Contents
What was a long-held dream of conductor and singer Franz Markus Stadelmann is now reality. Together with friends, he founded the first “gay yodeling club”.
The idea for a yodeling club with gay men had been floating around in Franz Markus Stadelmann’s head for a long time. Whenever he traveled with his friend Thomas Bachmann, they thought about the project. When they were able to inspire three other friends to do it last fall, their enthusiasm was unstoppable.
About Franz Markus Stadelmann
Open box Close box
Legend: zvg
Escholzmatter native Franz Markus Stadelmann is well known in the yodeling scene. He has made a name for himself as a singer, conductor and jury chairman. As a gifted conductor, he successfully leads various yodelling choirs, including the “Jodelchörli Heimelig” for over 20 years. Stadelmann released various recordings as a singer. In 2019 he was made an honorary member by the Central Switzerland Yodeling Association for his great achievements.
The “Men’s Treaty Yodeling Club” was created. “We felt the need to do something like this out of a fringe group,” says Franz Markus Stadelmann, who will direct the yodeling club in the future.
The fringe group in the yodeling world
The yodeling scene is rather conservative. The response from the gay yodeling club is correspondingly great. “It’s actually crazy when you consider that, in contrast, there are other yodeling clubs that have existed for 100 years and that are much less of interest,” says Stadelmann.
In this project, the conductor’s main concern is for gay men to be able to sing among themselves. All men are welcome in the club – whether gay or not. “But if someone is bisexual, they won’t want to join us because then they’ll come out as gay,” says Stadelmann.
He has long stood by his sexual preference. But he knows that it takes a lot of courage to come out. Especially if, for example, you have already started a family and have children.
Big plans for the future
After the five founders diligently advertised their newly founded yodeling club, some registrations have now been received from German-speaking Switzerland.
Your goal is to reach at least 20 members. You don’t have to be able to yodel to join. «In a yodeling club, “only” two or three singers yodel. Everyone else sings, just like in other choirs,” explains Stadelmann.
Legend: To draw attention to the new gay yodeling club, the initiators came up with something. For example, they had beer mats labeled. zvg
The first rehearsal will be held on Saturday, January 27, 2024 and will then take place monthly. As with other yodelling clubs, the conductor would like to develop a traditional song repertoire. “We’re not interested in making a statement with a pointing finger in the sense of ‘we gays have to stand up for ourselves and be allowed to yodel,’” he says.
And so Stadelmann is already dreaming of being able to take part in a Federal Yodelling Festival with his newly founded yodeling club.