Bill Casey—Boston Gay Men’s Chorus’s executive producer and vocal coach, and husband of BGMC Music Director Reuben Reynolds II—died on Dec. 10 from “symptoms related to a recent surgery,” according to the group’s Facebook page.
In an Edge Media Network report, Edge staff reporter Kilian Melloy, a longtime BGMC member, writes:
“Bill’s work with the Chorus is reflected in every show we’ve done in myriad ways,” the [Facebook post] added. “He conceived, produced, and music-directed the annual cabaret and provided vocal training to generations of Chorus members as well as students at Boston Conservatory.”
The BGMC post noted that Casey “had spent most of the past two years developing Disney PRIDE in Concert. That show, which will be performed at Symphony Hall in June of 2022, will be dedicated to Bill and we will spend the next six months ensuring that his vision is realized.”
BGMC Executive director Craig Coogan told EDGE, “Bill embodied who we are as an organization — the music, the message and the members. I will miss his energy and passion for everything we do and the infectious joy he radiated. I was fortunate to not just work with Bill, but to know him and call him friend.”
Casey was also a professor in the theater department of the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, a position he held for 22 years. Fellow Boston Conservatory instructor and BGMC choreographer Michelle Chassé told EDGE, “No one was more excited to dream up fun ideas (or support crazy ideas) for the BGMC shows. His dedication to Reuben and the Chorus was unwavering. He would be up until the early hours dreaming of scenes or making props. His enthusiasm was contagious.” …
“A public memorial to be held in January at Arlington Street Church is being planned,” the Chorus posted on Facebook. “We will share more as details become available.”
Read Kilian Melloy’s full Edge Media Network article here.
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