Now that NCMC’s June concerts are over, you may be wondering what the guys are doing with all their free time this summer? Well, for 58 of our singers and our artistic staff, we are making the trip to Denver, Colorado to participate in the 10th Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses (GALA Choruses) Festival from July 2 – 6. Held every 4 years, GALA Festival brings together LGBTQA choruses from all over the world to share our music and learn from one another.

The 2016 festival returns to the Denver Performing Arts Complex for 5 days of performances by over 200 choruses and ensembles totaling more than 6500 singers!  Choruses range in size from large groups like San Francisco, Seattle, and New York with several hundred members each, to groups like NCMC with less than 100, down to small groups with less than a dozen singers.  Along with groups from the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, this year features the first Chinese chorus attendee, the Beijing Queer Chorus.  There is also a small group, Mano a Mano from Cuba that has done concerts with the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles recently, and the PFLAG Juneau Pride Chorus, made up of over a dozen PFLAG moms from Alaska!  There will also be 7 youth choruses in attendance, a category that has been growing over the past decade.  To see more detail on attendees and firsts, check out this great summary from Minnesota’s One Voice chorus.

NCMC will be performing a 30 minute set of music mostly drawn from our recent “Workin’ It!” concerts. Based on the audience response in Cleveland, we are sure that the GALA attendees will love us! When we are not performing, we will be taking in the performances of as many other groups as possible. GALA Festivals are a fertile grounds for discovering new songs and even entire show concepts, as we did with “Von Trapped!” a few years ago.

Some NCMC members awaiting tech rehearsal at GALA 2012.

How can I take in the GALA festival experience?

Attend a concert: If you happen to be in Denver over the 4th of July holiday, you can buy tickets to attend any of the exciting concert blocks. NCMC’s Coastliners will be performing along with 11 other small ensembles on Saturday, July 2 from 7:00 to 10:30 in the Ellie Caulkins Opera House. The entire North Coast Men’s Chorus will perform on Monday, July 4 from 12:00 to 2:30 in the Buell Theatre with 4 other choruses. Learn more about purchasing tickets at the GALA Choruses website.

Watch a live streaming concert broadcast: You can experience some of what our singers will experience from your computer in the comfort of your home or office. GALA will be broadcasting a number of concerts live over the internet this year. These concerts include morning coffee concerts, longer themed performances by some of the larger choruses, and blockbuster evening concerts featuring fun music on different themes. You can see the schedule of live streaming broadcasts at the GALA website.

Follow NCMC’s social media: We will be posting updates and photos regularly on NCMC’s Facebook and Twitter accounts @ncmchorus throughout the Festival. You can also look for GALA Festival updates from many sources under the hashtag #GALA2016. A special opportunity will be happening Tuesday, July 5 at 1:30 PM EST. NCMC will broadcast live streaming video on our Facebook page of The Coastliners pop-up concert on Denver’s 16th Street Pedestrian Mall. Like us on Facebook and tune in Tuesday morning to enjoy a mini concert along with the people of downtown Denver!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NCMCHORUS/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ncmchorus