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John Flinders, Accompanist, to leave the Pink Singers

We are very sad to announce that our wonderful accompanist, John Flinders, will be leaving us. This coming season will be his last after being with us since October 2011. 

For 13 years, John has helped elevate our vocal skills with his phenomenal work in the music team. Not only has he supported us by keeping us in tune each week in rehearsals, but he has guided us through tremendously challenging repertoires and arrangements with care and incredible precision. For this we are eternally grateful. 

 “My time with the Pink Singers has been a thrilling experience and I have so many happy memories that I will treasure. I have played music that I would never otherwise have known, in world-class arrangements by our own arrangers; I have visited and given concerts in countries that I had never imagined visiting, and met wonderful people, in the Pink Singers and in other choirs, that I would never otherwise have encountered.” – John 

The Pink Singers wish John an abundance of good fortune and luck in the future. He has been a truly unique, caring and guiding asset to us all and we are so thankful for everything he has given to us. We hope to see him soon at future concerts, cheering us on in the audience.

We will miss you, John! Lots of Pinkie love, always.

Photo credit: Neil Cordell

Recruitment: The Pink Singers Accompanist

We are recruiting for the position of Accompanist. Please see the role description and requirements below. The closing date for applications by email is 29 March 2024.

About Us

As the longest running LGBTQ+ choir in Europe, The Pink Singers was established in London in 1983 to march in London’s Gay & Lesbian Pride and we’ve been singing and marching ever since. We are an auditioned choir of 80-100 members with strong community connections. Though a community choir, we have a reputation for high standards of performance that we are keen to uphold and grow. We have a long standing relationship with large London venues such as Cadogan Hall, where we currently perform 2 concerts a year.

We are a registered charity run by volunteers, and our aim is to share the joy of music within the LGBTQ+ community in the UK and around the world, and to promote and celebrate equality and diversity.

More information including our charitable aims can be found here.

Accompanist Role Description

Responsibilities

  • Accompany weekly rehearsals on a Sunday in London between 14:00-18:00 (term time dates).
  • Perform in two London concerts a year in January and June/July.
  • Where possible, take part in other smaller gigs (around 5-7 a year),that may be in London, in the UK or overseas, especially important festivals such as Hand in Hand and Various Voices.
  • Work closely with the musical director, music team and artistic director to fulfil creative themes and visions.

Required

  • Professional grade 8+ piano accompaniment skills.
  • Previous experience in accompanying an SATB choir.
  • Confident communication skills.
  • Confidence in a wide range of musical genres.

Desirable

  • Ability to conduct or lead the choir in the absence of the musical director.
  • Lead sectionals in rehearsal time.
  • Understanding of vocal warm ups and technique.
  • Understanding of choral and contemporary repertoire.

Expectations

  • Adhere to The Pink Singers vision, values and constitution.
  • Be committed to equality and inclusion for everyone.
  • Abide by The Seven Principles of Public Life: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership.
  • Understanding the needs of an LGBTQ+ choir.

What we offer in return


Community – Joining us means you becoming a ‘Pinkie’, a hundred-strong community of beautiful, diverse, inspirational LGBTQ+ people who come together to sing, share and spread joy. We are our own chosen family.

Impact – As accompanist, you get to be involved in the high-level and long-term direction of the choir to share the joy of music among the LGBTQ+ community and raise awareness of their rights. Our choir makes a real difference to people’s lives in the UK and around the world.

Growth – The role would give you the opportunity to develop your skills in working with, and managing a diverse choir of singers with mixed abilities, with a desire to improve their vocal performance.

Application

Please send in your curriculum vitae to chair@pinksingers.co.uk including a short paragraph about why you wish to join The Pink Singers.

You must be eligible to work in the UK.

Closing date for applications: 29 March 2024

Interview date: 3rd May 2024

Audition date: 19th May 2024

A PDF version of the role description can be found here.

(Photo credit: Jess Rowbottom)

Olivia Doust to become Musical Director of The Pink Singers

Olivia, Musical Director

We are excited to announce that Olivia Doust has been appointed as the new Musical Director of the Pink Singers, London’s LGBTQ+ community choir.

Olivia first joined the Pink Singers in 2022, previously serving as Assistant Musical Director and an invaluable member of the alto section. Currently she is acting as the Interim Musical Director and, following the upcoming “All Our Love” concert, Olivia will be taking on the role of Musical Director full term from February 2024.

Olivia holds a masters in Voice Studies and brings her experience as a musical director and voice teacher to this role.We are extremely grateful for the work Olivia has already done with The Pink Singers and look forward to continuing to develop our partnership with her.

Olivia writes:

“I am extremely honoured and delighted to step into the role of Musical Director for The Pink Singers. The choir has an important history and legacy that I hope to uphold and develop in the coming seasons. I am excited to see what the future of the choir holds, and where we can take it together.”

We look forward to experiencing the new direction that Olivia will be taking the choir in musically as she starts her chapter as Musical Director of The Pink Singers.

All Our Love – Live Concert at Cadogan Hall 20th January

Join us for “The Pink Singers: All Our Love”: 7.30pm Saturday 20th January 2024 at The Cadogan Hall, 5 Sloane Terrace, London SW1X 9DQ.

There is nothing more suitable than celebrating The Pink Singers’ 40-year anniversary with the theme of love.

In ‘All Our Love’, Europe’s longest-running LGBT+ choir will be sharing the love through music. In our remarkable journey, we have witnessed changes for the LGBTQ+ community not just in the United Kingdom but also in all the places we have been to sing and march with friends around the world. To get to where we are now, love has always been with us.

The concert will feature a diverse range of songs – tailor-made with full eight-part harmonies and some of them our very own arrangements – with music from artists such as Billy Porter, The Proclaimers, Mary Lambert, Gabriels, Eric Carmen, Sergei Rachmaninov, Daði Freyr and Kylie Minogue. Alongside these home-grown arrangements, we will also perform commissioned works by the likes of John Lennon, Jocelyn Hagen, Carter Datz, The Cranberries, Nat King Cole, and more.

And to celebrate this special anniversary, The Pink Singers will premiere Homemade Musical Hope Machine which draws on our history, culture and heritage. The piece was created on an entirely voluntary basis by members of the choir. It shows so much of our love.

We will share the stage with our fabulous friends, Voces Gaudii choir, who come all the way from Warsaw. In the summer of 2022, The Pink Singers visited them in Poland, blending voices in a joint performance at Kino Elektronik and marching together in the Warsaw Equality and Kyiv Pride Parade. We are now so excited for them to visit and sing with us in London!

Join The Pink Singers to be filled with the love and joy of music. We promise there will be a lot of sparkle!

Tickets start at £10. Don’t forget, you can secure a VIP ticket including a free glass of champagne, cake and concert programme from £45. Try to book in advance – this concert is likely to sell out!

From Northampton to Abbey Road

Sally Anne, Soprano

In the second instalment of our Hometown Concerts project, Sally Anne took us to her hometown of Northampton and beyond…

On 28th October, the Pink Singers performed at the Lab club in Northampton with the amazing Afrobeat band The T-Bone Afrika All-Stars as one of our series of “Home Towns” gigs. I was born and bred in Northampton, so I was delighted that some of my “Chosen Family” had the opportunity to perform in the my birth town. The All-Stars were amazing and we performed two pieces together. It was truly special to be able to sing with an Afrobeat band which the Pinkies would not normally have the chance to do.

It was a wonderful community event where the audience clearly enjoyed themselves. It was a new experience for both the band and us. Although our styles of music are a bit different, we were able to join together and bring joyful music to an audience who would probably not otherwise have heard of us. This is in the true of Pinkie spirit of reaching out to the community. And that is not all…

The following week some of us had the honour of recording with the T-Bone Afrika All-Stars who had invited us to sing with them on their new EP at Abbey Road Studios in London. We sang vocals on four of their tracks, and when the songs were played back to us they sounded incredible. It was really exciting to be able to hear the recordings we had just contributed to. It was wonderful to be recording in such a historic venue ( and yes, some of us did do the Iconic “Zebra Crossing” photos) and I am very much looking forward to listening to the finished recording.

I am proud of us for creating Pinkie History and Pinkie Magic with these two important as well as very enjoyable events. I want to thank my friends the T-Bone Afrika All-Stars for giving us the opportunity working with them to create music together. Thanks to everyone who made the Hometown gig in Northampton possible and who came to Abbey Road. I appreciate it very much and we should be justifiably proud of our achievements. And thanks to Chris Scales for their brilliant photography to record these memorable and beautiful events

Much Pinkie Love!

Sally Anne, Soprano

The T-Bone Afrika All-Stars