellence, Off Kilter! has participated in masterclasses with the King’s Singers, the world-renowned British men’s a cappella vocal ensemble, and with Dr. Ann Howard Jones, America’s distinguished clinician, adjudicator, teacher, and choral conductor. Off Kilter! is available to perform at private functions.
For more information and to book Off Kilter!, contact us here.
With more than 35 years of choral conducting experience leading university, church, and community choruses, James is in his eigth season at the helm of the Denver Gay Men’s Chorus. He is also the Artistic Director Emeritus of the Bayou City Performing Arts.
With a collective membership of over 200 voices, he guided the Gay Men’s Chorus of Houston, the Bayou City Women’s Chorus (founder), and the Bayou City Chorale for eight years. His choruses have appeared at regional conventions of the American Choral Directors Association and performed concert tours throughout Europe and Russia. They have performed with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, the Houston Symphony, the Colorado Symphony, and the International Church Music Festival in Coventry, England, with Sir David Willcocks. James has taught choral workshops throughout the US, in Europe, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Singapore, and Thailand, and he served as Artistic Director of the Gay Games VII in Chicago in 2006.
On June 9, 2009, Houston mayor Bill White proclaimed “James Knapp Day,” and US Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) awarded James the Certificate of Congressional Recognition from the United States House of Representatives for artistic excellence to further the cause of social justice. Additionally, he was elected the Grand Marshall for the Houston Pride Parade in 2009 by the LGBTQ Community.
James is a graduate of Fredonia State University, the Mozarteum Conservatory in Salzburg, and the University of Texas at Austin.
In his second season as the Assistant Artistic Director of the Denver Gay Men’s Chorus and Director of Off Kilter! is Raul Dominguez. Originally from Houston, TX, Raul dreams of a musical life in academia while maintaining an active role in civic music. He holds two Bachelor’s of Arts degrees in Music Education and Vocal Performance from Oklahoma City University, a Master of Arts degree in Choral Conducting from Ithaca College, and he is currently pursuing his Doctorate of Musical Arts degree at the University of Colorado Boulder. Between his undergraduate and graduate work, Raul was the Choir Director at Clear Lake High School in Houston. During his four years at LAKE, his ensembles were recognized with invitations to perform with the Houston Symphony, with the Houston Chamber Choir, and at Carnegie Hall.
Ricki Vorrath-Moyer attended Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, then received her Bachelor’s of Music degree in Organ Performance at the University of Colorado, Boulder. She went on to receive her Master’s of Music degree in Organ Performance, with minor emphases in Choral Conducting and Piano Pedagogy. She is currently Organist/Accompanist at First Plymouth Congregational Church in Denver. She is a member of Denver’s premier handbell ensemble, the Rocky Mountain Ringers. Ricki also serves as the Artistic Director of the Metropolitan Choral Festival.
