“A Chorus of Choruses” – GALA Choruses Brings Harmony to the Mill City…and the World

It’s not like they’re an especially ambitious group, or anything: their mission merely compels them “to create equity and harmony for all.” GALA Choruses further describes itself as “an international association of LGBTQ+ choruses.” In other words, it’s a mega-chorus, a meta-chorus, a chorusy chorus of nearly two hundred chorusy choruses—male, female, and mixed—containing 15,000 vocalists—male, female, and mixed—within the nations of Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Adds GALA Choruses artistic director Jane Ramseyer Miller, “We offer resources, networking and programming for member choruses in addition to the quadrennial festival.”

That quadrennial festival is GALA Choruses’ showiest means to the end of creating equity and harmony for all which, according to the group’s website, “is five days of singing, connecting, and creating. It’s the largest LGBTQ+ choral event in the world. It’s you with thousands of your peers taking over a city and filling it with song.”

It’s called the GALA Choruses Festival, and the city being willingly taken over in 2024 is our own beloved City of Lakes.

“Minneapolis was chosen for the excellent performance halls at Orchestra Hall, the Minneapolis Convention Center, Central Lutheran Church – and for the proximity of these venues that allow us to create a ‘Festival Village,’” explains Ramseyer Miller. “The city is also partnering with businesses and hotels to create space of welcome for our queer delegates. In selecting a city, we also look at hotel and restaurant availability, community engagement opportunities, and financial support.”

Cities bid for the privilege of hosting the GALA Festival Chorus…and if such bidding were a basketball game, the Mini Apple’s current success might be considered catching its own rebound. “The city of Minneapolis actually bid on the GALA Festival for the past sixteen years and was selected in 2020,” recounts Ramseyer-Miller, “but, we all know what happened then. Happily, we’re back for 2024 and the city is going all out to welcome our 7,000 singers.”

Any chorus festival will, naturally, feature music, but the GALA Chorus Festival doesn’t just feature music. It’s stuffed to the lyrical gills with tunes, it’s jammed with jamming, starting with presentations for songbirds who are also early birds. “Each day offers two morning Coffee Concerts performed by a single chorus often featuring a new commission or special choral work,” says Ramseyer Miller. The website elaborates that “Festival 2024 hosts seven morning Coffee Concerts representing GALA choruses across the spectrum. These concerts feature multi-disciplinary performances, new commissions and some very unique programming.”

As the sun moves past the sky’s midpoint, the jamming persists. “The afternoons showcase all choirs performing in thirty minutes sets,” predicts Ramseyer Miller. “The evenings offer two themed Blockbuster concerts with anywhere from ten to twelve choirs and guest artists performing.”

Twin Citizens longing to contribute to worldwide equity and harmony have numerous options at their disposal. “Twin Cities fans should start on the ‘Festival for Locals’ web page www.GalaChoruses.org,” the artistic director directs. “This page outlines free events each day, volunteer opportunities, info about ticket sales, and live stream options.”

Of course, a chorus with an audience is just practicing. “Individual tickets can be purchased to enjoy concerts in person,” offers former GALA Choruses president Michael Tate. “A live stream pass can be purchased to view the concerts in real-time from any location. One can also watch the recordings of all the performances even after the Festival is over.”

And, some might long to contribute some equity and harmony personally. “You may still register as a delegate and sing in a Festival Chorus up until June 15, but sign up now,” instructs Ramseyer Miller. “You’ll have four weeks to memorize your music and you’ll get to work with a fabulous guest conductor.”

Harmony can enjoy less scale-dependent expression, according to Ramseyer Miller. “Volunteer!” she trumpets. “This is a fabulous way to experience the Festival, meet folks from around the world and hear some great music at the same time!”

This year’s GALA Chorus Festival will move outside its normal domain of the Western Hemisphere, making this year’s harmony truly worldwide. “Most of the choirs attending Festival 2024 are from North America, but we also have choirs attending from China, Estonia, Finland, Ukraine, Taiwan, and Mexico,” the artistic director promises. “You can hear them all perform at the July 13 Harmonies of the Sphere Blockbuster concert.”

All of these musical doings are, ultimately, the current manifestation of the mission—“to create equity and harmony for all” – that came to life when GALA Choruses came to life…way back in 1982. “I believe that GALA Choruses has evolved with the changing times,” Tate affirms. “While the core mission of supporting new and existing LGBTQ+ and allied choruses has not changed, we have continued to expand and recognize the many colors of our amazing rainbow community.”

The “for all” part of the mission is particularly relevant these days, and that’s no accident. Continues the former GALA president, “Providing better visibility for and with trans and non-binary individuals has been an exciting and deliberate expansion of our work.”

As goals go, worldwide equity and harmony for all are as ambitious as goals get…but sometimes even the most ambitious goals are realized in the tiniest of increments. “As a queer cisgendered Black man, it has been my thrill and honor to be a leader both of my local chorus and at the national level,” proclaims Tate. “I love GALA Choruses and the space it provides choruses to help change the world for the better, one song at a time.”

www.galachoruses.org/
www.galachoruses.org/minneapolis/
www.galachoruses.org/resource/festival-locals/