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Away with LGBT stereotypes!

As we enter the last week of LGBT History Month, we’re revisiting one of the themes of an event which we took part in at the start of February called Queer Question Time. The panel discussed being gay in professional sports, the need for more sportspeople to come out publicly, and how important this is in demonstrating to the wider society that the LGBT community is not made up exclusively of “white able-bodied TV chat show presenters”.

 Photo credit: Hsien

Indeed, our community is all about diversity, as is our choir, and we’re not just about singing Glee versions of Madonna classics (as much as we love to!) Here we perform Eric Whitacre’s modern choral work With A Lily In Your Hand, set to words from a poem by Federico García Lorca.

LGBT History Month 2011: Southwark

The Pink Singers are proud to take part in LGBT History Month. On 1 February, we sang at Southwark Council’s London Bridge headquarters for the launch event of the council’s 2011 LGBT History Month programme — Queer Question Time chaired by BBC Dragon’s Den presenter Evan Davis.

Answering questions were Matthew Parris, broadcaster and Times columnist and former Tory MP; Sue Sanders, co-chair of Schools Out; John Amaechi, psychologist, New York Times best-selling author and former NBA basketball player; Angela Eagle, Labour MP.

Where were you 15 years ago?

The Pink Singers in Tampa for GALALGBT History Month is starting on Tuesday, so now’s a great time to reflect on our past. In 1996, the Pinkies were in Tampa to perform at the GALA choruses festival, and some of them are still singing in the choir today! Janine very kindly shared a whole treasure trove of photos from 1995 to 1997 with us – thank you so very much. The Pink Singers really want to record our history before it is forgotten, so if you have material you’d like to share, either publicly or privately, please do send it our way. Find out more about the Pink Singers archive here.

A choir that’s like a family – join us now

Alwyn

Being a Pinkie does not just mean spending a few hours every Sunday singing scales and belting our lungs out in four-part harmony – although this sounds rather nice already! There really is a lot more. It means being part of a group of friendly people with diverse characters from various backgrounds. It’s a group that’s committed to socialising and enjoying one another’s company as well as to singing. For someone who has been in London – and England – for just four months, I’ve had an extraordinary journey!
I can hardly believe what I have done in the short time I’ve been here and I have largely the Pink Singers to thank. Back in September, I was 7,000 miles away in Singapore and getting all psyched up for an exciting time in London. I was looking forward to a new phase in my life, but not without much trepidation at the same time. After all, I was new to the city and knew no-one there, though I had a cousin living in distant Surrey. While I relished the thrilling prospect of a whole new experience in a foreign land, it was somewhat daunting. Continue reading “A choir that’s like a family – join us now”

Carolling to fight cancer


In December the Pink Singers went a-carolling to support the fundraising efforts of Marie Curie Cancer Care. We performed both at Victoria Station and in Trafalgar Square. Here Bruce and Sue tell us about their experiences.

At Victoria Station

Bruce
Bruce

A group of enthusiastic Pinkies arrived around the start of the evening rush hour on the eve of 14 December ready to entertain the public with our dulcet tones. It must have been the pre-cursor to the deep freeze — as although covered, the main concourse at Victoria is definitely not heated! Within a few minutes my feet were starting to feel distinctly cold. During this time, many of our throng had adorned ourselves with tinsel, a variety of other decorations and had agreed what the first carol was going to be.
And then they were off….! We launched into our first carol, a little tentatively at first and then as we got used to the acoustics, each other, the words and the music we built up to a good volume, the sopranos doing some rather impressive descants on a few of the numbers. Continue reading “Carolling to fight cancer”