Columbus Gay Men’s Chorus offers new conducting opportunities, sense of community for Ohio State music students
For undergraduate music students, finding chances to conduct can be difficult. Jared Brayton Bollenbacher, the artistic director of the Columbus Gay Men’s Chorus (CGMC) and 2006 graduate from Ohio State’s School of Music, saw this as an opportunity.
In 2022, Bollenbacher, with help from Jordan Saul, assistant teaching professor of choral music education, created the CGMC Choral Conducting Intern program in an effort to give undergraduate music students an opportunity to conduct in front of an audience and extra practice time on the podium.
“When Brayton contacted me with the potential of an internship, it was so easy to say yes,” Saul said. “Podium time is not easy to come by in collegiate conducting programs, and additionally students are increasingly interested in mission-based choirs that serve wider communities. I knew the experiences the student interns would have with CGMC and with Brayton would be complementary to their studies and influential in their development as musician citizens.”
The first year of interns featured three Ohio State music students, each of whom conducted a song at a live concert with CGMC. Brennan Harlow holds the distinction of being the first intern in the program.
“It was terrifying,” Harlow said with a laugh when discussing being the first-ever intern in the program. “When you are in (music) education, you don’t get a lot of time in front of ensembles. As I went along in the program, that feeling went away because it was one of the most accepting environments in the world.”
Harlow, who graduated with his bachelor’s degree in music education in May, added that the internship allowed him to make mistakes and instantly learn from them, thanks to the immersive and direct approach that Bollenbacher took with the program.
“He was instrumental in getting me more comfortable up on the podium and being able to actually conduct and give the ensemble what it needed in that moment,” Harlow said.
“Brennan was the consummate gentleperson,” Bollenbacher said. “Because you are in a position of power and you have to manage so many people, it is easy to come across as heartless or angry because you are just trying to get things done and you have so many people that rely on you. But Brennan took feedback so well and was so easy to be around, which really helps and makes people want to learn from you.”
After Harlow completed the holiday concert, Gabriel Gonzalez stepped in as the spring intern. During their time at Ohio State, Gonzalez participated in Men’s Glee Club, Women’s Glee Club and Sound of Science, an a cappella group. Another music education graduate, Gonzalez also spent time student teaching at Scioto Darby Elementary.
“Gabriel has such an ease on the podium,” Bollenbacher said. “They are just really in-tune. Even though technically they don’t have as much experience, they understand the group. They were excellent on the podium.”
Unlike Harlow and Gonzalez, summer intern Ariel Alvarado was a graduate student at the School of Music when she began her internship.
Bollenbacher said this was by design as the CGMC holds their Pride Month concert in June, which requires a quick turn-around. Alvarado’s added experience made her an ideal candidate for the summer position.
“She had already conducted more than the others and had more years of schooling. With Ariel, we focused on higher-level things when it came to conducting,” Bollenbacher said. “For example, ‘your right hand flips up here, and it’s changing the sound. What I think you want is to even it out.’ So very minute details.”
Despite having more experience than her internship predecessors, Alvarado said she learned new skills with CGMC that she might not have otherwise had an opportunity to study.
“CGMC is a tenor-bass ensemble and I didn’t have a lot of experience working with them,” she said. “On top of that, there are a lot of queer-gender individuals who are at various levels of hormone replacement and that physically affects the voice. So being able to hear them go through their changes and figuring out different tools that work for them has been very insightful. It has been a wonderful firsthand experience.”
Alvarado, who earned her undergraduate degree from Spellman College in Atlanta, comes from a musical family. Both of her parents are pastors in Atlanta, where she was born and raised. Her father is a keyboardist and both parents are vocalists. Alvarado’s father grew up in Columbus and encouraged her to go to Ohio State for graduate school.
“My dad said, ‘if there is anywhere I would be OK with you leaving home for, then Columbus is the place.’ I have always been a Buckeye, so it was cool to solidify that (with a degree),” she said.
As CGMC closes the book on the first year of its internship program, Bollenbacher is already looking forward to 2023-2024. He has lined up two interns for the upcoming academic year and said there are additional lessons he feels he can incorporate into the program.
“I do most of the programming over the summer for the following year. So one of the things I am offering them is the opportunity to be involved in that,” he said. “You don’t get as much podium time as you need in undergrad, so we want to create a program that works to the strengths of the singers, but also make it interesting so that the singers want to enhance and grow the program.”
Bollenbacher added that he also wants to give interns the ability to decide whether choreography, accessories or other additions should be introduced to a specific piece. Overall, creating an immersive experience that gives the interns and chorus members the ability to grow, be creative and learn from each other is something Bollenbacher is excited about.
“It is a real milestone when you can give back to the community and the future generations in the way that this program does.”