The Pink Singers’ 30th anniversary celebrations continue with a special performance for the London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival. This year the LLGFF is celebrating its 27th birthday, which makes it almost as old as us! On the menu this time are a couple of performances, one for the public in the main foyer near the box office (anyone who has ever been there at festival time knows that this space temporarily becomes the communal living room for London’s LGBT community) and one specially for a screening of the film Thick Relations. We’ve not seen the film yet, but we’re told it features a choir, so what better way to set the stage?
The Foyer performance is free. BFI Southbank, Foyer, Saturday 23 March 2013 at 5:45pm. For more information please visit the BfI website, or add this to your Facebook events.
LGBT History Month 2013: Glad to be gay at the V&A
They say life begins at 30…and for the Pink Singers it doesn’t seem to have stopped since the anniversary concert! As a choir we were honoured to accept the invitation to perform at the Victoria and Albert Museum (arguably the most prestigious museum in the UK). The performance concluded a whole day’s events organised by the LGBT curatorial group at the V&A as part of the LGBT History Month.
A stone’s throw away from where Queen Victoria was born lays a museum packed with variety ranging from neo-classical paintings to the finest ceramics. As suspected the men paid a lot of attention to David that day…(created by Michael Angelo).
After warming up thanks to the 14 flights of stairs we headed to our performance space and on the way I walked past my second favourite place in the museum, the café…and if that wasn’t good enough I then walked past my third favourite place…the shop (a crying shame I didn’t get to visit my favourite place which is the Theatre and Performance exhibition…naturally).
Amidst renaissance and medieval paintings and statues (with Christ hanging over us) the choir gathered to sing some of the repertoire from P.S. We’re 30! An intimate crowd of 150 – 200 people turned out to hear us sing a range of music ranging from Massive Attack’s Teardrop to Mozart’s Lacrimosa. Opening with Hand in Hand seemed both prominent and appropriate to celebrate LGBT History Month and still reinforce the strong message it prevails.
The audience ranged from familiar friendly faces to those who may have been visiting the museum for the first time, who stopped, listened and acknowledged the work of a community choir that has grown over the years. One highlight for the onlookers seemed to be our rendition of the William Tell Overture which didn’t surprise me really as I know a few members had felt a little hoarse that day.
As the famous phrase goes they say ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ but in this instance it was the keyholder. Closing our set with Hand in Hand (of course) we were then strictly escorted back to a Seminar room to collect our belongings as the Museum was officially closed….time for Victoria and Albert to reflect on the days activities and remember the day the Pink Singers created history in the spectacular V&A. And if you missed it…fear not. We’re back on Friday 15th March just because we loved it so much!
David
Tenor
Timeline datestamp: 23 February 2013
LGBT History Month 2013 at the V&A with the Pinkies
The Pink Singers are proud to celebrate LGBT History Month 2013 with a special performance in the galleries of the Victoria & Albert Museum. We are singing as a part of unique series of events where you can experience performances and listen to curators discuss alternative queer readings of Museum objects, discover the histories of the people who made them and explore how sexual identity can inform the way we interpret the past. All events are free. Saturday 23 February 2013 at 5pm. For more information, please visit the V&A website, or add this to your Facebook events.
The Pink Singers’ Exhibition: Can you help us?
We recently announced that the Heritage Lottery Fund has awarded £31,000 to the choir in order to collect oral history, memories and memorabilia relating to the choir’s 30-year history. We are really excited to be doing this project as it is a great opportunity to tell our story.
We’re busy amassing an archive of material relating to the choir’s history and we’re about to embark on a programme of interviews with choir members current and past to capture their stories, too.
We are seeking more volunteers to help us with this project. If you are interested in helping with research or the creation of the exhibition, or if you have memories, photographs or other material relating to the story of the choir, then please get in touch. We are particularly keen to hear from experienced graphic designers. If you can help us, please email multimedia@pinksingers.co.uk
The exhibition will open this summer. More details to follow soon!
P.S. We’re 30 Concert (Part 2 of 2)
In the second of a couple of posts, Newbie Lara reflects on her first season as a Pink Singer, and reveals a little bit of choir romance to boot!
My very first rehearsal with the Pink Singers, I remember I’d originally felt so shy and nervous to step into what I’d earlier read to be ‘Europe’s longest-running LGBT choir’ of about 80 members, I almost turned around and went home! Having previously made a habit of keeping myself just a little distanced from the mainstream hubbub of the LGBT community, I was a little unsure and had my reservations about joining such a large choir of its type.
Yet as I approached the rehearsal venue, brain chatter by now in a state of drastic panic and near evacuation, I was immediately greeted by friendly smiles and hellos and introduced to a gaggle of equally timid potential newbies (and I should mention here in a sad attempt to embarrass her, that I have been seeing one of these other newbies for the last few months now and it was one of the most unexpected yet awesome things to happen in my life to date!). We were then escorted into the building to watch and take part in the first rehearsal of the season, and the second I heard the choir burst into a fantastically uplifting rendition of the gospel piece, ‘Joyful Joyful,’ I was hooked! My previous reservations vanished on the spot, particularly after spotting the colour co-ordination of Murray Hipkin’s fabulous bright pink socks and shirt.
As someone who has had quite a lot of choral and singing experience, it’s always fascinating to me to see how different groups operate, and one of the immediate attractions of the Pink Singers was the vast array of different musical styles within the repertoire. From classical Brahms and Mozart, to the show tunes of Les Miserables and Hairspray, across to pop covers of Tina Turner and Elvis Presley, it seems there is nothing this choir won’t try! There is truly something for everyone in the Pinkies, and the choir welcomes people with open arms from all walks of life, whether they have had previous singing experience or not. Whilst I personally aspire to make singing and performance my career, I have felt so humbled to enter into such a loving family of some of the most interesting and inspiring people I have ever met. We have IT consultants, business managers, charity workers, lawyers, teachers, doctors, artists, dancers, and even the odd musician here and there. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from, if you love to express yourself through song, the Pink Singers have a place for you.
My first season has been especially exciting, as this year is an ongoing celebration of the Pink Singer’s 30th anniversary! We started this January with a fantastic first concert in Cadogan Hall to celebrate the choir’s ‘greatest hits’ in conjunction with our brand new CD recording, ‘The Pink Singers, P.S. We’re 30’. This included a whole range of different music specially selected in order to reflect the history of the last 30 years of the Pink Singers, tracing the political, social and cultural changes that affected the LGBT community, alongside the choir’s own development. For me, this gave a whole new meaning to the powerful opening and closing song of the concert, ‘Hand In Hand’, reminding us that historic events and the lives and actions of all people are intrinsically connected.
I have been blessed to grow up in an environment where it is gradually becoming more acceptable to be a member of the LGBT community, a fact that should not be taken for granted. Our hard work this season as a choir, plus all the direction, help and stories emerging from the wonderful committee members and our artistic directors have taught me so much about our brothers and sisters before us who fought hard to get where we are today, and how much work there is still to be done across the world to make our voices heard. Through a cleverly put together combination of photomontages, documentaries, speeches, and different types of live performances (with choreography!), we blew away our audience whilst also moving them to think and reflect. ‘That performance certainly conveyed a message,’ is what my father said after our performance, for which we received a mighty standing ovation! This ability to both entertain and provoke people to think and reflect is one of the most special qualities of the Pink Singers.
I felt honoured to be amongst so many talented new friends in Cadogan Hall and to receive such a positive response, and I’m so looking forward to the rest of the year to come. Happy Anniversary to The Pink Singers I say! Thank you all for making me feel so welcomed, and here’s to the next season ahead!