GALA Choruses explained
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
- 2020 - Postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic
- 2024 - Minneapolis, Minnesota
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]
- Festival 2024
Notable member choruses
External links
Notes and References
- Book: Haggerty. George. Encyclopedia of Gay Histories and Cultures. December 1, 1999. Routledge. 978-0815318804. 190.
- Book: Ahlquist, Karen. Chorus and Community. 2006. University of Illinois Press. 0252072847. 250.
- Web site: From Beijing to Denver 2016 - GALA Choruses Blog - GALA Choruses Blog.
- Web site: Bridging Voices.
