Is it too big? Can we fill it? It was with much excitement that a gaggle of us Pinkies converged on the Troxy near Limehouse last Sunday to get the answers to these questions. The Troxy is a new venue for the Pink Singers in that we’ve never performed there before, but we really needed a larger venue for the Hand In Hand concert we are putting on on 13 July. In fact, the title “concert” is itself a bit of a misnomer as what were are actually organizing is a whole day of vocal workshops, followed by a concert in the evening featuring not just us, but LGBT choirs from across the UK, and our signature aftershow party, this time on a scale like we’d never done before. So, a real smorgasbord of activities for the audience to choose from then! Continue reading “Hand in Hand: sound-checking at the Troxy”
The Pink Singers on stage at the “P.S. We’re 30” concert 27th LLGFF 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.
The Pink Singers perform ‘Glad To Be Gay’. LGBT History Month 2013 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.
Five months, eighteen rehearsals, a lot of belly laughs and tears of pride later, our Around The World concert is over! And what a concert! Murray, our Musical Director – fresh from working on Dr Dee at the ENO and a multitude of other projects, along with our Artistic Director Oli, skilfully guided us through a tough final afternoon rehearsal as we got to grips with new venue acoustics, percussion and the heat of the spotlights.
After donning our roses and gathering for a final bit of briefing in the green room, suddenly the concert hall filled, the colourful lights came up and it was time to hit the stage.
For me, it was a particularly special evening as it was my first concert with the Pinkies. Nerves nearly got the better of me before we went on. But many mornings rehearsing the lines and choreography on the bus to work (to the amusement of fellow passengers) paid off. I popped my pinkie cherry before a packed audience of hundreds (and one pigeon) at the beautiful St John’s, Smith Square.
This season’s whistle-stop tour of the globe, a celebration of London as a host of the 2012 Olympics and World Pride, saw us get our mouths around a whole host of languages including French, Hebrew, Italian, three Indian dialects, Portugese, Zulu, Swahili and Jiangsu Mandarin.
We were privileged to be joined by the super Gloria choir from Dublin, brought to the stage and conducted by Ian Packham, sporting a cheeky grin. After a grand set nestled around the interval, both choirs joined forces to perform the beautifully elegant Cantique de Jean Racine.
There were a few notable highlights for me – Hsien and Rafael flawlessly opening the concert with Baba Yetu, brimming with confidence; Gloria’s soulful rendition of the heartbreaking And So It Goes by Billy Joel which made me well up; and the lady Pinkies strutting their stuff during a medley of songs from Cabaret (several of the basses had to be held back from bursting onto stage to join them).
No concert is complete without an after-show party, and we let our hair down in style thanks to Gary, our social secretary, who organised a proper knees-up with plenty of dancing and, of course, singing. A fitting way to celebrate the culmination of so much hard work and effort from everyone involved. Many of us wandered home in the daylight some hours later!
After a busy spring, the Pinkies are having a little rest over the summer. I for one can’t wait until next season – it’s one of the biggest in the choir’s long and vibrant history as we turn thirty next year (and, co-incidentally, so do I!). There are big plans afoot! Put Saturday 19th January 2013 in your diary right now as our next concert promises to be a real firework.
You travelled around the world with the Pinkies now kick back and party with the stars at our world-famously fun after show party. On 14 July 2012 from 10.30 until 2am! Entry is by £10 donation. Ticket includes entry, DJ, disco and buffet and views over the river Thames! Contact a choir member for more details or email Gary or our Social Secretary via joining@pinksingers.co.uk for details on how to pay. Spaces are limited – once they are gone they are gone so what are you waiting for? Carry on the global adventure and come fly with us into the early hours on the dancefloor!
