Founded in 1991 by a group of six gay men, the London Gay Men’s Chorus is now, with around 190 singing members and over 230 members in total, Europe’s largest and best known gay chorus.
After lowly beginnings in 1991 at Angel Underground station (where the station had to be closed due to the crowd that had gathered), the Chorus has performed around the UK and toured overseas in the United States, France, Italy, Canada, Ireland, Spain and Australia.
The choir has made many TV and radio appearances including Top of the Pops, So Graham Norton, Loose Ends, Ruby Wax Chritmas special, London Tonight, the Paul Ross weekend breakfast show on LBC, and Comic Relief, and has sung and performed with stars including Sir Elton John, Human League, Heather Small, Damien Hirst, Simon Callow, Alison Jiear, Jocelyn Brown, Toyah Willcox, K.D Lang, Rula Lenska, Sandi Toksvig, Dame Cleo Laine and The Pet Shop Boys.
Over the years the Chorus has raised thousands of pounds for charity (the Food Chain, the Royal Marsden Hospital, Crusaid, the RNIB, Changing Attitude, the Terrence Higgins Trust, the Orchid Cancer Appeal, Cara and others), and sung everywhere from the tube station of its beginnings to pubs and street corners, XXL, Heaven, Trafalgar Square, the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Sydney Opera House and the Aussie Stadium, the Millennium Dome in the presence of HM The Queen, La Cigale in Paris, The Kennedy Center in Washington DC, the National Concert Hall in Dublin, the Gianni Agnelli Auditorium in Turin, the London Coliseum (for the centenary of the building) and the Royal Albert Hall.
The Chorus has released five CDs.
With approximately 190 voices, the London Gay Men's Chorus has five sections, Bass, Baritone, First Tenor, Second Tenor and SemiTones. Each section is divided between upper and lower voices supported by a music support team drawn from the ranks and a music team. SemiTones are non-singing members who help support the chorus.
A group of twenty-four auditioned members constitute 'Far From Kansas', a small group which works as an ambassadorial and fundraising entity and performs at corporate events and civil partnership ceremonies.
The Music Team including the Musical Director their deputies and assistants are professionals employed on freelance contracts by the Chorus.
The Chorus also employs a General Manager but mostly draws on volunteer work from its members to support its activities.
As of 2006, the Chorus is governed by an elected steering committee composed of a chair, vice-chair, secretary, and treasurer with seven additional members who share responsibility for the various areas of activities of the Chorus including performance, production, business development, and membership.
Revenue comes from membership subscriptions, ticket and merchandise sales, donations, and performance fees.
The Chorus has had a number of commercial sponsors, both monetary donors and providers of pro bono professional services, including the former pioneering gay website Queercompany, design firm Marsh and Malone who developed a new corporate identity in 2005-6, and fundraising consultants Brakeley. The Chorus also enjoys a commercial relationship with Selfridges, and has sung carols in the store during Christmas week for the past three years.
The London Gay Men's Chorus is a charity (Reg. No. 1092827) and a private limited company registered in England (No. 4390145)
After lowly beginnings in 1991 at Angel Underground station (where the station had to be closed due to the crowd that had gathered), the Chorus has performed around the UK and toured overseas in the United States, France, Italy, Canada, Ireland, Spain and Australia.
The choir has made many TV and radio appearances including Top of the Pops, So Graham Norton, Loose Ends, Ruby Wax Chritmas special, London Tonight, the Paul Ross weekend breakfast show on LBC, and Comic Relief, and has sung and performed with stars including Sir Elton John, Human League, Heather Small, Damien Hirst, Simon Callow, Alison Jiear, Jocelyn Brown, Toyah Willcox, K.D Lang, Rula Lenska, Sandi Toksvig, Dame Cleo Laine and The Pet Shop Boys.
Over the years the Chorus has raised thousands of pounds for charity (the Food Chain, the Royal Marsden Hospital, Crusaid, the RNIB, Changing Attitude, the Terrence Higgins Trust, the Orchid Cancer Appeal, Cara and others), and sung everywhere from the tube station of its beginnings to pubs and street corners, XXL, Heaven, Trafalgar Square, the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Sydney Opera House and the Aussie Stadium, the Millennium Dome in the presence of HM The Queen, La Cigale in Paris, The Kennedy Center in Washington DC, the National Concert Hall in Dublin, the Gianni Agnelli Auditorium in Turin, the London Coliseum (for the centenary of the building) and the Royal Albert Hall.
The Chorus has released five CDs.
With approximately 190 voices, the London Gay Men's Chorus has five sections, Bass, Baritone, First Tenor, Second Tenor and SemiTones. Each section is divided between upper and lower voices supported by a music support team drawn from the ranks and a music team. SemiTones are non-singing members who help support the chorus.
A group of twenty-four auditioned members constitute 'Far From Kansas', a small group which works as an ambassadorial and fundraising entity and performs at corporate events and civil partnership ceremonies.
The Music Team including the Musical Director their deputies and assistants are professionals employed on freelance contracts by the Chorus.
The Chorus also employs a General Manager but mostly draws on volunteer work from its members to support its activities.
As of 2006, the Chorus is governed by an elected steering committee composed of a chair, vice-chair, secretary, and treasurer with seven additional members who share responsibility for the various areas of activities of the Chorus including performance, production, business development, and membership.
Revenue comes from membership subscriptions, ticket and merchandise sales, donations, and performance fees.
The Chorus has had a number of commercial sponsors, both monetary donors and providers of pro bono professional services, including the former pioneering gay website Queercompany, design firm Marsh and Malone who developed a new corporate identity in 2005-6, and fundraising consultants Brakeley. The Chorus also enjoys a commercial relationship with Selfridges, and has sung carols in the store during Christmas week for the past three years.
The London Gay Men's Chorus is a charity (Reg. No. 1092827) and a private limited company registered in England (No. 4390145)