South Wales Gay Men's Chorus
NEWS
Open Rehearsal Evening, 7 pm, 14th January 2010
We will be hosting an Open Rehearsal Evening at our rehearsal room at St Martin's Church, Cardiff. The Church is located opposite TESCO on Albany Road, Roath, Cardiff, just a short distance from the junction of Richmond Road, City Road, Crwys Road, Mackintosh Place, and Albany Road. The postcode is CF24 3YW
If you are interested, then this will be a great chance for you to come along and meet members of the choir in a relaxed atmosphere, see how things work, ask questions and even join in with a few easy songs! So why not come along and give it a whirl!? All male singers welcome, don’t worry if you cant read music - the chorus welcomes all abilities!
If you have any questions or would like to put your name down on our guest list then please email our Secretary Gavin at gaychorus@gmail.com as soon as possible!
Press and journalists - please feel welcome to come and talk to us. You may also wish to contact Gavin.
Getting Into The Christmas Habit 2009
Thank you to all who joined us for our 2009 Christmas celebrations. We had a Tinselising programme of events through December, including carols and other Christmas songs at Marks & Spencer (evening of 10th Dec in Cardiff and evening of 11th Dec in Swansea) and at Champers in Swansea (also evening of 11th Dec, from 9.30 pm). Our Christmas Concert: Getting into the Christmas Habit! at the Swansea Grand on 19th Dec and Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff on 20th Dec were great successes - our SWGMC Chapter concert in Cardiff was sold out - thank you to everyone who bought a ticket! The concerts were held in support of Shelter Cymru (registered charity number 515902)
Open Evening on Thursday, 10 September 2009
We held an Open Evening at our rehearsal room at St Martin's Church, Cardiff, and gained a number of new members. Thank you to everyone who came along to ask questions, spread the word - and of course to all who decided to join our ranks.
Cardiff Pride 2009 (www.cardiffmardigras.com)
A two-day event with reasonable weather (!) presented ample opportunity for us to present parts of a new, fresh repertoire. We also ran a stand on both days, including a Lucky Draw. Thank you to everyone who supported us with cheers, donations and purchases - all of this is greatly appreciated to help us grow and build our membership as well as expand our range of performances. Pictures will be up shortly.
Swansea Pride 2009 (www.swanseapride.com)
This year Swansea Pride, themed 'Pink In The Park', was Swansea's first Pride event. Held in the Lacrosse Field, between Mumbles beach and lovely, romantic Singleton Park, it was held from 1pm to 9pm. There was a main stage and dance area, bars and food, fun-rides (yes), market stalls and stalls held by various organisations and charities promoting equality and social messages. SWGMC are pround to have been part of the event - we were the opening act, no less! A big thankyou to all our fans and supporters, and to the organisers of Swansea Pride.
Launch of Rhondda LGBT Support Network
Meeting early to 'warm up', we found the sunny weather too pleasant to stay indoors and started singing halfway between the Senedd and the Norwegian Church. An impromptu mini-concert, cheered on by passers-buy and builders having breakfast on the pier as we got into our stride. The launch event was well attended. Instead of performing in the Senedd, we found the acoustics on the steps under the outside roof more favourable and sang a capella. The audience was great, and in all it was an enjoyable performance.
Spangled Stars
Our concert 'Spangled Stars' was held on the 25 April 2009 at the Sherman Theare in Cardiff. The evening had an American theme, featuring music from traditional Barbershop through to Rock'n Roll with with odd bits of Country and Western thrown in for good measure. The theatre was packed - thank you to everyone who helped promoting the concert and selling tickets. Lots of applause and an encore concluded the event, along with drinks and chatting in the foyer of the theatre.
A huge thank you also to our Music Director for sticking to his guns and creating a bright, sparkling programme! It wasn't easy!
Black and White Party - Feb 2009
To mark the launch of the LGBT Excellence Centre, the SWMC sang Queen's 'Don't Stop Me Now' at the 'Black and White' party held in Exit, Cardiff.
Fairy Lights - Christmas 2008
Christmas wouldn't have been Christmas without some good old festive music and the SWGMC provided just that at our Christmas Concert. Held in the Gate Arts Centre (no pun intended!) in Roath, Cardiff. The eveinging consisted of a review of the choir's first year, followed by a second half filled with festive classics including carols, a belting redition of 'Santa Claus is Coming to Town' and, of course, White Christmas. The evening was held in aid of Stonewall Cymru who hosted the choir at the launch of their recruitment guide 'Starting Out' in November.
Cardiff Pride
The SWGMC's first concert on 'home-turf' was held on Friday 5 September 2008 and has been hailed by everyone involved as a huge success. Highlights of the evening included numbers from 'West Side Story' and 'Les Miserables' as well as an exquisite performance of Bizet's duet from 'The Pearlfishers' with solists Toby Hunt and Benjie del Rosario. The concert reached it's climax with a brilliant rendition of 'The Rhythm of Life' followed by Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' as the encore. The SWGMC were joined for several numbers by the Brighton and Hove (actually) Gay Men's Chorus and the evening was hosted by the wonderful Mr. David Raven (aka. Maisie Trollette).
Brighton Pride
Our trip to Brighton to sing with the fabulous Brighton & Hove (actually) Gay Men's Chorus was a huge success with two fantastic sell-out concerts to mark the start of Brighton's Pride festival. 'Do you hear the people sing?' featured many popular classic songs including a semi-staged, costumed selection from 'Les Miserables'. All the boys had a fantastic time and are really looking forward to hosting the BH(a)GMC when they come to sing with us in Cardiff in September.
