Hello and welcome!
Zoe Burdo, Chair
As Europe’s longest-running LGBT+ choir, we have grown and blossomed into a group of over 90 singers since we were first formed on 7 April 1983 for the Lesbian & Gay Pride march in London.
Pinkies in rehearsal in 1987
The choir was established as a counterpart to choruses formed in the USA and found its roots in a significantly different UK landscape to that we know today. At that time, the age of consent was still unequal, AIDS had barely reached the political agenda and it would be another year before Britain appointed an openly gay MP. It would be another two decades before the last pieces of unequal law regarding male sex would be changed and legally recognised partnership between same-sex couples and an equal right to adopt would come into force.
At our core, we are essentially a community choir, made up of an incredibly talented people from a diverse range of sexual orientations, gender identities and backgrounds united by a passion for singing great choral music.
We are a mixed eight-part auditioned choir and feature an eclectic mix of repertoire each season – we sing everything from pop to classical to jazz, folk and show tunes and feature a mix of choreography and staging, all expertly developed by our incredible artistic and choreography teams. We perform two main London concerts each year, numerous smaller concerts and sing with other choirs around the UK and the world – although we still find time to perform each year at London Pride on stage in Trafalgar Square.
In January 2017 we even had the incredible opportunity to travel to Mumbai, India to sing with Rainbow Voices Mumbai, India’s first and only LGBT+ choir and march in Queer Azaadi Mumbai.
We have two seasons a year starting in February and September. You can also hire the choir for smaller events such as weddings, civil partnerships and corporate dinners. Check out the hire us section for more details and the tickets page for upcoming scheduled concerts and events.
As a registered charity, we have the following aims:
- To promote, improve, develop and maintain appreciation of and education of the public, in particular but not exclusively the LGBT community, in the art and science of music in all its aspects by any means the management committee sees fit, including through the presentation of public concerts and recitals to the highest possible standard.
- To promote equality and diversity for the public benefit with particular reference to the LGBT community and in particular but not exclusively by:
(i) advancing education and raising awareness in equality and diversity;
(ii) promoting activities to foster understanding between people from diverse backgrounds;
(iii) cultivating a sentiment in favour of equality and diversity in particular through celebrating the diversity of the LGBT community.
To find out more about some of the projects we have been working on recently check out our Outreach and Community Projects page.
I hope you enjoy exploring our website and I hope to see you at a concert or rehearsal soon! If you have any questions that you would like to ask, please get in touch!
Cheers and happy singing,
Zoë
Chair, 2017-2018
chair@pinksingers.co.uk