Register for GALA Choruses
Leadership Symposium 2026
February 12–15, 2026 | Columbus, OH
GALA’s Leadership Symposium offers an opportunity for leaders of GALA member choruses to meet one another, attend workshops, network, learn about ways to engage with schools in your community, and to pick up resources for building successful choruses. We’ll share our success stories, learn from our collective mistakes, and have a great time in a beautiful location! It’s a fantastic opportunity to meet peers, and we’ll have special intensive workshops for new GALA chorus ADs, new chorus board members, and chorus managers.
In addition to a full slate of workshops and seminars, there will be plenty of open-agenda time to discuss the particular issues with which your chorus might be struggling. We’ll have round-table discussions, one-on-one consultations with GALA 411 Advisors, and social gatherings.
All sales are final. Please contact us to transfer registrations if you are unable to attend, subject to demand.
Schedule
| Thursday 2/12 | Friday 2/13 | Saturday 2/14 | Sunday 2/15 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3:30pm-5:45pm Workshops | 8:30am-12:00pm GALA Choruses Board of Directors Meeting | 8:00am-8:45am Morning Flow Yoga | 10:00am-1:00pm Venue Tours* |
| 6:00pm-8:00pm Artistic Director/Music Director Dinner | 9:00am-10:45am Large Choir Executive Director Meeting | 9:15am-4:30pm Workshops | *As Columbus is a candidate city for Festival 2032, we will be touring of potential venues. |
| 6:00pm-8:00pm GALA Executive Committee Meeting/Dinner | 9:45am-5:30pm Workshops | 5:00pm-7:00pm Choral Blockbuster Concert | Anyone & everyone is welcome to join the venue tours on Sunday. |
| 7:00pm Ensemble Bootcamp Concert | 9:00pm-11:00pm Choral Blockbuster Party |
We will provide a draft of the schedule soon. In the meantime, please find all confirmed presentations listed below:
- “My Chorus is My Lifeline”: LGBTQ+ Choral Participation in Older Adulthood, presented by Jessica L. Gallagher-Steuver, Artistic Director of Windsong, Cleveland’s Feminist Chorus
- New Harmony Work Books I and II, co-presented by Maria-Elena Grant, President of GALA Choruses, and members of The New Harmony Task Force
- Benefits of GALA Membership, co-presented by Reese Schmid, Membership & Communications Manager of GALA Choruses, and other organization staff
Ensemble Bootcamp
2026 Symposium in Columbus will have Ensemble Boot Camp. Dr. Ethan Sperry will work with Ensembles from around GALA, culminating in a joint performance Friday. Ensemble registration cost is $500 for the group. The ensemble performance will be on Friday, 2/13 at 7pmET in the Davidson Theatre at the Columbus Riffe Center.
Saturday Night Choral Blockbuster
On Saturday night of Symposium, four local choruses will perform in a Choral Blockbuster, hosted by Naysha Lopez, RuPaul’s Season 8 and All-Stars 8 contestant. This concert will take place on Saturday, 2/14 at 5pm ET at the Davidson Theatre at the Columbus Riffe Center, followed by a party for all Symposium attendees and performers.
While there is no individual cost for Ensemble Boot Camp or Local Chorus members to perform at Symposium, they can take advantage of the workshops that GALA offers for the reduced cost of $150.
Symposium Registration Pricing
For budgeting purposes, folks should include travel to Columbus, Ohio, and an estimated $200/night for accommodations at the Symposium hotel.
| Registration | Member Price | Non-Member Price | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Early | $300 | $450 | June 1, 2025 | Sept. 30, 2025 |
| Regular | $325 | $475 | Oct. 1, 2025 | Nov. 30, 2025 |
| Late | $350 | $500 | Dec. 1, 2025 | Feb. 12, 2026 |
| Singer* participating in the Midwest Showcase or Ensemble Boot Camp | $150 | $300 | June 1, 2025 | Feb. 12, 2026 |
| Senior / Disabled | $275 | $425 | June 1, 2025 | Feb. 12, 2026 |
| Ensemble | $500 | $650 | June 1, 2025 | Nov. 30, 2025 |
*If you are interested in registering for the Symposium and are not a member of a GALA chorus, or an individual member of GALA Choruses, please consider applying for individual membership. Annual dues are $50 and include additional benefits besides discounted event registration.
Request for Workshop Proposals
GALA Choruses invites you to share your skills and talents with others in the LGBTQ choral movement by submitting a Symposium Workshop Proposal. Note that symposium workshop sessions will be 60 or 90 minutes in length. In keeping with historical precedent and current financial practice and policy, GALA members volunteer their services when serving as a clinician, presenter, or in other professional capacity for GALA sponsored events. GALA Choruses member clinicians are expected to officially register for the conference event at the posted rates.
The deadline for workshop proposals was August 31st, 2025.