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This year Ireland's Gay and
Lesbian choir Gloria took part in their biggest event to date, a choral
festival in San Jose with an audience of 2,000! View
www.galachoruses.org for the full story, we spoke to Leah Bool's from
Gloria before the event...
How Did Gloria Start?
An ad was placed in GCN in
September, 1995. First meeting was late September/ early October 1995.
The initial ad was a call for singers interested in forming a gay choir
it wasn't any more specific than that. About 25 people were involved in
the beginning and there is still this strong core group.
How many members does Gloria
have at present?
We have a membership of thirty
with each section (Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass) fairly well balanced
in terms of numbers.
Do you have to be good singer
to join? Are new members tested before joining?
We don't have auditions as such
but choir members have to be able to sing, preferably on tune and in
time with the rest of the choir! Some of us learn new pieces from
the sheet music but many of the members prefer to learn "by
ear".
Is the choir exclusive to the
gay/les/bi community?
Anyone may be a member of Glória
as long as they are in agreement with the choir's objectives of
presenting a positive, open and non-discriminatory image of the G/L/B
community. So yes we take "straight" people as well. Glória
sings on a two way street and our members are open to performing in all
sorts of places to people of all creeds.
How often a week do you practice?
We practice every Tuesday from
7.30pm to 9.30pm with a break for a cup of tea and a biscuit- we are a
choir after all! We have sectional rehearsals maybe once a month for an
hour when we're leading up to a performance. Practices can be tough
enough because we are setting ourselves higher musical goals. This year
we entered our first competition at the Navan Choral Festival and we
came away with a first prize - the Meath Chronicle Cup (and a few bob)
for best Mixed Voice Choir. We're heading off to San José
California in a couple of weeks to take part in the world's largest G
& L Choral Festivel. Over 6,000 singers take part and we'll be
singing to an audience of 2,000. Scary stuff.
Where do you play? Do you play
at special functions etc..
We'll play anywhere and anytime at
the drop of a hat - we got some very strange looks on the Underground in
London when we were over for a joint concert with the Pink Singers.
Our most difficult "gigs" are in pubs and clubs. It is a
specialised (and expensive) job to amplify a choir so that a microphone.
doesn't pick out one voice and if we're not amplified we have to sing
quite loudly, even raucously. Given that we can be singing in a
smoky atmosphere and are in competition with people ordering at the bar
(not that there's much of a competition!) we can often end up with sore
throats. We most enjoy singing in a venue with good acoustics, it
was a real thrill for us singing in St Nicholas Chapel in Galway, or
Trinity College Chapel because the sound bounced right off the ceiling.
How do you recruit new members?
We have a phone number and email
address listed in GCN or word of mouth will find us. A couple of
people have been to our concerts and have left details for further
contact. The best time to join is September / October when the
choir year kicks off.
What is Gloria's favorite song?
On the last poll our favourite
song was "O Lovely Heart" a song set to a poem by Joseph Mary
Plunkett. It's a simple piece but beautiful. That was last year
mind you and we've taken a few new pieces on board since. I think
"I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Miserables goes down quite well.
We are enjoying learning and singing more musically challenging pieces
like "Autumn Leaves" a song that apparently defies some main
stream choirs! Anything goes - the broad rule is Madrigals to
Musicals, Classical to Camp.
Gloria meet every Tuesday at 7.30 PM |
