Louisville Magazine is Louisville's city magazine, covering Louisville people, lifestyles, politics, sports, restaurants, entertainment and homes. Includes a monthly calendar of events.
Issue link: https://loumag.epubxp.com/i/421959
LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE 12.14 13 eff Buhrman didn't know if his mom liked his CD or not. She didn't say anything about it. Then again, she wasn't much of a talker. He'd sent the music, by the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, D.C., as his way of coming out to his parents. Though in his mid-30s and out since college, Buhrman couldn't bring himself to do it face to face. "I used the CD as a bridge," he says. When his mother died in 1995, nine years after sending the CD, his father called, said, "Will you sing the song your mother loved at the funeral?" It was Buhrman's solo, "My House," a metaphor for building relationships. Before Buhrman joined the GMCW, he hadn't really found a place to be himself as a gay man. After becoming a part of the chorus, he says, "I fnally felt safe. Not so alone." A member since 1986, Buhrman, who became GMCW's Photo by Chris Witzke THE PORTRAIT Turducken! With a rabbi Wendy's final bow Some-guy-named- John's Louisville Vinyl collection And More! Damn drones Big Four surveillance 21Qs 21 questions RELEASES PRESS THIS MONTH IN and other junk JUST SAYIN' thebit J A bit DEEPER A bit CLOSER WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO ? SPACES Jeff Buhrman Choir Director artistic director in 2000, has taught high school choruses in New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia. In August, he moved to Louisville (with his husband Jeff and their miniature dachshund) to direct Voices of Kentuckiana, the city's all-inclusive community chorus. Buhrman, who describes himself as "ageless," went from a townhouse to a Belknap neighborhood home with a back yard. Went from an all-male gay chorus with 200 people to 45 in a mixed ensemble: men, women, gay, straight. He wants to double the size of the choir and continue its work with local LGBT youth. Rehearsals are not only for singing. Sometimes Buhrman arranges singers in a circle. Facing inward, they better see one another's faces. They hear each other, each voice, more accurately. "When the voices blend, so do the selves," he says. — Arielle Christian Voices of Kentuckiana will perform its "Holiday Magic" Concert Dec. 6 at 7 p.m. and Dec. 7 at 4 p.m. at the Clifton Center.