The Hudson Valley’s LGBTQ+ and Allied a cappella chorus Key of Q is celebrating a milestone this winter: 10 years of making music and fostering community. The group’s new concert, “It’s About Time,” explores themes of love, identity, and the passage of time, with performances across the region this weekend.
Terry Gibson, managing director of Key of Q, described the chorus as “an auditioned group of LGBTQ+ and allied singers. We travel from all corners of the Hudson Valley to blend our voices and perform beautiful a cappella music together. Musically, we focus mostly on modern secular music in complex multi-part harmonies with themes including equality, love, celebration of identity in its many forms. And over our 10 years together, we’ve become really a chosen family with deep and abiding connections. We practice love and support and acceptance and really celebrate all of our unique voices.”
Formed a decade ago, Key of Q originally set out “to provide a welcome in supportive space for queer and allied singers and striving for excellent musicianship. They’re goals that we will always continue to actively pursue. They haven’t changed and I don’t think they ever will,” Gibson said.
Over time, the chorus has expanded its impact beyond its members, supporting the broader community. Gibson highlighted the group’s new One Day Chorus series, launched last October: “We know a lot of folks love to sing, but just can’t make the time commitment needed to sing in a chorus and rehearse every week. So, for our one-day chorus, we ask for a commitment of just one afternoon… There’s no audition, there’s no pressure, just fun harmonies, great vibes and a room full of people who love to sing. All proceeds go to benefit a local queer-positive organization.” The first session raised hundreds of dollars for the Hudson Valley LGBTQ+ Community Center.
Music selection at Key of Q is a collaborative process. “Most choruses, the artistic director just says, ‘Here’s what we’re singing,’” Gibson explained. “But for Key of Q, we’re highly collaborative and democratic. We encourage all members to suggest songs… We strive to have about half of our music celebrate something about the queer community, whether that’s an artist or through the themes. Because each member has such a direct hand in shaping the repertoire… it fosters not only more of an emotional connection to the music but a stronger sense of community and cohesion within the group itself.”
“It’s About Time,” the chorus’s winter concert, performs Friday in Beacon, Saturday in Kingston, and Sunday in New Paltz.
Gibson said the concert “grew out of the very real feeling that almost all of us share right now… Some days it just rushes past and other days it feels heavy and slow. But ultimately, the passage of time in all of its complexity… it’s an invitation to pause, to listen, and to remember that even when the world feels dark and rushed and uncertain, that our lives and our communities can still unfold in meaningful, beautiful, joyful ways, and we’re all here to support one another.”
The rehearsal process for a cappella music is intense. “We have about three and a half to four months to prepare for each concert cycle… At the first rehearsal, we’ll introduce three or four new songs and do what we call a crash and burn run through. Sometimes the results are terrific and sometimes it just shows us how much work we have to do. But… with each rehearsal, we spend a little more time working on each of the songs… We create the emotional journey of the music through that.”
Gibson also reflected on the unique connection the chorus experiences: “When we begin our vocal exercises and we begin again our breathing exercises… when you sing in a group, science has now backed this up, your heartbeat and your brain waves literally sync up. And it’s a connection unlike any other that… it’s just such a wonderful feeling.”
Gibson emphasized, “You don’t have to know anything about choral music. You don’t have to be LGBTQ+ to belong with us, just be open to being moved. Our singers put their whole selves into the music and that creates a kind of honesty you can really feel in the sound.”
Image Credit: Key of Q