In 1998, Champaign-based Amasong, a chorus consisting of only lesbians and feminists, won a Gay and Lesbian Music Association award — a GLAMMY — for its song, “The Water is Sweet Over Here.” For the gay and lesbian community, GLAMMYs are nearly as good as GRAMMYs. Listening to Amasong sing, a GRAMMY isn’t out of the question.
Amasong was created in 1991 by Kristina Boerger, at the time a U. of I. graduate student in music and a burned-out lesbian activist. Jay Rosenstein, a U. of I. journalism professor who ruffled some feathers a few years ago with In Whose Honor?, his documentary on controversial sports mascots such as U. of I.’s Chief Illiniwek, tells Boerger’s story in his new film, The Amasong Chorus: Singing Out.
Boerger is a lightning rod. Without her strong personality, perfectionist ways, and strict vision for building a classical, top-notch chorus, it’s difficult to say whether Amasong would have ever grown from an invitation on a flier to a 60-member group that has recorded three CDs and has performed hundreds of concerts at churches, funerals, concert halls, and once at the foot of a man’s deathbed.
Rosenstein runs the risk of identifying Amasong too much with Boerger. It’s impossible to tell the chorus’s story without her, but the documentary ends with a note informing us that Boerger has recently left Champaign for New York City to teach, conduct, and sing. We’re told less than this of what happened to Amasong after Boerger left, only that it continues to perform. It would have been nice to know who took over as leader and whether Amasong is likely to thrive without Boerger as its driving force.
That said, Rosenstein occasionally moves the spotlight away from Boerger and
onto other members. It’s during these encounters that we learn that Amasong
has become a church — not only a place where its members can sing beautiful
songs that reflect their worldview but as a fellowship of grace and friendship.
As long as these qualities survive, Amasong should be around for a while.
Â
The Amasong Chorus: Singing Out premieres at 9 p.m. Friday,
Nov. 7, on Champaign’s WILL-TV (Channel 12 for those with cable). PBS will air
the program nationally on June 8. Its running time is approximately 53 minutes.
This article appears in Nov 6-12, 2003.
