A year ago, Juju Tyner lay on the same Hawaiian beach as she was last Saturday — on her annual birthday trip (her age is a secret) — contemplating her next verse in life.
She'd recently left Lincoln Public Schools with a full-year severance package after teaching music for six years.
The only thing she knew for sure was her next gig would be music-related, too.
That figures. Music has always been her passion, her love language. She received an undergraduate degree in music while in Riverside, California, got her MFA in New York and had always planned to pursue a career in musical theater.
The best-laid plans often go haywire regardless of passion, preparation and talent.
Life happened to Tyner, too. She wasn't immune to love, a relationship or children. Lincoln was supposed to be a pit stop, but in the seeming blink of an eye, Tyner realized she'd been here a dozen years.Â
"Oh, my gawd," she said, wondering how that happened or where the time went.
Tyner, a native of Mountain View, California, is a self-described city girl. And when she's not in a city, she needs mountains or an ocean around her.
Lincoln, in spite of its quality of life and Midwestern niceties, has no mountains and is as landlocked as any city can be.
But it's home — at least until her kids finish school. There's no ocean here, but she's not complaining. There's an accepting gay community and enough musical opportunities to keep her content.
She began giving voice lessons. She claims she can bring out the natural singing voice in anybody, a tone deaf newspaper columnist included.
She also noticed there were some "insanely good voices" in the gay community while attending karaoke nights at Das Haus, Lincoln's newest LGBTQA+ lounge at 1640 O St.
That's when the lightbulb went on. Realizing the only place for members of the gay community to perform was in drag shows — something that's not for everyone, she said — she decided to start Queer Choir LNK.
"Some people don't feel comfortable doing drag," she said. "… Some of my dearest friends are drag performers, but there are some people who just want to do music and have that kind of community. There was no space for it."
In its first year, Queer Choir LNK, with an Instagram handle of Good Treble — an homage to former U.S. Congressman and civil rights activist John Lewis — sang at local Pride events. It has performed at the Johnny Carson Theatre and at campaign stops for Patty Pansing-Brooks.
And word is catching on. In June, it will perform at Stransky Park Concert Series and at the Lincoln Arts Festival, while also taking part in Pride events.Â
Listen now and subscribe: | | | |
"It's gotten bigger than I ever thought it would," Tyner said.
It wasn't easy. Finding interested singers was the first challenge.Â
"I talked to everybody I could think of," she said. "I plastered the town with posters. They were everywhere."
It worked, but here's the rub: Everybody is interested in singing, but not everyone can sing. Everybody likes music, but few people know music.
A total of 63 people signed up for the Queer Choir LNK and in a five-day span, she listened to 63 auditions of varying talent levels.
"I had never done anything like this before," she said. "We had people in the choir that didn't read music. They just liked to sing. We had a few people that had a lot of singing experience. And then maybe 10 people that could read music. Everyone else just wanted to sing."
Maybe that's the beauty of Queer Choir LNK. The music, while important, is merely a vessel to something bigger. In this group are people who have spent their lives wanting to fit in, wanting to belong.
And as is with any team or group there are perks— the unconditional support, camaraderie and feeling of acceptance, as well as accountability and responsibility to the others that's essential to making it all work.
The singing — icing on the cake — can be taught, especially by someone like Tyner.
Michael Barber is one of the converts. A Texas native, Barber did his higher learning at Union College and never left.
He's a child therapist — a job that has forced him to step away from the choir for now — but he credits Tyner for making him better in every way.
"She helped me to find my voice," Barber said.
And in a community that has too many voiceless members, providing a way to be heard speaks volumes.
Early on, choosing the music for a group with such a wide talent range was difficult, Tyner said. However, everyone is far more comfortable in the second year, so it's gotten easier.
Tyner has capped the number of participants at 50 and the group has begun to find its sound.
Its anthem — the song for which it has become known — is Queen's "Somebody to Love," Tyner said.
The soul-searching piece written by Freddie Mercury question's God's role in a life without love and features beautiful harmonies, and Queer Choir LNK does the late Mr. Mercury proud.
"It slaps," says Tyner, meaning it's pretty good. Pretty Good Treble, that is.