I’m Gary, the New Members representative for the Pink Singers Europe’s longest running LGBT choir. We are starting our 2014/15 season in September, and we’re looking for new members!
I joined in September 2012 and have enjoyed every minute, so I thought I could give you some reasons why you should join the Pink Singers.
We sing high, we sing low! We’re a choir – it’s what we do and we do it well! We perform two major concerts a year, as well as many other smaller events so everyone can see & hear what we like to call “The Pinkie Magic”.
85% of us are fun fun fun! You’ll meet lots of new friends. I have made lots of great friends in the last two years from across the choir. You’ll become part of a fantastic group of people who support and encourage each other. We also run various social events throughout the year which help you get to know everyone a bit better.
So many trips a choir can do! Cardiff, Dublin, Reykjavik, Lisbon, Athens – just some of the places the choir have performed in the last few years. We’re already planning a big trip to Denver in 2016 for the Gala Choruses festival. But it’s not all travel – we take part in lots of smaller performances, recording sessions and community outreach projects right here in London.
Choi- YEAH! We rehearse every Sunday in central London (near Euston) between 2-6pm, and we spend a bit of time outside of this memorising our music (we always perform without music). So we work hard, but it’s always worth it – there is nothing like the buzz you feel after an amazing concert! If such things take your fancy, you can also get involved in other aspects of the choir organisation such as helping with fundraising, trip planning etc. It’s all volunteer-led!
The Pink Singers is the longest-running LGBT choir in Europe, formed in 1983, and I never really appreciated what trailblazers we were until I attended the Various Voices choral festival in Dublin in June. To know I was part of such a well-known group was very moving.
Have a read of the some of the blog posts written by other new choir members, and you’ll truly get a feel of “what it means to be a Pinkie”.
We have a few spaces each season and our next season starts in late Setember 2014. So, if you want to join us or have any other questions check out our joining page, or drop me an email at joining@pinksingers.co.uk.
Year: 2014
Notes from a Small Island
Newbie soprano Louise reflects on her first concert as a Pink Singer at Notes from a Small Island last Saturday at Hackney Empire.
I have performed in smaller, more informal concerts before, and as a teacher every day is a performance for me, but nothing compares to standing under those bright and burning lights in front of over 600 people at the beautiful Hackney Empire. This was something very special.
I had felt anxious in the weeks running up to the concert, spending every spare moment listening to tracks, learning words and attempting to multi-task with the addition of choreography. But after a gruelling (and sweltering) technical rehearsal, 7pm somehow crept up on me and I can honestly say I was excited as the performance started. My concert cherry was about to pop as they say.
But would I go to death and go to slaughter? Would I panic part way through? It helped not being able to see anyone in the audience. In fact it required a leap of faith to even believe there was anyone out there until the first burst of rapturous applause after Under Pressure. Pressure off. I subsequently enjoyed every second of the entire concert, including our most challenging piece Peter Grimes. (I should add here that there was a 14 year old in the audience who loved it too but wondered why on earth we were singing so aggressively about peas and rice. Hmmm.)
The various emails and text messages I have received since the concert from friends and family put words to feelings much more succinctly than I can at the moment. I truly cannot find the words that adequately encapsulate what it meant to me. They tell me the Pink Singers are a choir to be proud of. They describe the performance as SENSATIONAL. They say we demonstrate diversity, humour and passion. They say that they feel that whenever we sing it feels like EVERY person they fix on is totally committed to singing, and to them individually. All true.
I feel both empowered and humbled by my first Pinkie concert. What an amazing thing to be part of! I am, alas, experiencing the PPBs – the Post Pinkie Blues. What am I going to do on my Sundays now? Everything now seems an insubstantial pageant in comparison. Although I have filled my summer with plans already, I will be counting down the weeks until the next season starts. And you really should come to our next concert. You may even be kissed on the nose by a gay…
With thanks to Suzanne Mitchell Photography
Louise
Timeline datestamp: 19 July 2014
Notes from a Small Island – Our guests
Come along to Notes from a Small Island, our concert celebrating the best of British songwriters and composers this Saturday at Hackney Empire, and you’ll get to see not just the Pink Singers, oh no – you’ll be entertained by three choirs from across the UK.
First up is Citi Choir, a brand new chorus of about 30-40 singers who all work, rehearse and sometimes perform at Citi Bank in London’s Canary Wharf.
They’ve been singing for just over a year after appearing on a very big television show fronted by a very famous name in choral circles, but that we aren’t allowed officially to name for reasons of mystery and suspense.
The group contributes to Citi by performing at client and employee events and has started to support charitable causes, recently performing in New York City for an event for the American Cancer Society.
Secondly are the wonderful South Wales Gay Men’s Chorus. Formed in 2008, they now have about thirty regular chorus members and a jam-packed schedule of performances booked throughout the year.
They are very proud to be part of a strong Welsh heritage and proud to be playing an active role in the local community. At the heart of the choir is a passion for music, for expression, for fun and for connecting with friends in South Wales and across the globe.
These fine chaps have built a fierce reputation over the years and we’ve sung with them many times before, most recently back in October 2013 in Cardiff. It’ll be a real treat to perform alongside them once again and we know our audience will love it.
Still time to get your tickets for Notes from a Small Island – buy tickets from the Hackney Empire website or by calling 020 8985 2424.
Notes from a Small Island – The Final Countdown
After months and months of planning, it’s almost showtime as the Pinkies are on the final countdown to our much-anticipated return to the Hackney Empire this Saturday 19 July. So what exactly does go on behind the scenes? Pinkies Chair Mark gives a brief glimpse into how we get ready for a concert of this scale.
We’ve been rehearsing for Notes from a Small Island since February – with four hours of rehearsals every week. It’s only really in the last few weeks though when things really start coming together. Sunday rehearsals invariably become more anxious as we move ‘off copy’ and begin singing from memory. We’re standing in the right concert positions too, with our placings marked up with masking tape. Concert props have also started appearing and we have to get used incorporating them – remembering to sing and dance at the same time!
Where we do choreography for some numbers, this last week is the time to finally commit the moves to memory. We usually rehearse in a dance studio with large mirrors, so it’s easier to copy others if you get lost. The last few weeks though mean you’re on your own, as the curtains get drawn across the mirrors. These mirrors are also our secret weapon. To help us practice, we film ourselves doing choreography and post these videos online for Pinkies to strut their stuff in the privacy of their own homes. By filming the mirrors – right hands are right hands and left legs are left legs, which helps enormously in committing the moves to memory.
The last week of rehearsals also highlight for people the songs they need to work on in the last few days – but also gives reassurance that others have been nailed. Last minute cramming invariably follows, using part-specific piano tracks for each song to lock in the notes and recordings of the full choir in rehearsal to pin down entry cues from other voice sections. We have a special members section on our website where we keep all these practice materials – lovingly called ‘Pink Bits’.
The final part of our preparations is a dress rehearsal just a few days before the concert where we run the show in full and polish off any rough edges. Even on concert day we’re working hard too. The choir will be onstage from lunchtime, fine-tuning each piece while we also run a technical rehearsal to synchronise lighting and sound.
It’s been incredibly hard work, but we’re thrilled to be performing this Saturday with such a fantastic theme – the best of British Songwriters and Composers. One of our aims as a choir is to excite, entertain and educate our audience. You’ll have all of that in abundance.
Tickets are available now for £10-30 on the web or by calling 020 8985 2424. Discounts available for groups of 8+ and concessions.
Reflecting on Various Voices 2014: Pt4
Tenor Liang remembers joining the Pink Singers back in 2005, and his experience of Various Voices 2014
Various Voices Dublin 2014, what a blast, what an adventure, what an experience.
Let’s rewind to January 2005. I had just watched a concert by the Pink Singers and thought, these guys are quite good and I want to have a go at it. With no training in music or singing, I joined the choir with some trepidation. Having only done karaoke, this was a new experience for me as the need to cooperate and listen to each other encouraged a sense of togetherness which extended beyond the confines of the singing and fostered a community spirit.
Fast forward to June 2014 and Various Voices Dublin. The festival was looming. With 4 days to go, I was not perfect with the “movements” (greens, Jenny?) to Shine and found myself rehearsing this to passers-by giving me weird looks. Singing in the City was a programme organised by VV Dublin to perform to and engage the public. Our first performance was in this programme at Axis Ballymun alongside the Rock Creek Singers from Washington D.C. It went down a treat and we formed a new mutual appreciation society with our American brothers. You can see a picture of us all together at the top of this post.
With the first concert in the bag, I knuckled down to the remaining three I had to do. In between erecting the exhibition, watching the other choirs, late night partying coupled with early morning rehearsals and meeting friends old and new, this turned out to be an exercise in concentration and application – not something that I was expecting. Singing at 1am as the last act with Pink Singers small group, the Barberfellas, in Spurious Voices was overwhelming and that was the moment when I wanted to crawl away and have a little me time.
Every choir brought its own personality to the festival. It was a joy to be sharing the stage with our fellow choristers. It was an honour to be singing with representatives from Asia where LGBT choirs are barely tolerated in some countries. I laughed at the comedic shows and I cried at the heart rending performances.
Night after night, the Pink Singers took over the dance stage to show off our choreography to Proud Mary, Shine and other songs. There was probably a mole whispering to the DJ to play our songs and in true Pinkie style, we took up the challenge and jumped at every opportunity to strut our stuff, including the ridiculously difficult line dance for 9 To 5. By the 3rd night, the other delegates were joining in with Proud Mary – success!
To fully enjoy VV, you have to embrace the concept, throw caution to the wind, talk to everybody. Be prepared for anything and expend all your energy in the few short days of the festival. Who needs sleep? – we can get that when we return home.
Come the end of the festival, I was exhausted but exhilarated. But the fatigue was what allowed my barriers to break down and let me bare my emotions. I rarely cry but I had shed a few tears here. It was time to go home to recover and revel in the memories of being a part of an event that had brought so many people together in a show of humanity. Various Voices Dublin, I salute you and I look forward to Munich in 4 years.
Don’t want to wait until Various Voices 2018 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 2014 at Hackney Empire.