Men Alive

Transforming Orange County through artistic excellence, advocacy, and the power of community, amplifying queer voices and building bridges for all LGBTQIA+ people.

In the early 1990s, Rich Cook attended a performance of the Turtle Creek Chorale, a prominent gay men's chorus from Dallas, Texas. Inspired by the performance, he began thinking about the need for a similar chorus in Orange County.

Over the years, Rich often returned to the idea but the timing never seemed right. Then in the summer of 2001, he went to a concert of the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles. Sitting in the audience, he again thought about the need for a gay chorus in Orange County. He felt the time had come to nurture and share his vision with others.

Enlisting the help of friends and reaching out to AIDS Services Foundation Orange County (ASF) for support, Rich began turning his vision into reality. With ASF helping greatly in the initial stages helping publicize the nascent chorus, Rich posted notices around Orange County announcing auditions in September. Then he crossed his fingers and hoped the singers would come.

"I made an agreement with myself: if you have 12 guys, go ahead," Rich recalled. On that first rehearsal night in early September, 13 men came and joined the chorus. MenAlive - The Orange County Gay Men's Chorus was born.

MenAlive provides a safe space for gay men and queer people to express their talents, build friendships and to make Orange County a better place to live. Our organization produces three original productions per year, performed mostly at UCI's Barclay Theatre. The productions are designed to entertain, uplift and educate our patrons. MenAlive's very active volunteer corps (known as HeartsAlive) leads member volunteerism, supporting local charities like WISEPlace, OC Food Bank, Gay4Good and the Blaze Bernstein Memorial Fund. We provide music for civic events like the City of Irvine's Harvey Milk Day Pride ceremony, Katrina Foley's swearing in ceremony and the OC District Attorney's ceremony honoring the victims of violent crime. MenAlive accepts invitations for private events including OC PRIDE, corporate events (like OneOC's Annual Volunteer Recognition) and senior living facilities.

As the largest (by membership) LGBTQ+ non profit in Orange County and the only LGBTQ+ County chorus in the United States, MenAlive's greatest need is to cover basic operating expenses. MenAlive does not have a home office or premises. Most of the operations work, facility rentals and production costs are covered through ticket sales and fundraising. The most significant expense is the cost for our Executive Director and Music Director/Conductor ($140,000/annum.) This is where we count on the generosity of individuals and grants and this is where we need the most help.

ALL of Orange County!

100% of the work we do is in Orange County. Our vision statement says it all. We are making... "A world where queer authenticity is boldly celebrated, societal norms are challenged and human diversity is embraced."