Denver Gay Men's Chorus Welcomes New Artistic Director

After a decade under the leadership of artistic and managing director James Knapp, the Denver Gay Men’s Chorus will start its 42nd season with a new face at the helm. The Rocky Mountain Arts Association, the nonprofit umbrella organization that manages the chorus, recently announced Johnny Nichols Jr. as the new artistic director.

Nichols is currently finishing his tenure as artistic director for the Ipswich River Community Chorus in North Reading, Massachusetts, but he’s excited to officially start his tenure with the Denver chorus in August.

“I always wanted to have a role working with a nonprofit as large and as successful and with the reputation as Denver,” Nichols says. “I love the city. I love the vibe. I love the community I was able to experience.”

Nichols earned a Master of Music degree from Texas Southern University and a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Louisiana-Monroe. He served as assistant conductor and director of education and outreach for the Boston Gay Men's Chorus, where he spearheaded educational initiatives and curriculum, including music-focused social justice projects, while also conducting various ensembles. And as director of education and outreach for Revels, a national performing arts organization that celebrates culture and tradition in nine major cities, Nichols created adult and youth education initiatives, as well as programs for schools, classrooms, libraries and other venues. He also held posts with the Me2/ Boston Chorus and the Boston Children's Chorus.

It’s clear that Nichols is passionate about his work with the LGBTQ+ community, allies and other marginalized groups. While his impressive résumé speaks for itself, he says organizations such as the Denver Gay Men’s Chorus as well as the arts in general are catalysts of change.

“The purpose of the performing arts originally was embedded in this idea to expose or educate the community to what was going on socially and politically. Going all the way back to the foundations of society, this has always happened in some form or fashion,” he explains. “It’s incumbent upon us to continue that same innate mission of the performing arts...to expose the truth or educate the community on social and political matters.”

That ethos aligns with the Rocky Mountain Arts Association’s mission of "building community through music."

“I want to look through, for lack of a better term, a rainbow lens. Not a rainbow lens as in the LGBTQIA+ rainbow, but a multicultural, colored and purposed lens in order for us to be a little bit more inclusive in our community,” Nichols says, adding that he wants to “usher the group into a new way of thinking about music and performing this music.”

Knapp, who is set to retire after the June Pride Month concert, is “so happy with the hire.”

“I think he’s going to do some really important stuff,” Knapp says, adding that the role is also about “important life-saving work that isn’t in the job description.”

A conductor for 41 years, including twenty in GALA, Knapp is now conductor laureate and director emeritus. Since 2013, he has helped double the DGMC's membership and budget while growing its audience.

“It’s been my intent as the artistic director over the last ten years to expand our reach, not in lieu of or at the expense of the LGBTQIA+ community, but in addition to,” Knapp says, listing off past productions and concerts that focused on combating housing insecurity and police brutality, highlighting Hispanic and Black artists and composers, and collaborating with local groups such as Cleo Parker Robinson Dance. “We take the bull by the horns in what we do.”

Knapp's final concert will be Divas: Icons and Justice Warriors, a Pride month event that will showcase Denver drag queen Yvie Oddly and celebrate women performers and artists who have been outspoken members or allies of the queer community. The first performance is Saturday, June 3, at the Arvada Center, followed by a Friday, June 9, show at Denver’s King Center, before two more performances on Saturday, June 10.

The concert will include "anything from Tina Turner to Dolly Parton to Beyoncé to Whitney Houston," says Knapp. "We’ll be drawing thematic connections between the artist journey, especially journeys like Tina’s, which is a remarkable story, infusing those with stories of our lives from people with the chorus and how these female artists have intersected with gay culture and history. … It’s a really fun show. One challenge is all of the craziness of all the legislation that’s going on throughout the country. It’s been a real challenge in how to make the concert fun but also powerful and make a statement.”

A chorus member will perform a Patsy Cline song, he adds, accompanied by a message about the slew of recent anti-drag legislation that’s been introduced in several states. “It was really important to me to have a piece that featured a drag queen from our chorus because of this outrageous legislation and ridiculous and insane culture that is emerging,” Knapp explains. “I think it’s a lovely juxtaposition of poking fun but also validating the importance of drag in LGBTQIA+ culture and making a very powerful statement about our politicians.”

On Monday, June 5, Knapp will receive a proclamation from Denver City Council in recognition of his contributions to the queer community and all citizens of the city over his past ten years with the DGMC.

“I think that our mission has evolved and morphed, but it always comes back to a really important heartbeat of the chorus, which is address social justice issues at every level,” Knapp says. “I think that’s what makes us different. We are singing activists.”

Divas: Icons and Justice Warriors, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 3, Arvada Center, 6901 Wadsworth Boulevard; 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 9, and 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 10, King Center, Ninth Street Plaza. Tickets are $30.