Pride and Joy Through Music

By Gypsy Walukones, Senior Communications Manager

My colleague Cam shared an invite recently to some of his music performances, including several Pride-themed soccer matches. With Pride Month and soccer both being top of mind topics, I was excited to explore this combination and sat down with Cam to learn more.

The following interview responses have been edited for clarity.

Q: Can you share a bit about what role music and performance play in your life?

Cam and family members at Pride in 2023

A: I could talk for three hours on that question alone…music is my life! I’ve been doing it since I was 9 or 10. I was homeschooled with my brothers, and my mom taught us the recorder as our first instrument. My brother Cameron and I would play duets for relatives just for fun and for church sometimes.

My mom signed my brothers and me up for band when I was in 6th or 7th grade. We had been to see a concert, and I immediately wrote it off based on the idea of performing in front of people, but my mom signed me up anyways and I’m super glad she did. I was a very practical child so I picked the alto sax – I’d seen it in concert bands and in jazz bands and I wanted to leave my options open. I immediately took to it. We had a flexible homeschool schedule and my mom had to set a rule that we couldn’t practice before noon so we would actually get schoolwork done. I took up tenor sax the next year, then trumpet, trombone, French horn, and baritone. We would drive in our minivan with 8 music cases in the back!

I did this all through high school and then went to college for music. While it wasn’t necessarily super practical, I’m glad to have done it - being in the college environment studying music, surrounded by others who could hang out and practice was such a great experience. Cameron actually went to the same college, also for music (plus visual art). We overlapped for two years and performed in several concerts together, and I played a duet with him in my senior recital which was a really special full circle moment.

 Q: How long have you been singing with Seattle Men’s Chorus? How did you get involved?

Cam (on the left) brings festive joy with Seattle Men’s Chorus during the holidays

A: I joined in the Fall of 2017, so I’m coming up on the 10-year pin (members get a pin every five years). There are people who have been in it for 40 years! I had done a little singing in college but never really got into it. When I joined SMC, it was soon after transitioning and starting T. While it wasn’t private lessons, the conductor would talk a lot to the group about how to sound more like this or that in our songs, so I learned to sing using my new voice.

I’ve met a number of good friends through the chorus, and it’s been really cool finding my people within the bigger group of gay music nerds - connecting with neurodiverse folks and other trans guys, some more introverted folks, other Black folks.

Getting together and singing these positive messages with 150 other people each week is a bright spot when rough things are going on in the world.

Q: Beyond stage performances, tell me a bit about the Chorus’ community impact.

A: We recently went to two schools on Mercer Island as a pilot (we’ll be doing more in future years) to sing and talk to students. We took selections from our recent concert The Wicked Wiz of Oz that were all about being yourself and acceptance. The conductor gave a speech about being bullied for being gay and how one of his classmates who was a popular guy pulled him aside and said there’s nothing to be ashamed about. He’s now in his 60s and he shared how this really stuck with him. So the goal mainly was to speak to straight allies and share the importance of saying something, inviting people to sit with you, not laughing at a mean joke.

Sometimes I can’t get over how cool my life is right now! 

More broadly, Seattle Men’s Chorus is one of the oldest, biggest choruses in the GALA Choruses network [their first performance was in the Spring of 1980]. Just existing was a big deal at the start. People didn’t want their names published in the program because they were afraid of what could happen.

Q: How long have you been playing with Reign City Riot? How did you get involved?

A: Riot is part of the larger nonprofit Rainbow City Performing Arts. They have a jazz band, orchestra, color guard, and then some other ensembles. I stopped by their booth at Capitol Hill Pride in 2015 where they were talking about having a queer adult marching band. I started playing sax in the concert band and joined marching band in 2016 playing percussion.

In 2018, my friend emailed Seattle Reign about if they could come play, ad hoc, at their games. I only went to a couple that year. It’s amazing to see the growth since then. This is my first year with Riot as it is now – a large sports band with letterman jackets and section leaders.

The physicality of hyping up the crowd and bringing big joy and energy, moving with your instrument, dancing, being present and alive and getting emotion out is special. It’s been really nice this past year to be doing Riot and choir at the same time. Choir is very internal – breath, harmony, tone. Playing drums for Riot is more mechanical – marching and moving. Doing both uses different parts of the body and brain and covers all the bases in a really cool way.

Reign City Riot plays at Salmon Bay FC’s Pride Match

Q: Do you see any connections between your nonprofit work and musical life?

Seattle Men’s Chorus shares music and a powerful message with middle schoolers on Mercer Island

A: The teamwork is similar, the vibe of people getting together to do something they think is important and add something to the world. Also, both organizations are nonprofits, so I’m playing a different role as a volunteer performer.

Q: Why do you think queer joy is so important in these times?

A: Well that’s kind of a loaded question! Joy in general is super important, and queer joy specifically as an antidote to all the negative BS being put out there. Performing with queer music groups brings fun and community and a bright spot, along with visibility for folks who aren’t able to be as out or aren’t otherwise feeling as much joy in that moment.

I’m honored to work alongside folks like Cam, whose commitment to community and connection is woven throughout life beyond the work of Ballard Food Bank. You can catch Cam performing with Riot at Ballard FC’s Pride Match on July 5th and the Seattle Reign Pride Match on August 14th.