past events

Reflecting on Various Voices 2014: Pt1

Newbie tenor Chris recalls his experience of the Various Voices festival in Dublin last weekend…
Having only joined the Pink Singers for this season, “Various Voices” was not a term I was familiar with, however with the persuasion of my section leader I signed up for the unknown.
If I had known then what I know now, I would have joined the Pink Singers just to be allowed to come!
Initial preparations were frantic as I found out I would standing in the front row for our performances, and would actually have to learn the choreography rather than copy the person in front of me. I also managed to lose my wallet the day before I left, however, once I was on my (rather early) flight I was on my way to one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life.
Over four days in Dublin I went through every possible emotion. I felt scared before my first ever Pinkie performance at the Axis Theatre in Ballymun, elated after we had nailed I, Choir and brought the audience to their feet, and once again with our set finale All By Myself.

The Pink Singers performing All by myself in January 2014

I cried as the Rock Creek Singers performed Make Them Hear You and again when Proud Voices took to the stage.

I was sad when it ended far too soon and am grateful that I shared the experience with so many wonderful people. There were so many highlights: getting to know people in my own choir much better, Luke wearing Brian’s (our mannequin) clothes to perform at The Helix, being taught how to use a drill by Jenny when erecting our exhibition, Singing the Changes, the gorgeous Dublin weather and meeting the many other choirs and realising how much joy LGBT choirs bring to people around the world.
If anyone gets the opportunity to travel in time and go again I would recommend it, otherwise you’ll just have to wait until Munich 2018. I’m excited already!
Don’t want to wait that long to see the Pink Singers? Get your tickets now for Notes from a Small Island, our celebration of British composers and songwriters on Saturday 19 July at Hackney Empire.

LGBT History Month 2014: Tonight in Parliament

There’s nothing like those nights in London when, despite the nip in the air, you can feel that winter is slipping away, and the evenings are starting to stretch out. The dusk is a cobalt blue and the faded orange of the setting sun is amplified by the glow of sodium floodlights.

The 27^th of February 2014 was just like that when a band of Pink Singers gathered in preparation for a performance at the Houses of Parliament.

This year has been a momentous one for the Pinkies. Last summer we sang at No. 10 to celebrate equal marriage, and so to perform in the Palace of Westminster to mark the end of a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Trans History Month which focused on music was not only a privilege and an honour, it also gave us a sense of completeness. We were there at the invitation of ParliOUT, a cross-party networking group which does amazing work from within the Houses to advance LGBT issues.

This being my first visit to Parliament, I felt a lot like a tourist, in awe of the amazing spaces we passed through to get to our stage on the terrace. I confess to gawking open-mouthed at the massive hammerbeam roof of Westminster Hall, the oil paintings of St. Stephen’s Hall and the ornate mosaic floors and gold leaf ceilings of Central Hall as we were ushered to the Commons.

There was hardly any time to take in the views before the event kicked off. John Bercow, the Speaker of the House of Commons, started with a light-hearted and self-deprecatory speech, before turning with seriousness to the recent noxious legislation in Russia, Uganda and Nigeria. On a world stage where innovation and talent makes a country competitive, governments must give their people, regardless of sexuality, every opportunity to flourish and grow. Persecuting minorities in the name of a perceived national identity does exactly the opposite and is self-defeating.

It was in that spirit that we started our set with ‘Hand In Hand’, a Pinkies’ and LGBT choir standard about how we are stronger when we stand shoulder to shoulder with our brothers and sisters. Normally a Pink Singers concert consists of 80-odd people on stage which brings with it a powerful visual as well as audible solidarity. At this performance, however, the comparatively intimate group of just 16 singers actually lent it a greater poignancy. We then performed a series of songs from our recent ‘A Night At The Movies’ concert, including ‘My Heart Will Go On’, ‘Jai Ho’ – with choreography – and ‘9 to 5’. Tracey even told us what it was like to be ‘Out Here On My Own’.

Judging by the whoops and applause the audience seemed to really enjoy our performance, and with the sheer number of phone cameras which were pointed in our direction I await the inevitable on-line videos with both eagerness and dread. We are always told to smile when we perform, but I hate visual reminders that my self-conscious grimace isn’t quite right yet!

A confident stage presence is clearly not an issue for the very talented Andrew M. Pisanu who followed us on. He sang several of his own songs and then a number of crowd pleasers such as ‘I Know Him So Well’ and ‘Borderline’. By this point the increasingly enthusiastic audience, and the Pinkies of course, were joining in too. What I had imagined would be a rather staid evening turned out to be an enjoyable and unforgettable night filled with song: a perfect way to bring LGBT History Month to a close.

Hsien
Tenor

Timeline datestamp: 27 February 2014

5 best bits of the Pinkies Christmas weekender

The now legendary Pink Singers annual weekend away took place a week before Christmas, and was packed with festive delights! After piling on the bus down to Sussex with fellow choir members, the party and workshops started in earnest.
My highlights would have to be:

The peaceful, picturesque location offering a welcome change to bustling London
Singing choir songs around the camp fire… even if we were ever so slightly out of tune and time… let’s blame the mulled wine for that
Learning how to sing well with the brilliant Sam Kenyon, including putting on a country western accent by replacing words with ‘quack’!
The meticulously organised and delicious Christmas dinner for 70 people, served by elves and reindeer
The price! How they ever managed to organise such a well-catered weekend on such a small budget is just amazing!

Having the opportunity to get to know so many members of the choir – they are such a genuinely great bunch of crazy people and I’m looking forward to more hilarious, fun nights in 2014!

Photographs by Hsien Chew and Simon Pearson

Four reasons to take your choir to Cardiff

On the 4th and 5th of October 2013, the Pinkies made the 150-mile journey from London to Cardiff to perform with the South Wales Gay Men’s Chorus to a sell-out crowd as part of their 5th Anniversary celebrations. In this post, Pete shares his four reasons to head back immediately!

#1. Croeso i Gaerdydd!

…or in Welsh, “Welcome to Cardiff!” My first time to Wales, I thought thought that I would drive over the bridge and be met by dragons, sitting on castles waving their leeks at me, chanting, “Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch!!” Alas, my fantasy was crushed by Gary, Paul and Ben (my trusty road-trippers), who, in between me trying to pronounce the road signs, took the responsibility of letting me know the truth. Wales is actually like most of the UK – but with its own special version of awesome. For instance, we walked to the venue via Cardiff Castle, we stayed opposite the Millenium Stadium and topped of the weekend brunching on Cardiff Bay (next to the Dr. Who experience).

In summary… Wales is an amazing place, even if it is lacking dragons.

My tip? Make sure you go for more than 24 hours and take time to look around.

Continue reading “Four reasons to take your choir to Cardiff”

A Warm Welcome in Iceland

We have just returned from our annual foreign choir tour. In recent years we have been lucky enough to travel to Paris, Malta, Athens and Lisbon Prides to name a few; for our 30th birthday trip we knew we had to go somewhere special. After a close vote in rehearsals, Reykjavík came out on top – Pinkies in Iceland was about to become reality. Confession – I only voted for Iceland because I was informed there were fewer cobbles and hills than the other choices.

Hinsegin Kórinn and Pink Singers performing together

After Lisbon in my wheelchair I was ready for a flat holiday! Iceland was somewhere I knew nothing about – but I wasn’t sure there would be much to do, I didn’t imagine it would be a particularly fun place and I never imagined in a million years I would have anything in common with the locals. How wrong my perceptions would prove to be.

What an astonishing place. From geysers to puffin colonies, from lunar volcanic landscapes to lush green fields and streams, you were never far away from a sight that would simply take your breath away. We have all, I’m sure, come away with our own personal treasured memories. For me a favourite is the view from the top of Gullfoss, an amazing waterfall just outside of Reykjavik. A view made even more special by the efforts it took to get me (and wheels) up the 150 or so stairs and steep gravel path to the summit. It was at the top I realised how very lucky I am to have such good friends, who without question or complaint, made it possible for me to have that experience.

However beautiful the landscapes, nothing could compare to the sight of the standing ovation we received from the incredibly generous and supportive audience during our joint concert with the Reykjavik Queer Choir, Hinsegin Kórinn. I felt so privileged to be invited to perform for (and with) such a wonderful group of people; I was extremely proud to be a Pinkie that night.

The Queer Choir describe themselves as a provider of a prejudice free environment where queer people can sing together. They are similar to us in that they sing a wide range of repertoire – from Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody to traditional Icelandic folk songs. For me a highlight of their performance was Coldplay’s Fix You – an stunning arrangement which moved quite a number of us to tears. Which we incidentally had to swallow quite quickly as we were back on stage straight afterwards! It’s hard to believe such a charismatic, talented and able choir is just two years old.

Reykjavik Pride itself was another unforgettable experience. The parade route was packed with people, it felt like the whole town had come out to celebrate with us. The crowd was a sea of rainbow necklaces, almost every shop was decked out in some sort of pride decoration. It was inspiring to see so many young families there – Pride in Iceland felt like a true community event, for everyone – with even the mayor dressed up for the occasion and joining in the march.

Ahead of us marched the Queer Choir. Talented yes but did I also mention lovely? Generous? And fun. So much fun. Together we’ve rehearsed, performed, marched, ate, drank and partied the night away. The Pink Singers are lucky to have made some fabulous friends in Iceland and I think I can be confident to speak for everyone when I say we can’t wait to see them again – both in Dublin for Various Voices 2014 (a festival of LGBT choirs in Europe) and when (we hope) they accept our invitation to sing with us in London. Thank you so much for making our trip to Iceland as wonderful as it was.

Sarah
Alto leader

Timeline datestamp: 08 August 2013

#1. Croeso i Gaerdydd!

Continue reading “Four reasons to take your choir to Cardiff”

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