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Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus welcomes new members

Gary Hart August 23, 2016

Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus (BrightonGMC) is holding a New Members’ evening on Tuesday, September 6 at the Brighton Unitarian Church, New Road Brighton, starting at 7.30pm.

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The Chorus has three seasons every year, each culminating in sell-out public performances and new members who join this season will have the chance to perform in the Christmas Show, Pull A Cracker, in Brighton’s 1,800 seat, Dome Concert Hall on Saturday, December 10.

The New Members’ Evening is the first evening back after the summer break. It will comprise a short rehearsal, as a ‘taster’ of how the chorus work, followed by an opportunity to socialise with members over tea and cakes.

For some people, joining a well-established group like BrightonGMC might seem a daunting prospect, but everyone can be assured of a warm welcome from the four-time winners of Brighton’s Golden Handbag for Favourite Social Network Group.

New members will be looked after by a buddy-system throughout their first season, and will become part of the BrightonGMC family in no time.

The Chorus has exciting plans for 2017. In April they will join other male choirs from France, Russia, Sweden, USA and Australia, to compete in the world’s largest male choir festival, the Cornwall International Male Choral Festival.

In August they will travel to Manchester to attend the bi-annual Hand in Hand Festival, an LGBTQ choir festival that BrightonGMC co-hosted with the Rainbow Chorus in 2015, and which attracts over 20 choirs from all over the UK.

New members who can’t go along to the New Members’ Evening on September 6 can still join throughout September. At its heart BrightonGMC is a community chorus – new members are always welcome; there is no obligation to join, and no audition!

BrightonGMC is a space where people can celebrate music, celebrate their sexuality, enjoy the fellowship of other like-minded people and contribute to the local communities of which it is a part.

The Chorus is a registered charity with three guiding principles, the “Three S’s”:

♦   Singing – the celebration of life and music through male voice harmony

♦   Socialising – using singing to develop social bonds that help people to feel connected in a sometimes lonely world

♦   Support – to be there for each other – both collectively and individually – when the chips are down, and to be there for the communities in which the chorus operates, too.

Vaughan Leyshon, Membership Coordinator for the Chorus, said: “The Chorus has grown steadily over the last eleven years becoming the largest gay men’s chorus in the UK after The Gay Men’s Chorus in London, and goes from strength to strength – performing at a high standard, pushing its creative boundaries and playing an important role in the local community supporting other charities and worthy causes.  We’re really happy to welcome new members as we embark on the next chapter in our story.”  

Membership is open to anyone who self-identifies as a gay or gay-friendly man.

For more information, email Vaughan: membership@brightongmc.org

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