By GALA Expert
February 19, 2025
In order to encourage collaborative sharing of ideas and experiences, GALA Symposium 2025 included a fundraising proposal competition. In this competition, small and midsize budget GALA choruses presented proposals that need financial backing. Each group was given time to propose their concept to a panel, who provided detailed feedback.
In order to encourage collaborative sharing of ideas and experiences, GALA Symposium 2025 included a fundraising proposal competition. In this competition, small and midsize budget GALA choruses presented proposals that need financial backing. Each group was given time to propose their concept to a panel, who provided detailed feedback.
Winning Proposal
Orlando Gay Chorus
35 years ago on Valentine’s Day Joel Strack, David Schuler and 30 founding members celebrated the Orlando Gay Chorus (OGC) becoming a 501c3 organization. What a journey it has been. From the outset of this organization it has known its identity. Gay. Not a men’s chorus, not a gay men’s chorus. Simply Gay. Inclusive of everyone. From 30 singing members, (mostly men, mostly white) to a 175 member mixed chorus that looks like the rainbow we represent. In a time when members of the chorus feel under attack OGC couldn’t be prouder of what this organization stands for. A rainbow, a safe space, a family, a community, an advocate.
As OGC enters its 35th season, the chorus will continue telling its stories. The teacher that has to navigate “don’t say gay and trans” legislation, the immigrant in fear of detainment or deportation, the human that is just discovering who they were meant to be being told they can’t identify that way. This has created a chilling effect. Singers are afraid to come to rehearsal. OGC is fighting fear. One way to combat fear is to provide safety. This is why one of the pillars of OGC’s recently updated strategic plan is focused on this safety. This is what the community of singers and audiences need – a sense of safety. OGC’s proposal of a commissioned piece speaks to this chilling effect and will help overcome this fear and provide a safe space for singers and audiences. Working with a local LGBTQ+ composer, OGC will present this piece at their 2026 spring concert and hopes to bring it as part of a coffee concert at GALA Festival 2028. The overarching themes of overcoming this chilling effect will ensure this song is universal enough to be used by other choruses throughout the world, but will allow for a spoken word portion that allows each chorus to tell their unique stories, lifting up voices of those marginalized and harmed.
Runners Up
Buffalo Gay Men’s Chorus
The Buffalo Gay Men’s Chorus has been singing across Western New York for almost twenty-five years, spreading its message of hope, inclusion, and healing. In the past few years, the chorus has seen significant growth, welcoming tenors, baritones, and basses of any sexual orientation or gender expression who want to sing for social justice. We are gay, bi, and straight, cis and trans, man, woman, nonbinary, and genderfluid. We know that our next frontier is to start a group of like-minded people who sing soprano, mezzo, or alto!
Starting in March 2025, we will have a new singing group for sopranos, mezzos, and altos of any sexual orientation or gender expression who want to sing for social justice! This group will rehearse weekly to sing on the Buffalo Gay Men’s Chorus May concert, Louder Than Words. Auditions will occur in the first weeks of March. To audition, contact Artistic Director, Dr. Robert Strauss at director@thebgmc.org.
San Diego Women’s Chorus
The San Diego Women’s Chorus was founded in 1987 to uplift women’s voices and join the fight for women’s equality. What started out as a group of 14 lesbians gathered around a piano has now expanded to a proudly trans- and nonbinary-inclusive community of over a hundred members spanning the spectrum of sexual orientations and gender expressions. While our nation is so focused on building walls dividing us into gender binaries while dividing families and dividing countries, our chorus seeks to tear down these walls in order to strengthen the communities our members resonate with.
Just 30 miles from the rehearsal space the San Diego Women’s Chorus calls home, but impeded by a looming border wall, is the Tijuana-based ensemble Coro Femenino Meraki, which seeks to empower women and mothers through musical performance that celebrates Tijuana’s multicultural character. In the fall of 2025, SDWC is partnering with Meraki for a day of community-building and group singing, culminating in a performance including bilingual pieces, community singalongs, and a joint set centered around themes such as gender equality, violence against women, access to resources, and empowerment of marginalized genders. Both choruses are in communication with the Mexican Consulate, seeking sponsorship for a state-of-the-art and accessible performance venue in order to encourage creativity, celebrate diversity, and inspire social action in a wide audience.
In a time when individuals both inside and outside the US are afraid or unable to travel, this collaboration is crucial to help weave together peoples separated by borders and agendas. When we sing together, we can amplify the voices and experiences of the marginalized as a supportive chosen family.
The fourth chorus that participated has opted not to share their proposal.