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Not What You Think (NWYT) is a 12-person (give or take one or two singers) ensemble of men and women performing pop, light jazz, and folk. NWYT, an ensemble affiliated with the Lesbian & Gay Chorus of Washington, D.C. (LGCW), has opened for the Fabulous Flirtations 5 times. We were featured in the Foyer Series at The Kennedy Center before the opening of Angels in America. NWYT performs frequently in the Washington, D.C. area and has appeared at the DC Arts Center, the Rockville and Fairfax Unitarian Churches, the Convention of the Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health, the Academy Awards of Washington, and Festival V of Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses (GALA). Not What You Think was formed about 15 years ago - (no one is absolutely sure when we started!) - by eight members of the Lesbian & Gay Chorus of Washington, DC. Our original intent was simply to satisfy our desire to sing more than just once a week at Chorus rehearsal. The name was chosen for a number of reasons, not the least of which was the fact that the original group included a female tenor and a male soprano. Over the years, we have survived the coming and going of numerous members, yet, three of our founding members remain. Like the Chorus from which we grew, we operate as a consensus group, even musically! We have no music director - rather, we select and work out our music together, relying on the expertise and strengths of our members to bring each piece to performance level. At the core of our ensemble is a shared belief that, as gay men and lesbians singing together, we have an opportunity and responsibility to effect change and to open hearts and minds. We choose music that may move our audiences to tears or laughter or inquiry or discovery, while offering an honest representation of ourselves. |
Our Singers
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Misti French, a human resources manager, enjoys singing soprano and is thus far enamored with the kazoo-playing joy of NYWT. |
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Ron Gilliland - The Cookie Man. Also the Weatherman. (Not the radical kind, the REAL kind!) A cell phone holdout. Totally tenor. |
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Jill Strachan - Our Jill of all Trades and Co-Manager. Also plays pitches when asked. Hates calendar discussions and tomatoes. A soprano trapped in an alto body. |
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Ed Wood - Our resident Realtor and one of our many Co-Faciltators. Tenor except for when he sings Soprano…or Alto…or even occasionally Bass. Joined the group in 1993 then left after 18 months. A year later he agreed to come back for just one gig and has been unable to break free again. |
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Janne Harrelson |
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Eric Ziegler hails from Philadelphia. He's been singing tenor all his life with many different groups. To support his singing habit, he is a software engineer at MedStar Health. He's also our resident knitter which helps keep the arthritis at bay. When he is not knitting or singing he can be found swinging a hammer building furniture or remodeling his home. |
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Barbara Bell - Our Doc. "Barb, do you think this needs stitches...?" One of our note crunchers. Switch to alto when she finally discovered that alto parts are the most interesting. |
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John Gideons - our long, tall Texan and very newest member. A bass. A training analyst for the US Courts who has proven extraordinarily patient with NWYT's total lack of trainability. |
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Mary Stanfield - The one we run to when our cars sound funny or we need to borrow tools. Transportation manager and mechanic. Believes chocolate should follow every meal. Mostly alto but often cleverly disguised as a tenor-which pairs our shortest member with our tallest. |  |
Alvin Mayes, a transplanted Michigander, whose day job is a choreographer, rounds out the low male voice section singing anywhere. Oh, make that singing anywhere from tenor to bass. |
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Jane Hoffman - A financial wizard who steadfastly stays out of our finances! Plays pitchpipe with extraordinary finesse. Alto with an occasional foray elsewhere. Has been overheard singing bass in rehearsal. | Kent Gay |
For more information about NWYT please Contact us*