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The Pink Singers archive – can you help?

Hester

We often say that the Pink SingersThe Pink Singers archive are the oldest lesbian and gay choir in Europe, but how do we illustrate our boast? What did the choir do in the 1980s and ‘90s? What did we do five years ago, come to that? There are some very interesting historical articles on our website, but detailed, enduring history has to be based on records – and that is why we are setting up a Pinkie Archive.
The archive will be a multimedia affair. We are collecting sound and video recordings, photographs (both digital and old-style) and documents. All storage will be electronic, so printed materials will be scanned. Audio files and documents are to be kept on-line, while video will be stored on two portable hard drives owned by the choir. All three repositories are password-protected, of course. The records will include concert programmes, repertoire lists, rehearsal tracks, choreography videos, concert videos and anything else that records the history of the Pink Singers. Continue reading “The Pink Singers archive – can you help?”

New Year concert, Saturday 8 January 2011

Photo credit: Hsien

‘A Burst of Song’. Something for everyone…
…a sea shanty, Drunken Sailor – and a spiritual, Deep River
…classic Cole Porter, Every Time We Say Goodbyeand another, Let’s Do It
…from The Wizard of Oz, Over the Rainbow and from Phenomenon, Change the World
…classical choral Fauré, Cantique de Jean Racine – and modern choral Whitacre, With a Lily in Your Hand

…a jazzy number, Lullaby of Birdland – and another, I Got Rhythm


…big hit pop from The Jackson 5, I’ll Be There and from Madonna, Like a Prayer
…unrequited love from Stephen Sondheim, Send in the Clowns – and more from Billy Joel, And So It Goes

…a favourite carol from Sweden, Härlig är Jordenand a bit of camp, Proud Mary

…it’s all there. What are you waiting for? Book now! Book here our box office.
Tickets £10 to £30.
Groups ordering five or more full price tickets: save £3 on each ticket.
60 or over, 16 or under, full-time students, unemployed: save £3 on full price ticket.

7.30 pm Saturday 8 January 2011, Cadogan Hall, 5 Sloane Terrace, SW1X 9DQ.


Sloane Square tube – five minutes.
With guest choir Manchester Lesbian and Gay Chorus.

‘A Burst of Song’ breaks a leg

Simon
Simon

It is quite safe to say that in an LGBT choir we are bound to have more than our fair share of Elaine Paige devotees. She has her own radio show on BBC Radio 2 at 1 pm every Sunday, and you can imagine that a number of us tune in religiously to hear her present her favourite songs from musical theatre on the way in to rehearsal. Simon is clearly one of these Pinkies and he lent his dulcet tones to promote our upcoming concert ‘A Burst of Song‘.
In her radio show, Elaine supports amateur singing and theatrical groups by giving them the chance to speak to a national audience in the ‘Break A Leg’ segment. In case you missed it, you can hear Simon’s little blurb in her last show after the break. He’ll definitely convince you to get tickets to come see us at Cadogan Hall on 8 January 2011! Continue reading “‘A Burst of Song’ breaks a leg”

Backstage pass: All the right moves

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLKQFL5aeqo
With just six weeks to go until the New Year concert on Saturday, 8 January 2011, you’d be right in assuming the pressure is on to get the singing down pat, but our regular fans will also recognize that we put in loads of work to perfect the choreography as well. This season we’re debuting two pieces with entirely new moves and, in a choir where moving is ninth or tenth nature, the end result really is the hard work of all the Pinkies.
No-one works harder than our choreographers Karin, Oli and Rachel though, but in between rehearsals they stopped for minute and sat down in front of the camera for a heart-to-heart chat. Watch the interview for a behind-the-scenes look at how they got into dancing, where they get their inspiration from, what they get out of working with the choir, and what you can expect to see at ‘A Burst of Song’. And if you look closely, you’ll also catch a glimpse of the Pinkies rehearsing Proud Mary!
Wondering whether their — and our — hard work has paid off? Get your tickets and come see us in the new year!

A pink Christmas for Marie Curie

Cilla
Cilla
Last year,
Pinkies carolling at Victoria Station in 2009
Photo credit: Hsien
on 10 December 2009, a group of festively-minded Pinkies serenaded the commuters at Victoria station and managed to raise just under £1,000 for Marie Curie Cancer Care. We’re doing it again this year from 6 pm in Victoria station on Tuesday 14 December and, in a first for us, from 5 pm in Trafalgar Square on Wednesday 22 December and urge everyone to come join in the fun.
Marie Curie works with terminally ill cancer patients, championing new ways of helping them to have compassionate and appropriate end-of-life care. The Pinkies have been doing Christmas carolling for Marie Curie for the last three years and this year we’re coming out again in support.
We had a great time showing our holiday spirit in the station last year. Although it was pretty cold in there, moving around, singing and wearing tinsel and Santa hats warmed us all up. Oh and we got these super duper “permission to ply your musical trade” ID badges for the day. We did a combination of Christmas carols (with some guitar accompaniment) and part of our a capella repertoire, including our awarding-winning rendition of Now is the Month of Maying. Okay, it was perhaps not a traditional Christmas offering, by hey, why not? We got a prize for it! We ended with the Pinkie traditional reward of a nice drink in the pub, a good time was had by audience and singers alike, and this year we can sing it again, all for a worthy cause. Do join us!