GALA Choruses
The Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses ("GALA 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.[1] 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.
Festivals
Artistic and business directors of the choruses then in existence envisioned both the San Francisco and New York City events at the first planning meeting in Chicago, Illinois (15–17 May 1981) that set the course for the official founding of GALA Choruses.
- 1982 - San Francisco, California
- 1983 - New York, New York
- 1986 - Minneapolis, Minnesota
- 1989 - Seattle, Washington - about 2,500 delegates
- 1992 - Denver, Colorado - over 3,400 delegates
- 1996 - Tampa, Florida - over 4,700 delegates
- 2000 - San Jose, California - over 4,700 delegates
- 2004 - Place des Arts, Montreal, Quebec - over 5,700 delegates
- 2008 - Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, Miami, Florida
- 2012 - Denver Performing Arts Complex, Denver, Colorado - over 6,000 delegates
- 2016 - Denver Performing Arts Complex, Denver, Colorado
- 2024 - (scheduled)
Notes
- ^ The San Francisco event was called the West Coast Choral Festival. Members of the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus organized and ran this event as a forerunner to the larger event planned the following year in New York City.
- ^ The New York event was called COAST, which stood for Come Out and Sing Together. It was organized and run by members of the New York City Gay Men's Chorus.
- ^ First GALA festival in which a women's chorus, Denver Women's Chorus, performed[2]
- ^ Out of forty-four choruses, eight were women's choruses; eleven were mixed choruses[2]
- ^ The 2020 Festival was canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Notable member choruses
- A Company of Strangers
- Arizona Women in Tune, now Phoenix Women's Chorus
- Anna Crusis Women's Choir
- Another Octave: Connecticut Women's Chorus
- Atlanta Gay Men's Chorus
- Atlanta Women's Chorus
- Austin Gay Men's Chorus
- BarberEllas - Calgary, AB, Canada
- Bayou City Women's Chorus
- Beijing Queer Chorus - Beijing, China[3]
- Boise Men's Chorus
- Boston Gay Men's Chorus
- Bridging Voices - Portland, OR
- Calgary Men's Chorus
- Calliope Women's Chorus - St. Paul, MN
- Central PA Womyn's Chorus - Harrisburg, PA
- CHARIS - The St. Louis Women's Chorus
- Chicago Gay Men's Chorus
- Cincinnati Men's Chorus
- City of Festivals Men's Chorus - Milwaukee, WI
- Colorado Trans Community Choir and Arts Collective
- Columbus Gay Men's Chorus
- Common Woman Chorus - Durham, NC
- Confluence: Willamette Valley LGBT Chorus - Salem, OR
- Connecticut Gay Men's Chorus
- Coro Allegro - Boston, MA
- Council Oak Men's Chorale - Tulsa OK
- Dayton Gay Men's Chorus
- Denver Gay Men's Chorus
- Denver Women's Chorus
- Des Moines Gay Men's Chorus
- Desert Voices - Tucson AZ
- Diverse City Youth Chorus - Cincinnati, OH
- Diverse Harmony Youth Chorus
- Dreams of Hope Pittsburgh PA - for LGBTQ and allied youth
- GAPA Men's Chorus - San Francisco, CA
- Gateway Men's Chorus
- Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles
- Gay Men's Chorus of San Diego
- Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, D.C.
- Golden Gate Men's Chorus - San Francisco, CA
- Harmony: a Colorado chorale - Denver, CO
- Heartland Men's Chorus - Kansas City, MO
- Harrisburg Gay Men's Chorus - Harrisburg, PA
- Knoxville Gay Men's Chorus - Knoxville, TN
- Insignia (Ensemble of the Miami Gay Men's Chorus)
- Las Vegas Men's Chorus - Las Vegas, NV
- Lesbian/Gay Chorus of San Francisco
- Men Alive - Orange County Gay Men's Chorus
- Miami Gay Men's Chorus
- The New Wave Singers of Baltimore
- New Mexico Gay Men's Chorus
- New York City Gay Men's Chorus
- New Orleans Gay Men's Chorus
- North Coast Men's Chorus - Cleveland, OH
- Oakland-East Bay Gay Men's Chorus
- One Voice Chorus Charlotte - Charlotte, NC
- One Voice Mixed Chorus - Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN
- Orlando Gay Chorus
- OurSong: The Atlanta Gay And Lesbian Chorus
- Out Loud Chorus - Ann Arbor, MI
- Perfect Harmony Men's Chorus - Madison, WI
- Philadelphia Gay Men's Chorus
- Philadelphia Voices of Pride - LGBTQ chorus
- Phoenix Metropolitan Men's Chorus
- Phoenix Women's Chorus
- Portland Gay Men's Chorus
- Portland Lesbian Choir - Portland, Or
- Providence Gay Men's Chorus
- Rainbow Chorale of Delaware
- Rainbow Women's Chorus
- Rainy City Gay Men's Chorus
- River City Mixed Chorus - Omaha, NE
- Renaissance City Choir - Pittsburgh, PA
- Resonance Women's Chorus of Boulder - Boulder, CO
- Reveille Men's Chorus - Tucson AZ
- Richmond Men's Chorus - Richmond, VA
- Rochester Gay Men's Chorus - Rochester, NY
- Sacramento Gay Men's Chorus
- Sacramento Women's Chorus
- San Diego Men's Chorus
- San Diego Women's Chorus
- San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus
- Seattle Men's Chorus
- Sine Nomine - Denver, CO
- Singing OUT! The Lesbian & Gay Chorus of Toronto - Toronto, ON (Canada)
- Sound Circle - Boulder, CO
- Tone Cluster - Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Triad Pride Men's Chorus - Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point, NC
- Triangle Gay Men's Chorus - Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, NC
- Turtle Creek Chorale - Dallas, TX
- Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus - Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN
- Una Voce: The Florida Men's Chorale - Tampa, FL
- Vancouver Men's Chorus
- Voices Rising - Boston, MA
- Voices of Kentuckiana - Louisville, KY
Chronology of gay choirs in Australia and New Zealand
- Gay Liberation Quire (men's), Sydney (1981-1987)
- Melbourne Gay & Lesbian Chorus, founded 1990
- Sydney Gay and Lesbian Choir, founded 1991
- Gay & Lesbian Singers (GALS) Auckland, founded 1992
- Canberra Gay and Lesbian Qwire, founded 1993
- Gay and Lesbian Singers of Western Australia (GALSWA), founded 1993
- Adelaide Gay & Lesbian Singers (1996 - 1999)
- Brisbane Pride Chorus, founded 1998
- Adelaide Gay & Lesbian Qwire, founded 2001
- shOUT Youth Chorus, founded 2005
- Cairns Out Loud Lesbian & Gay Choir, founded 2007
- Homophones, gay men's chorus in Wellington (2007-2011)
- LOW REZ Melbourne Male Choir, founded 2008
- Glamaphones (mixed chorus), Wellington, founded 2011
- QTas - Tasmania's LGBTIQ Choir, founded 2013
References
- Haggerty, George (December 1, 1999). Encyclopedia of Gay Histories and Cultures. Routledge. p. 190. ISBN 978-0815318804.
- Ahlquist, Karen (2006). Chorus and Community. University of Illinois Press. p. 250. ISBN 0252072847.
- http://galachoruses.org/blog/from-beijing-to-denver-2016/