Melbourne Gay and Lesbian Chorus
Encyclopedia
Melbourne Gay and Lesbian Chorus (MGLC), the first gay
and lesbian
choral organisation in the Southern Hemisphere
, was founded in Australia in 1990 by gay performer and activist, Lawrence McGuire (1966 - ). The chorus was first named ALSOUNDS, due in part to its affiliation with the ALSO Foundation. In April 1994, the name was changed to Melbourne Gay and Lesbian Chorus, reflecting the chorus's organisational independence and a desire to further challenge stereotypes.
-based chorus. It began in 1981, and disbanded c. 1987. McGuire, unaware of the Sydney group, learned for the first time of the existence of gay choruses while listening to an LP
record, The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus
Tours America 1981, at a party. Inspired by the discovery, McGuire, along with his roommates (including his sister, Kathleen, and gay friend Tuck Wah Leong), discussed the notion of forming a gay and lesbian choir in Melbourne. McGuire wanted to form a choir specifically with gay men and women in an effort to unify these sometimes divergent groups. AIDS
had already caused much devastation in the gay community, and he believed that a choir would help to lift spirits and be a positive expression against homophobia
. With a small group of men and women, both gay and straight, the first rehearsal was held on 28 April 1990.
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Choir (SGLC) began less than a year later in January 1991, independent of the Melbourne chorus. Rob Holland founded SGLC in response to the lack of Australian representation in the Cultural Festival of the Vancouver
Gay Games
, held in August 1990.
- a Catholic
girls' high school in Mentone
, directed the group for a number of years before succumbing to AIDS.
Following a series of short-term conductors, Tuck Wah Leong took the helm as Music Director c. 1994 and directed the MGLC's first, award-winning CD and its first international tour.
In 2001, MGLC appointed conductor Adrian Kirk, under whose direction the chorus developed a more sophisticated, classical sound.
Jonathon Welch - of the renowned operatic trio: Tenor Australis, and former conductor of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Choir - served as MGLC's Music Director from 2005 to 2007.
Darren Wicks was Musical Director for 2008.
In 2009, Adrian Schultz, the director of the Youth Chorus, was appointed Musical Director. Ben Leske was subsequently
appointed Musical Director of the Youth Chorus.
community. Examples of regular community appearances include: annual Stonewall
commemorative service for the Metropolitan Community Church
; World AIDS Day
ceremonies and services for the People Living With AIDS; Australia Day
Picnic for GLBTI radio station, JOY Melbourne 94.9 FM.
. They have performed separately and with the main chorus at numerous events, and are putting together their first CD separate from the main choir.
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
and lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
choral organisation in the Southern Hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
, was founded in Australia in 1990 by gay performer and activist, Lawrence McGuire (1966 - ). The chorus was first named ALSOUNDS, due in part to its affiliation with the ALSO Foundation. In April 1994, the name was changed to Melbourne Gay and Lesbian Chorus, reflecting the chorus's organisational independence and a desire to further challenge stereotypes.
Gay Choirs in Australia, 1981-1991
The first gay choir in Australia was the Gay Liberation Quire, an all-male, SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
-based chorus. It began in 1981, and disbanded c. 1987. McGuire, unaware of the Sydney group, learned for the first time of the existence of gay choruses while listening to an LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
record, The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus
San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus
The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus is the world's first openly gay chorus, one of its largest and the group most often credited with creating the LGBT choral movement....
Tours America 1981, at a party. Inspired by the discovery, McGuire, along with his roommates (including his sister, Kathleen, and gay friend Tuck Wah Leong), discussed the notion of forming a gay and lesbian choir in Melbourne. McGuire wanted to form a choir specifically with gay men and women in an effort to unify these sometimes divergent groups. AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
had already caused much devastation in the gay community, and he believed that a choir would help to lift spirits and be a positive expression against homophobia
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
. With a small group of men and women, both gay and straight, the first rehearsal was held on 28 April 1990.
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Choir (SGLC) began less than a year later in January 1991, independent of the Melbourne chorus. Rob Holland founded SGLC in response to the lack of Australian representation in the Cultural Festival of the Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
Gay Games
Gay Games
The Gay Games is the world's largest sporting and cultural event organized by and specifically for LGBT athletes, artists, musicians, and others. It welcomes participants of every sexual orientation and every skill level...
, held in August 1990.
Conductors
MGLC’s first Music Director was Trevor Dunn. Dunn, who was a music teacher at Kilbreda CollegeKilbreda College
Kilbreda College is a Roman Catholic private girls secondary college located in Mentone, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was founded in 1904 by The Brigidine Sisters and is administered by the Brigidine Order. In 2004 Kilbreda celebrated its centenary....
- a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
girls' high school in Mentone
Mentone, Victoria
Mentone is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 21 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Kingston...
, directed the group for a number of years before succumbing to AIDS.
Following a series of short-term conductors, Tuck Wah Leong took the helm as Music Director c. 1994 and directed the MGLC's first, award-winning CD and its first international tour.
In 2001, MGLC appointed conductor Adrian Kirk, under whose direction the chorus developed a more sophisticated, classical sound.
Jonathon Welch - of the renowned operatic trio: Tenor Australis, and former conductor of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Choir - served as MGLC's Music Director from 2005 to 2007.
Darren Wicks was Musical Director for 2008.
In 2009, Adrian Schultz, the director of the Youth Chorus, was appointed Musical Director. Ben Leske was subsequently
appointed Musical Director of the Youth Chorus.
Community involvement
Since its inception, the MGLC has provided support and outreach to the GLBTILGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
community. Examples of regular community appearances include: annual Stonewall
Stonewall riots
The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City...
commemorative service for the Metropolitan Community Church
Metropolitan Community Church
The Metropolitan Community Church or The Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches is an international Protestant Christian denomination...
; World AIDS Day
World AIDS Day
World AIDS Day, observed December 1 every year, is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection. Government and health officials observe the day, often with speeches or forums on the AIDS topics. Since 1995, the President of the United States has made an...
ceremonies and services for the People Living With AIDS; Australia Day
Australia Day
Australia Day is the official national day of Australia...
Picnic for GLBTI radio station, JOY Melbourne 94.9 FM.
Youth Chorus
In August 2005, MGLC founded the Melbourne Gay and Lesbian Youth Chorus, the first chorus of its kind in AustralasiaAustralasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
. They have performed separately and with the main chorus at numerous events, and are putting together their first CD separate from the main choir.
Awards
- 1st Prize, Community Choir Section, Boroondara Eisteddfod, 1995
- Best Choir Award, Australian National Festival of the Voice, 1996
- Best Debut Recording, Gay and Lesbian Music Awards (US), 1998
- Rainbow Award, Best Live Performance, 2004
- Rainbow Award, Best Live Performance, 2005
- Rainbow Award, Best New Community Event for Youth Chorus's debut concert, 2006
Touring
- 1998, August: European tour to FrankfurtFrankfurtFrankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, FreibergFreiberg, SaxonyFreiberg is a city in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, administrative center of the Mittelsachsen district.-History:The city was founded in 1186, and has been a center of the mining industry in the Ore Mountains for centuries...
ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, and AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
for Gay Games - 1996, February: Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi GrasSydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi GrasThe Sydney Mardi Gras is an annual LGBTQI pride parade and festival in Sydney, Australia, and draws in thousands of visitors from around Australia and overseas...
- 2000: Our Family concert, CanberraCanberraCanberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
- 2001: AdelaideAdelaideAdelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
Lesbian & Gay Cultural Festival - 2002, November: Gay Games in Sydney, Australia
- 2006, July: Gay Games in ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, and OutGames in MontrealMontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
Performance highlights
- 1990: First concert: Steppin' Out, CaulfieldCaulfield, VictoriaCaulfield is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 12 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Glen Eira...
Town Hall - 1995: QantasQantasQantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an initialism for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, with its main hub at Sydney Airport...
75th birthday, Melbourne ZooMelbourne ZooThe Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens, commonly known as the Melbourne Zoo, contains more than 320 animal species from Australia and around the world. The zoo is north of the centre of Melbourne. It is accessible via Royal Park station on the Upfield railway line, and is also accessible via tram... - 1998, 5 August: Gay Games Choir Festival, ConcertgebouwConcertgebouwThe Concertgebouw is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term "concertgebouw" literally translates into English as "concert building"...
, Amsterdam - 1999, 27, 28 March: Let’s Misbehave concert, Newton Theater, Sydney
- 2002, 7 November: Sing Out to the World concert, Sydney Opera HouseSydney Opera HouseThe Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
- 2002: Virgin Megastore opening with Sir Richard BransonRichard BransonSir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin Group of more than 400 companies....
, South YarraSouth Yarra, VictoriaSouth Yarra is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area are the Cities of Stonnington and Melbourne... - 2003, 24 February: concert with Seattle Men's ChorusSeattle Men's ChorusSeattle Men's Chorus founded in 1979 in Seattle, Washington, bills itself as the largest community chorus in America, and the largest gay men's chorus in the world...
and Ann Hampton CallawayAnn Hampton CallawayAnn Hampton Callaway is a multiplatinum-selling singer, composer, lyricist, pianist, and actress. She is best known for writing and singing the theme to the TV series The Nanny, writing songs for Barbra Streisand and starring in the Broadway musical Swing!.-Career:Callaway was described by the New...
, Melbourne Town HallMelbourne Town HallMelbourne Town Hall is the central municipal building of the City of Melbourne, Australia, in the State of Victoria. It is located on the northeast corner of Swanston and Collins Streets, in the central business district. It is the seat of the Local Government Area of the City of Melbourne... - 2006, 2 March: concert with Jimmy SomervilleJimmy SomervilleJames William Somerville is a Scottish pop singer and songwriter. He had considerable success in the 1980s with the pop groups Bronski Beat and The Communards, and has also had a successful solo career. He is known in particular for his falsetto singing voice...
, Justice Michael Kirby, Bob DowneMark TrevorrowMark Trevorrow , is an Australian comedian, television host and media personality.He has developed the flamboyant alter ego "Bob Downe" - a cheesy, safari-suit-wearing lounge singer with dazzling teeth, and host of the fictional regional daytime TV show Good Morning Murwillumbah...
and Eddie PerfectEddie PerfectEddie Perfect is an Australian actor, comedian and musician who currently plays Mick Holland in Channel Ten's Offspring series. He won the 2009 Helpmann Award for Best New Australian Work, the Victorian Premier's Literacy Award and the Green Room Award for his musical, Shane Warne The...
at Hamer HallThe Arts Centre (Melbourne)The Victorian Arts Centre is a performing arts centre consisting of a complex of theatres and concert halls in the Melbourne Arts Precinct, located in the inner Melbourne suburb of Southbank in Victoria, Australia.... - 2006, 19 July: Gay Games choral concert, Jay Pritzker PavilionMillennium ParkMillennium Park is a public park located in the Loop community area of Chicago in Illinois, USA and originally intended to celebrate the millennium. It is a prominent civic center near the city's Lake Michigan shoreline that covers a section of northwestern Grant Park. The area was previously...
, Chicago - 2007, 15 & 16 September: On Broadway, Malvern Town HallMalvern Town HallStonnington City Centre is the former town hall of the municipality of Malvern in the state of Victoria, Australia. It is the seat of the Local Government Area of the City of Stonnington....
Affiliations
MGLC is an affiliate member of the Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses (GALA Choruses) and a member of the Australian National Choral Association.Discography
- Kaleidoscope (1996)
- Inflight (1998)
- Feelin’ Groovy (2006)
- Evolution (2006)
External links
- Melbourne Gay and Lesbian Chorus official website
- Melbourne Gay and Lesbian Chorus at My Space
- Australian National Choral Association official website
- GALA Choruses official website
- SING OUT! official website
- LEGATO official website
- Australasian Gay & Lesbian Choirs' Newsletter