SYDNEY GAY & LESBIAN CHOIR POPS OUT!

You won’t spy a hymn book or be tortured with a lacklustre Ave Maria. With numbers taken from Tom Jones to Avril Lavigne, this is not your average choir.  The Sydney Gay & Lesbian Choir has been flying the flag of sexual and sonic diversity for 21 years now – even adding their rainbow hues to the Sydney Olympics – and for Pops Out! it’s joined by the reputedly fabulous all-lady cabaret group Lady Sings it Better. The choir’s music director, Dr Sarah Penicka-Smith, tells us more …

Can you give us a peek into an average rehearsal room scene? The choir rehearses every Thursday night at Heffron Hall in Darlinghurst. New members are welcome at any time. Some people have been with us almost continuously over our 21 year history, and some for just a few months. At any time our numbers vary from 60 to 100 and it’s a diverse group of people from across Sydney, aged from 18 to 80. For many members, the choir is a family and it is certainly an environment where lifelong friends are made. While there is some incredible musical talent in the choir, many members have never sung outside the shower before they joined.

The choir is ‘non-auditioned’ and welcomes singers of all sexual orientations. What makes it a Gay and Lesbian Choir? While perhaps the majority of our members would identify as gay or lesbian, the choir enthusiastically welcomes and celebrates all the colours of the rainbow. Our float in this year’s Mardi Gras parade made a strong point about reaffirming the visibility of the LGBTQI community in all its diversity, including our allies. The choir is primarily united by a love of music and performing together, but it also gives people the rare opportunity to express their true selves through music . Singing the soprano, alto, tenor or bass part is not determined by your gender but your ability to hit the notes.

Our concerts often address themes which are important to members such as marriage equality and homophobia, and we like to present traditional music from a queer perspective. And occasionally we commission music to be specially written for the choir which has meaning and relevance for us as we sing the words. Our recent online choir project, OutPostChoir.com is aiming to provide a queer choir experience for people across the globe.  In our Pops Out concert on June 30, the tenors and basses will have the pleasure of singing It’s Raining Men which wouldn’t be possible in too many other choirs across Sydney!

What have been some highlights over the years? Staging Henry Purcell’s opera The Fairy Queen [as the first queer choir in an opera] in 2009 was certainly a highlight as it took five years to organise and raised the bar for the choir from both an artistic and logistical perspective.

And any low-lights? The choir has not been immune to homophobia, even in the past seven years I’ve been with the group. The fact that people can still feel threatened by a bunch of people singing together is a sign that there’s still a place for SGLC in creating both a safe space within our community, and also a voice for it. On the bright side, any such incidents are always outweighed by the tremendous and continuing outpourings of support we receive from our allies across Australia and the world.

Jun 30, Tom Mann Theatre, 136 Chalmers St, Surry Hills, $25-35, sglc.org