The Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses ("GALA Choruses") is an international association of

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

choruses founded in 1982. In its inaugural performance 14 choruses performed together in September 1982 in San Francisco as part of the first

Gay Games The Gay Games is a worldwide sport and cultural event that promotes acceptance of sexual diversity, featuring lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) athletes, artists and other individuals. Founded as the Gay Olympics, it was s ...

. It aims to foster artistic and organizational development within its member choruses. The association includes almost 10,000 vocalists in over 100 associated choruses singing as male, female and mixed ensembles in a wide variety of styles. GALA Choruses produces a large festival every four years, in addition to a number of smaller annual workshops and conferences.

Festivals

Artistic and business directors of the choruses then in existence envisioned both the

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

events at the first planning meeting in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

(15–17 May 1981) that set the course for the official founding of GALA Choruses. *1982 - San Francisco, California *1983 -

New York, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

*1986 -

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

*1989 -

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

- about 2,500 delegates *1992 -

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

- over 3,400 delegates *1996 -

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

- over 4,700 delegates *2000 -

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

- over 4,700 delegates *2004 - Place des Arts,

Montreal, Quebec Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

- over 5,700 delegates *2008 -

Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County is a performing arts center located in Miami, Florida. It is one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States. According to Arts Management Magazine, the Arsht C ...

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

*2012 -

Denver Performing Arts Complex The Denver Performing Arts Complex (also referred to as the "Arts Complex") in Denver, Colorado, is one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States. The DCPA is a four-block, site containing ten performance spaces with over 10 ...

- over 6,000 delegates *2016 -

*2020 - Postponed due to the ongoing

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

*2024 -

Notes

#The San Francisco event was called the West Coast Choral Festival. Members of the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus organized and ran this event as a forerunner to the larger event planned the following year in New York City. #The New York event was called COAST, which stood for Come Out and Sing Together. It was organized and run by members of the New York City Gay Men's Chorus. #First GALA festival in which a women's chorus, Denver Women's Chorus, performed #Out of forty-four choruses, eight were women's choruses; eleven were mixed choruses
Festival 2024

Notable member choruses

* Anna Crusis Women's Choir * Atlanta Gay Men's Chorus * Beijing Queer Chorus * Boston Gay Men's Chorus * Bridging Voices Youth Chorus * Calgary Men's Chorus * Chicago Gay Men's Chorus * Columbus Gay Men's Chorus * Connecticut Gay Men's Chorus * Coro Allegro * Diverse Harmony Youth Chorus
GAPA Men's Chorus
- San Francisco, CA * Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles * Gay Men's Chorus of San Diego * Gay Men’s Chorus of Tampa Bay * Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, D.C. * Golden Gate Men's Chorus - San Francisco, CA * Heartland Men's Chorus - Kansas City, MO * Queer Chorus of San Francisco * New York City Gay Men's Chorus * Oakland Gay Men's Chorus * One Voice Mixed Chorus - Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN * OurSong Atlanta * Philadelphia Gay Men's Chorus * Portland Gay Men's Chorus * Rainbow Women's Chorus * San Diego Men's Chorus * San Diego Women's Chorus * San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus * Seattle Men's Chorus * Turtle Creek Chorale - Dallas, TX * Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus - Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN *

Vancouver Men's Chorus The Vancouver Men's Chorus is a non-profit choir. Composed of gay men and their Friend of Dorothy, friends, the chorus is a member of the Vancouver Cultural Alliance, the British Columbia Choral Federation and of GALA Choruses, an association of o ...

* Windy City Performing Arts * New Orleans Gay Men’s Chorus

References

External links

GALA Choruses official siteQueer Quires: listing LGBTI choirs worldwide
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gala Choruses LGBTQ choruses Music organizations based in the United States Choral societies Musical groups established in 1982 1982 establishments in California