The Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses is an international association of LGBT choruses founded in 1982. In its inaugural performance 14 choruses performed together in September 1982 in San Francisco as part of the first Gay Games. It aims to foster artistic and organizational development within its member choruses. The association includes almost 10,000 vocalists in over 100 associated choruses singing as male, female and mixed ensembles in a wide variety of styles. GALA Choruses produces a large festival every four years, in addition to a number of smaller annual workshops and conferences.
London Gay Men's Chorus is a gay choir that was founded in 1991 by a group of nine gay men. The group now has around 150 singing members at any one time and almost 300 members in total.
The Philadelphia Gay Men's Chorus (PGMC) is a choral organization in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1981, it is one of the oldest gay men's choruses in the United States, and is a cultural fixture in Philadelphia. The Chorus is affiliated with the Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses (GALA). The Chorus has performed with the Rainbow Chorale of Delaware and the Anna Crusis Women's Choir, and has participated in several GALA festivals. The chorus is currently under the artistic direction of Joseph J. Buches.
The 1st World Outgames took place in Montréal, Quebec, Canada from July 26, 2006, to August 5, 2006. The international conference was held from July 26 to the 29. The sporting events were held from July 29 to August 5.
Bennett William Macpherson is an Australian conductor who received a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2002 for his services to music as a conductor and choirmaster.
San Diego Men's Chorus (SDMC) provided entertainment for San Diego, California, during the period of 1985 to 2009. A former member of the Gay & Lesbian Association of Choruses, SDMC performed some of the finest choral literature from a variety of genres. The Chorus offered numerous 'outreach performances' each season, and supported local LGBT organizations and HIV/AIDS organizations in the San Diego area.
The Chicago Gay Men's Chorus (CGMC) is a choral organization in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1983 with 55 singers, the chorus currently consists of approximately 150 singing members and over 200 members in total.
The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus (SFGMC) is the world's first openly gay chorus, one of the world's largest male choruses and the group most often credited with creating the LGBT choral movement.
In 2005 FremantleMedia Australia producer Jason Stephens brought the idea of a television series called the Choir of Hard Knocks to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. In an interview on Australian Story by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Stephens said "I'd always been quite fascinated by choirs. Living in Melbourne during that time 2005 the homelessness problem was more obvious, I guess. And I kind of thought it would be interesting to put those two ideas together to see if we could make a choir out of homeless and disadvantaged people." The ABC and Fremantle chose Reclink, a charity that had worked with homeless people in the past, as the charity that would work with the television construct and cast the choir conductor Jonathon Welch.
Diverse Harmony is an American youth chorus based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 2002, it is the first Gay-Straight Alliance youth chorus in the United States. Today, Diverse Harmony is an LGBTQ-Ally youth chorus, and their stated mission is "to create a safe, affirming environment where everyone is accepted for who they are." In addition to singing members, the chorus has an extensive support network of volunteers, subscribers, and donors; they are also a non-profit organization. Diverse Harmony is a member of the Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses, and was the first youth chorus to participate in a GALA Choruses Festival. The chorus appeared in the independent film Why We Sing, which has been screened at LGBT film festivals and on PBS stations across the United States.
Jonathon Charles Welch is an Australian choral conductor, opera singer and voice teacher. As a singer, Welch has been a tenor for the Victoria State Opera, Lyric Opera of Queensland and Opera Australia.
The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, D.C. (GMCW), is one of the oldest LGBT choral organizations in the United States. With more than 300 singing members, it is also one of the largest. The chorus's stated mission is that it "delights audiences and champions gay equality with robust artistry, fun, and surprise." In addition to singing members, GMCW has nearly 100 support volunteers, 400 subscribers, 500 donors and an annual audience of nearly 10,000. The parent organization is the Federal City Performing Arts Association, Inc., and GMCW is a member of GALA Choruses.
The Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus (TCGMC) is a choral group in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota. The all-male chorus sings a variety of songs arranged for TTBB, ranging from Broadway show tunes to Latin motets to original compositions specially commissioned by the Chorus or written by its members.
The Vancouver Men's Chorus is a non-profit choir. Composed of gay men and their friends, the chorus is a member of the Vancouver Cultural Alliance, the British Columbia Choral Federation and of GALA Choruses, an association of over one hundred men's, women's, and mixed choruses from the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia.
The Australian Queer Archives (AQuA) is a community-based non-profit organisation committed to the collection, preservation and celebration of material reflecting the lives and experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex LGBTI Australians. It is located in Melbourne. The Archives was established as an initiative of the 4th National Homosexual Conference, Sydney, August 1978, drawing on the previous work of founding President Graham Carbery. Since its establishment the collection has grown to over 200,000 items, constituting the largest and most significant collection of material relating to LGBT Australians and the largest collection of LGBT material in Australia, and the most prominent research centre for gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans and intersex history in Australia.
Golden Gate Men's Chorus (GGMC) is a gay men's chorus founded in 1982 and located in San Francisco. The GGMC is a group of 50 ethnically and socially diverse gay and gay-supportive men. The GGMC presents spring, summer, and winter programs annually, in addition to numerous guest and community benefit performances throughout the year.
The Stonewall Chorale, founded in New York City in 1977, is America's first LGBTQIA chorus. The Chorale, a four-part mixed chorus of approximately 60 members, annually performs three subscription concerts at various venues in New York City. Its repertoire ranges from great classical works to contemporary pieces by cutting edge composers like Ricky Ian Gordon, Eric Whitacre, Chris DeBlasio, Jaakko Mäntyjärvi, and Meredith Monk.
Dr. Kathleen Alison McGuire is a choral and orchestral conductor, arranger, composer, music educator, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist. Known also for her work with social justice and human rights organizations, from 2000 to 2010 she served as the first female artistic director and conductor of the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus – the world's first openly gay choral organization – and in 2010 she established Singers of the Street: a choir of people affected by homelessness in San Francisco. She became a US citizen in 2011 and, in 2013, returned to Australia to serve as director of music at Queen's College and co-artistic director of the School of Hard Knocks. In 2006, she was a grand marshal in the San Francisco LGBT Pride Parade. Her contributions have officially been recognized by the California Senate and State Assembly, and "Kathleen McGuire Day" was designated twice in her honor by San Francisco mayors Gavin Newsom and Edwin Lee.
The Pink Singers were formed on 7 April 1983, making the Pinkies the longest-running LGBT choir in Europe.
Derek Leslie Williams is a New Zealand-born Scottish composer, orchestrator, conductor and record producer. He was awarded a doctorate by the University of Edinburgh under Nigel Osborne and Peter Nelson for composition of his eponymous opera, Wilde, and he is a Fellow of Trinity College London. Williams is a civil rights activist also known for his 'Save Sibelius' campaign in the United Kingdom (2012–2013). Since 2007, he has taught Composition and Orchestration at the Edinburgh University Reid School of Music. He is also Chair of the Wagner Society of Scotland, a member of the International Association of Wagner Societies.
