Catch up with this month's news from GALA Choruses, the nonprofit membership association leading the LGBTQIA+ choral movement in the Americas.
Honoring Our Past with LGBTQIA+ History Month
GALA Choruses is proudly embedded in the history of the LGBTQIA+ choral movement in the United States and beyond! Our organization was preceded by pioneering choruses, including Women Like Me, the earliest lesbian music ensemble formed in 1971; ANNA Crusis Women's Choir (now ANNA Crusis Feminist Choir), the first feminist chorus in the US now celebrating its 51st anniversary; the Gotham Male Chorus, which later became the first lesbian and gay chorus, Stonewall Chorale; and the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus, the first gay-identified by name chorus that performed at the Harvey Milk memorial. By the end of the 1970s, there were many choruses using gay, lesbian, and feminist as part of their nomenclature. In the United States, choruses began gathering together in 1980, forming the earliest version of GALA Choruses. The organization was officially incorporated on July 26, 1983, and the first version of Festival was hosted in New York City in September 1983—"C.O.A.S.T." (Come Out And Sing Together).
Learn more about the history of our movement with GALA Choruses' resources:
Watch Women's Choruses within the GALA Movement with Dr. Cathy Roma
Listen to Queer Voices: The Official Podcast of GALA Choruses for an oral history of the global LGBTQIA+ choral movement. Some of our more history-focused episodes include:
- Episode 1.5: Interview with Maria-Elena Grant, President of GALA Choruses (2023-2025) & Chair of Lavender Light
- Episode 2.5: Interview with Dr. Catherine Roma, Activist and Founder of ANNA Crusis Feminist Choir & MUSE Cincinnati's Women's Choir
- Episode 2.8: Interview with Rashad V. Chambers and Jordan Barbakoff of the New York City Gay Men's Chorus
- Episode 2.9: Interview with Matthew Gillespie and Liz Graves of Unison Choruses Canada
- Episode 2.10: Interview with Calliope Women's Chorus, the 2nd Oldest Feminist Chorus in the U.S.
- Episode 2.11: Interview on the Pauli Murray Commission with Steve Milloy and Lori Tennenhouse
- Episode 2.16: Interview with Diana Clegg and Midge Stocker of Artemis Singers & the Sister Singers Network
- Episode 2.17: Interview on the Pauli Murray Commission with Kim Hines and Elena Cressy
Registration rates & more Festival 2028 info available now!
We have updated our website with the registration rates and the current Festival 2028 information. Check back and follow us for more updates as they become available.
Festival 2028 & GALA Choruses webinars in October and November
Our Road to Festival 2028 webinar series continues with Immigration & Traveling on Oct. 20 and Festival Liaison Training on Nov. 12—dates, sign-ups, and past webinar recordings are available here. If you're looking for fundraising ideas to get your chorus to Festival 2028, sign up for the Membership & Education Committee's Fundraising Panel on Oct. 27.
Our 411 Program will become the Member Advisor Program (MAP)!
We're updating and expanding one of our favorite chorus membership benefits—and giving it a new name! The MAP will still offer the same consulting services, but make improvements to our intake and evaluation processes that will launch in 2027. We are also growing our team of advisors! Applications are open now and will close on November 2, 2026.
Other Reminders
- Today, October 1, is the last day to submit Festival 2028 branding proposals! Review the RFP for submission instructions and send your proposal by 11:59pm EDT to be considered.
- The 2027 Symposium regular registration rates are now in effect! Register by November 30 to avoid late registration fees.
Member Corner
Featured Members
Golden Gate Men's Chorus
The Golden Gate Men's Chorus, founded in 1982, is based in San Francisco, California with 45 TTBB singers and has been a GALA member since 1983. This summer, the Golden Gate Men's Chorus was invited to the prestigious Tokyo International Choir Competition as the event's first LGBTQ+ chorus selection.
Music Director Joe Piazza reflects on the experience:
I would say that, aside from the gold medals, the recognition we were most proud of was the Audience Choice Award for our presentation of American music in the folklore set. Choruses are asked to represent their home countries through music in its most authentic form, incorporating traditional singing styles, staging, and dance. At the end of the competition, the audience votes for the performance that moved them the most.
For us, being recognized by our Japanese hosts as their favorite performance of that session was an extraordinary honor. In many ways, that recognition meant as much to us as the medals themselves. We were not simply being recognized for how well we sang or performed; we were being welcomed and appreciated for sharing a piece of who we are and where we come from.
That, to me, is the true power of music.
Despite politics, world conflicts, social divisions, and the many things that can separate us, music gives us a way to come together. When we share the traditions and music of our own countries, we invite others to understand our culture, our history, and our hearts. In those moments, we can begin to replace preconceived ideas and misconceptions with curiosity, appreciation, and genuine human connection.
And perhaps most importantly, music reminds us of how much we have in common. We may speak different languages, come from different places, and have very different experiences, but we all know the feeling of joy, the weight of struggle, the comfort of belonging, and the hope for something better. Music gives voice to those universal emotions and reminds us that, beneath all our differences, we are part of the same human story.
That is why the Audience Choice Award in Tokyo was so meaningful to us. It was more than an award for a performance. It was a moment of connection between people from different cultures—a reminder that when we open our hearts and share something authentic with one another, we can build bridges where there were once barriers.
In a world that can sometimes feel increasingly divided, those moments matter. They remind us that music can transcend borders, soften differences, and bring people closer together. And for a chorus, there may be no greater gift than knowing that, for a few precious minutes, the music we shared helped make the world feel a little smaller, a little kinder, and a little more connected.
About Joe Piazza
Joseph Piazza was appointed as Music Director of the Golden Gate Men’s Chorus in May of 2010. During his tenure with GGMC, Mr. Piazza has appeared with the chorus at international and state choral festivals, released recordings of newly commissioned works, partnered with community arts organizations, and brought outstanding performances to the San Francisco Bay Area. In November 2023, Piazza conducted GGMC at the Lisbon Sings! festival in Portugal, where the chorus was awarded gold medals in the “Choirs of equal voices” and “Folklore” competitions and Counterpoint took a silver medal in the “Sacred Choral Music” competition. During GGMC's tour of the UK in July 2018, he conducted the chorus at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in Wales, where the GGMC took first place in the Adult Folk Song Choir competition and Counterpoint took third place in the International A Cappella Group competition. In November 2016, GGMC was the category winner of the Golden State Interkultur International Festival, which earned it the rank of #1 male chorus in North America and #10 male chorus in the world. In October 2016, GGMC released its second CD under the direction of Piazza of new works for male choir commissioned by GGMC from composers such as Ivo Antognini, David Conte, Leonard Enns, Ēriks Ešenvalds, Stephen Main, Vytautas Miškinis, and Fredrik Sixten. In 2014, GGMC performed in February at the American Choral Directors’ Western Division Regional Convention and in July at the World Choir Games in Riga, Latvia, where GGMC was awarded gold medals in the “Musica Sacra with accompaniment” and “Male Choirs” categories and a silver medal in the “Spiritual”category.
Piazza received his musical degrees from Northwestern University and the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. He is the former Music Director of Piedmont High School A Capella Choir and the founding director of ECCO, the alumni chorus of the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir, representing outstanding high school vocalists from the Bay Area. Under his direction, the Piedmont A Capella Choir toured the People’s Republic of China, England, Scotland, Ireland, Canada, Italy, Hungary, and Germany. On the occasion of Handel’s 200th birthday in 2008, the choir performed Messiah in Halle, Germany. In 2007, the choir performed John Rutter’s Requiem at Carnegie Hall with the composer conducting. In 2002, the choir was one of four featured at the Festival of Choirs under the direction of Vance George, at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco and again in 2010 performing with Chanticleer. The chorus appeared again at Carnegie Hall in 2011, 2012, and 2014.
Mr. Piazza studied conducting and rehearsal techniques with Vance George; he has also worked with Dennis Keene and the Gregg Smith Singers. He appears as guest conductor with community choruses across California.
Rainbow Women's Chorus
Rainbow Women’s Chorus, founded in 1996 and based in San Jose, California, currently has over 50 singers and has been a GALA member from its beginning. RWC is a non-auditioned chorus of soprano/alto voices that strives for musical excellence as a welcoming, inclusive community. They rehearse and perform in the South San Francisco Bay and beyond. They seek to make the lives of our audiences, our singers, and the world a little bit better through song.
Welcome to Our Newest Members!
Resound Community Choir: founded in 2024, the Resound Community Choir are led by artistic director Francis Cimarron with administrator and choir "mom" Sarah Boddy. They currently host 80 SATB singers in Asheville, NC.
News Across the GALA Community
- OurSong Atlanta, under the leadership of Dr. Robert Glor, will perform at the 2026 Georgia ACDA State Conference on October 2-3 as one of the few selected ensembles!
- The Coro de Hombres Gay de Montevideo successfully hosted the first meeting of Latin American LGBTQIA+ choruses with more than a week full of celebration! Multiple GALA Choruses members, including Coro Gay Ciudad de México (Mexico City, Mexico), Coro LGBT+ Sonora (Hermosillo, Mexico), Coro Queer Chile (Santiago), and Les Gleeters (Buenos Aires, Argentina), participated in the concerts and workshops. // El Coro de Hombres Gay de Montevideo acogió con éxito el primer encuentro latinoamericano de coros LGBTIQ+ con más de una semana llena de celebración. Múltiples miembros de GALA Choruses, incluyendo Coro Gay Ciudad de México (México), Coro LGBT+ Sonora (Hermosillo, Mexico), Coro Queer Chile (Santiago), y Les Gleeters (Buenos Aires, Argentina), participaron en los conciertos y talleres.
- California Sings! A GALA Choruses Celebration! was a sold-out success! Thank you to all who participated: the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles, Men Alive! Orange County's Gay Men's Chorus, the Palm Springs Gay Men's Chorus, the Queer Chorus of San Francisco, the Rainbow Women's Chorus, the San Diego Gay Men's Chorus, the San Diego Women's Chorus, the Silicon Valley Gay Men's Chorus, the South Coast Chorale, the Trans Chorus of Los Angeles, Voices United Los Angeles, and the West Coast Singers.
Submit Your Chorus's Updates for the Next Newsletter
Opportunities for Singers
Berkshire Choral International has announced their 2027 choral music program schedule! BCI provides singers the chance to work with some of the world's greatest conductors to perform stunning choral works in prestigious venues throughout the U.S. and abroad. Learn more on their website!
GALA Highlights
Queer Voices | Ep. 2.17 | Interview on the Pauli Murray Commission with Kim Hines and Elena Cressy
Learn more about GALA Choruses' latest commission, "Sincerely Yours: Pauli Murray," centered on a noteworthy yet little known lawyer, activist, scholar and priest, through our interview with the librettist of the work, Kim Hines, and Elena Cressy, the Artistic Director of The Quire of Eastern Iowa which performed this cantata in May, 2026. Throughout the course of the episode, the group takes the audience behind the scenes, where they share personal journeys bringing this work into being, and discuss the life of Pauli Murray, the relevance of her story, and more. Listen wherever you get your podcasts or here.
Queer Voices | Ep. 2.18 | Interview with Oscar Urtusástegui and Enrique Dunn of the Coro Gay Ciudad de México LGBTIQPA+
Join us for a conversation with the leaders of the Coro Gay Ciudad de México LGBTIQPA+, Executive Director Oscar Urtusástegui and Artistic Director Enrique Dunn. Throughout the course of the interview, Oscar and Enrique share their insights about the queer community in Mexico City and Mexico broadly speaking; how they've collaborated with and supported various groups at home and abroad; what they are looking forward to beyond the chorus's 15th anniversary; and more. Listen wherever you get your podcasts or here.
