Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

MUSIC Singer Taylor Trentham: From Dollywood to Laramie
by Lauren Emily Whalen
2019-04-02

This article shared 3511 times since Tue Apr 2, 2019
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


Every artist has a first gig. Taylor Trentham's was at Dollywood.

The 22-year-old opera singer recently played the titular role in Roosevelt University's production of Considering Matthew Shepard—a classical music tribute to the gay college student who was kidnapped and slain in Laramie, Wyoming in 1998. Trentham, a vocal performance major at Roosevelt University's Chicago College of Performing Arts ( CCPA ), described the experience as "an uncomfortable yet powerful journey." But years before he took on this historical figure, Trentham encountered another gay icon.

"I've been onstage with Dolly Parton five times, between ages 8 and 13," Trentham said via phone. "Anytime she came to visit Dollywood, they would have the entertainers [sing] backup for her. She was one of the most radiant, humble and humorous people I have ever met."

Parton took a liking to him as well. "She joked to my parents that she wanted to adopt me, to my parents' funny reply, 'well, we've done that already!'"

Trentham's life could have gone in a very different direction. Born in the Philippines, he was only nine months old when his orphanage burned to the ground. Trentham was one of few survivors but was left with second- and third-degree burns on 60 percent of his body. "My parents had already been placed with me through the adoption agency," he said. "When they found out, they were able to fly to the Philippines and adopt early with the help of a senator from Tennessee."

Upon his arrival in the United States, Tennessee surgeons took care of Trentham. However—concerned that the care wasn't adequate—his grandfather, a Shriner, connected Trentham with the organization's burn center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Not only were Trentham's appointment and surgeries free of charge until his 21st birthday, but a doctor also planted the seeds of a lifelong passion. "One of my surgeons when I was 4 years old recommended [I] get involved in dance, hoping that it would help the elasticity of my burns," Trentham said. "I began shortly thereafter, and that was truly the beginning of my love for the stage."

Trentham performed professionally at Dollywood as a child and discovered opera as a teenager, first at Tennessee Governor's School for the Arts and then Michigan's Interlochen Arts Academy. After graduating in 2015, he returned to his hometown of Gatlinburg for a self-imposed gap year—and came out as gay. His friends were "absolutely supportive," he recalled.

The singer first learned about Shepard while researching queer culture. "I had watched documentaries and The Laramie Project [a play-turned-film about the effect of Shepard's death on the small Wyoming town] years before," Trentham said. Of course, playing Shepard was an entirely new challenge.

"I was terrified," he admitted. "[Shepard] was an ordinary boy and I feel like that as well. It was very difficult to have to go into that headspace and be brave enough to tell [his] story." At the same time, Trentham said, "I felt that of all the people in [our] choir, I understood the gravity of Matthew's horrific death. So that's why I stepped up and did the role."

Trentham said his most difficult moment was portraying Shepard's demise: "The way that it was staged, the choir was surrounding Matthew as he transfigured into the next realm. Moving on from there was very hard."

On a happier note, Trentham said, playing Shepard made him optimistic about the future of classical music. "This score expresses inner depth and the stories that deserve to be told," he stated. "We do a lot of Beethoven and Mozart, the standard repertoire, and being able to do something so relatable really gave me hope for music as a craft." He also gained confidence as an advocate in "the long, long battle for queer acceptance and validation in society," adding, "Some people are meant to be on the front lines as lawyers and professors—but sometimes doing what makes you, you, is enough."

Trentham said he seeks to inspire others, on and off the stage. A former volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Chicago, he was selected to participate in the Obama Foundation's first Community Leadership Corps and Community Training Day. "These outside experiences have allowed me to learn how to best engage and support our community, examine arts organization management practices and network," he said. Currently, Trentham serves Roosevelt University as a peer mentor.

"We're all about giving students resources and connections to other parts of the university [as well as] academic and emotional support," said Trentham, who maintains drop-in office hours and meets weekly with a small group of mentees. "I think my life story and all of my experiences make me good at being empathetic. You never know what someone else has going on."

Trentham originally planned to attend Florida State University but changed his mind after visiting a friend in Chicago and meeting CCPA's faculty. He's happy in his adopted home: "[m]y educational goals have been to diversify my skills and apply my knowledge in as many ways as I can, and Chicago has provided that for me."

After completing his degree in 2020, Trentham hopes to begin a career in opera. "I want to sing throughout the world and travel, and experience everything through music," he said. Despite a tumultuous past, his focus is clear.

"One morning in high school, when I'd had five hours of sleep and was hungry and exhausted, I thought, 'I want to do opera,'" Trentham said. "And I decided if I love to do this at my most tired, that's a sign!"


This article shared 3511 times since Tue Apr 2, 2019
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

'Rumors' performers create alternative drag playground 2024-03-24
- At first glance, Dorian's Through The Record Shop (1939 W. North Ave.) looks like a brightly-lit shop with a handful of records on the wall, but there's a secret world behind those unassuming shelves. Visitors are ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Queer musicians, Marvel situation, Elliot Page, Nicole Kidman 2024-03-21
- Queer musician Joy Oladokun released the single "I Wished on the Moon," from Jack Antonoff's official soundtrack for the new Apple TV+ series The New Look, per a press release. The soundtrack, ...


Gay News

THEATER Chicago's City Lit has anxiety on tap with 'Two Hours in a Bar' 2024-03-21
- Two Hours in a Bar Waiting for Tina Meyer by Kristine Thatcher with material by Larry Shue Text Me by Kingsley Day (Book, Music and Lyrics). At: City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave.. Tickets: ...


Gay News

Lollapalooza announces lineup; SZA, Skrillex among headliners 2024-03-19
- Lollapalooza has released its line-up for the event that's taking place Aug. 1-4 at Grant Park. Headliners include SZA, Blink-182, Skrillex, The Killers, Hozier, Melanie Martinez and Stray Kids, among others. Some of the other acts ...


Gay News

Jamie Barton brings nuances of identity to her Lyric Opera 'Aida' performance 2024-03-18
- Chicago's Lyric Opera is currently featuring a production of Giuseppe Verdi's Aida starring Michelle Bradley as Aida, Jamie Barton as Amneris and Russell Thomas as Radamès. The opera runs through April 7, 2024, with Francesca Zambello ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Lady Gaga, 'P-Valley,' Wendy Williams, Luke Evans, 'Queer Eye,' 'Transition' 2024-03-15
- Lady Gaga came to the defense of Dylan Mulvaney after a post with the trans influencer/activist for International Women's Day received hateful responses, People Magazine noted. On Instagram, Gaga stated, "It's appalling to me that a ...


Gay News

House-music festival on Aug. 30-Sept. 1; icons, Idris Elba to be part of it 2024-03-13
- The ARC Music Festival—an event celebrating house music—will take place Aug. 30-Sept. 1 at Chicago's Union Park, per WGN-TV. This will mark the fourth year that the festival will celebrate the genre at Union Park—less than ...


Gay News

COBRAH slithers into Chicago and brings Feminine Energy 2024-03-08
- COBRAH snaked her way into Thalia Hall, 1807 S. Allport St., for two nights March 7 and 8 for her Succubus Tour. This Swedish-born talent has a way with naughty words and ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Jinkx Monsoon, Xavier Dolan, 'Frida,' Lena Waithe, out singer 2024-03-08
- Two-time RuPaul's Drag Race winner Jinkx Monsoon is headed back to the New York stage, joining off-Broadway's Little Shop of Horrors as Audrey beginning April 2, according to Playbill. The casting makes Monsoon the first drag ...


Gay News

Queer Eye's Jai Rodriguez is set to slay at The Big Gay Cabaret 2024-03-05
- Out and proud performer Jai Rodriguez is set to play at The Big Gay Cabaret this March for three days. Presented by RuPaul Drag Racer Ginger Minj, this monthly series highlights the wide world of cabaret ...


Gay News

THEATER 'R & J' puts a female, queer spin on Shakespeare 2024-03-05
- Romeo and Juliet is the theatrical gift that keeps on giving. It's been reworked for the masses numerous times, whether in direct adaptations or musicals such as West Side Story. Shakespeare's plotline points have even inspired ...


Gay News

THEATER When growth is paramount: Jim Corti helps fuel Aurora theater expansion 2024-03-01
- Out actor/director/choreographer Jim Corti made his Broadway debut in 1974, in the ensemble of Leonard Bernstein's musical Candide. Director Harold Prince's acclaimed Tony Award-winning revival is often cited as a ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Queer actors, icons duet, Hunter Schafer, Oscars, Elizabeth Taylor 2024-03-01
- Queer actor Kal Penn is set to star in Trust Me, I'm a Doctor—a film that chronicles the final days of actress/model Anna Nicole Smith, whose overdose death in 2007 at age 39 sparked a tabloid ...


Gay News

'Always Olivia' celebrates Olivia Newton-John at Raue Center 2024-02-26
- From a press release: Always Olivia, a tribute to one of the most celebrated and beloved pop culture icons of all time, the late Olivia Newton-John comes to Raue Center in Crystal Lake on Saturday, May ...


Gay News

Samuel Savoir-Faire Williams's violin stylings help COH mark Black History Month 2024-02-23
- As part of its celebration of Black History Month, Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted St., presented a solo jazz performance by violinist Samuel Savoir-Faire Williams on Feb. 21. The two-hour long performance presented a showcase ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.