Northern Proud Voices (NPV), the North East’s largest and longest running LGBT community choir, celebrates its fifth birthday on May 18.
To mark the occasion, NPV will host, and perform at a series of fundraisers across Newcastle and the North East, raising awareness and donations for LGBT causes, and inviting others to join their choir.
As part of UK-wide Pride events, the choir will perform at Pride Durham (May 30), Newcastle Pride (July 16), Cumbria Pride (September 17) and Sunderland Pride (September 25), showcasing four-part choral arrangements of artists including Radio Head, Annie Lennox, Seal and Train.
Weekly rehearsals have been taking place in Newcastle in preparation for the events, and a social media campaign has been launched to encourage people to show their support and get involved.
Kathleen McDonald, Chair of NPV, said: “It has been wonderful to see the choir grow over the past five years, from a handful of singers to the largest LGBT choir in the North East with almost 100 registered members.
“We are extremely proud of the community we represent and we are always keen to welcome new members. Being able to offer an inclusive and safe social space for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people in Newcastle is truly rewarding for myself, and very important for some of our members.”
Supporting the choir’s fundraising celebrations, Ouseburn venues The Ship Inn and The Cumberland Arms will welcome NPV supporters with a fifth birthday party and a LGBT themed Lip Sync Battle with songs from queer culture.
Local improv-comedy group, Spontaneous Wrecks, will stage a 2-hour improvised show and musical to raise donations.
Choir member, Andrew Layton, said: “Not only is the choir great fun but it helps change perceptions some people may have of the LGBT community. I’m proud to be part of such a diverse group of people brought together by music.”
For event tickets and further information, click here:
Northern Proud Voices is a fully-inclusive, non-audition choir and their rehearsals take place every Thursday 7-9pm at The Mining Institute, Newcastle (excluding August).
You must be logged in to post a comment.