How Can They Keep from Singing?

How Can They Keep from Singing?

By Randy B. Young / Photos courtesy of Another Octave

Founded in the fall of 1989, Another Octave (anotheroctave.org) is a member of GALA (Gay and Lesbian Alliance) international choruses, the Sisters Singers Network, the Association of Connecticut Choruses, the Shoreline Arts Alliance, and New Haven Arts Council. It is an auditioned singing group rooted in the lesbian community but open to all who support it.

Performances include both traditional choral works and contemporary pieces of particular relevance today, many tinged with a dose of wry humor and witty irony.

“When we first started, there were only eight of us,” recalled Amy Weiss, one of the original Another Octave members. “Our first concert was a few songs at a concert of the Connecticut Gay Men’s Chorus.”

A Higher Purpose

It was Weiss who came up with the group’s name.

“There was a Connecticut men’s chorus but not a women’s chorus then,” Weiss explained, “so I thought, ‘Well, we’re just another octave higher.”

Weiss said Another Octave, which recently celebrated its thirty-fifth anniversary, was a testament to resilience, especially in the years since the COVID pandemic.

“We were at around 60 [members] before COVID,” said Cindy Walwer, Another Octave’s artistic director since 2016. “The pandemic really decimated us, but now we’re almost back to pre-pandemic levels.”

Relatively new to Another Octave (if not new to GALA choruses), Cindy Chew said 2024 performances were yearbook themed: “It was looking back over the chorus history and highlighted some of the favorites.”

Theme Songs

Walwer said planning for a fall concert is underway.

Another Octave will begin its new season with a performance on Saturday, November 22 (the week before Thanksgiving) with the theme, “Seasons of Women’s Lives.”

“Our first act will be things like, ‘Blue Skies, Shining on Me…’ Walwer said, “and ‘In the Bleak Midwinter,’ and ‘Summer Breeze’—an eclectic mix of pop tunes and choral songs. In the second act, we’ll focus on the seasons of a woman’s life.”

Another Octave’s plans for a Spring 2026 concert aren’t set in stone.

“America’s 250th birthday is coming up,” Walwer said, “and we’ve got a lovely arrangement of the “’Battle Hymn’ by SHeDAISY, and we have ‘Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor,’ which seems very pertinent.”

Though the group is not overtly political, its leanings are thinly veiled.

“We are trying to reclaim the term ‘patriotism’ because we love our country,” Walwer said. “This is home…so we’re also pointing out things that we need to do something about.”

“It’s about songs that are empowering to women—songs [about] issues of social justice, fairness, and connection to community,” Chew said.

“We’ve got our serious pieces that will appeal to everybody,” Walwer said, “and then we’ve got satire that will kick’em in the pants. Some members are politically motivated, but that’s all the more reason to sing.”

GALA Pride

Chew, new to Another Octave, has long sung with GALA choruses.

“This is actually my fifth,” she said. “When I moved to Connecticut, this was the first thing that my partner and I looked for: it was not just a musical outlet but a place of community.”

GALA’s signature events are its quadrennial festivals, which gathers LGBTQ+ choruses from around the world for singing, connecting, and creating.

The 2024 GALA Choruses Festival gathered more than 7,400 singers from 122 choruses. The next festival will be in Minneapolis in 2028, said Karen Kriner-Souris, Another Octave Publicity Coordinator.

“We try to either attend or perform there,” Walwer said. “It’s just a wonderful experience.”

From “Gangsta” to GALA

Weiss said the group originally sprung out of hip-hop.

“We started out as a lesbian rap group,” she said. “We were advertising in gay papers, but we never called ourselves a lesbian chorus.”

“The joke is that the audition is not about ‘Who do you sleep with?’ but ‘Can you sing?’” Weiss said. “Maybe a majority of us are gay, but if you’re cool with that, we’re cool with that. It’s not like we’re holding hands and saying lesbian things—there aren’t lesbian prayers before concerts. Depending on the season, sometimes we’re more gay, and sometimes we’re less gay.”

Currently, the only male involved is Bill Hively, Another Octave’s accompanist. Weiss said the group had one transgender member.

“If they can hit the notes, carry a tune, and identify as a woman, they’re in,” Walwer said, “but they have to be able to blend with our sound.”

“Mindy Walwer checks to see what your range is and where you fit in best,” said Chew, “not just musically, but also in terms of a social, emotional, psychological perspective.”

Information about try-outs for Another Octave is available through the website at anotherocctave.org”

Safety in (Musical) Numbers…

Another Octave members gather from all over Connecticut to rehearse, laugh, and create beautiful music at a safe space in the Unitarian Society Center of New Haven, but they fully understand that the world outside can be less accepting.

Walwer said rehearsals have become a haven: “This last season, the Unitarian Society have taken to locking their doors with a doorbell…and we have a door monitors, so that’s helped.”

Weiss said Another Octave provides food for the soul and for the stomach.

“We’re all foodies, so every season starts with a potluck, and we have snacks in rehearsals,” she said. “Every week it’s about who can one-up the last person with better snacks.”

A Family Affair

It would be easy to mistake an Another Octave performance for a family sing-along, with all of the laughter, the hard work, and fun, and the harmony among the singers.

“Members might have your political beliefs or might not,” Walwer said, “but when you come to chorus, you’re a sister.”

We are told never to doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Add in a bit of fun and a bit of talent, and we are treated to some beautiful music…whatever the octave.