Video Trailer For The Pinkies' Winter Concert 16 Jan 2010

Yes, the Pinkies are finally embracing the information age and we have a multimedia trailer for our concert for the first time ever! Thanks to Greg and Jules for the video and editing work, and to Ben P for pushing the idea through to fruition as well. Will this convince you to come for a great wintry evening out? I think so! Tickets are on sale now! Go to the Pink Singers website and get your advance discount.

Edit: Sorry about the video, but it appears there were a few errors. This will go up again when the corrections have been made, so stay tuned!

Wear Your Best Hat!

As part of the Pink Singers' year each of the sections organize a social event for the other sections. This year it is the tenors' turn to kick off, and we are organizing a virtual horse race. not sure what this means? Me too, but details will be forthcoming. In the mean time keep the 4th of December free and take a peek at the poster for the event. The big difference this year is that we are hoping to get London's other LGBTQ choirs to come along and join in the fun!

A Proper Welcome To the Newbies!

What a wonderful time I had at the Pinkies newbies welcome party last night! We are now into week 6 of the winter season, and the new Pinkies are started to get bedded in. It is hard to socialize in rehearsal because everyone is concentrating on learning the music, and if you don't go to the pub afterwards then you don't really get much of a chance to chat. That's why the newbies' party was born: it is an opportunity for the oldies to get to know the new Pinkies better. What a friendly bunch we are! Besides, with karaoke, beer and Pink Singers, you can pretty much be guaranteed a fun evening!

And loads of the newbies picked up the courage to get on stage to perform. Kudos to Ryan, Jerome, Paul and Al for picking up the microphone and really going for it. Wonder why none of the new girls got up on stage though...

Straight To The Point

I had a rather odd evening two nights ago. After class I was invited out for drinks with some of the guys in my tutorial group. They are all straight rugby/ football player types with whom I didn't think I had any obvious affinity. The idea of spending an entire evening chatting about women and sports actually filled me with some trepidation. But social duty beckoned, and I went along with the intention of ducking out with an excuse if things became uncomfortable.

As it happens though, I had a really great time: all the blokes were fantastic, really friendly, and we had loads to chat about. The lesson I learned is that I have my own prejudices when it comes to straight people (guys especially), and for that reason I guess I tend to socialize with other gay people where I can "be myself". But these guys were also pretty open minded, and I felt no inhibitions beyond my usual straight-laced self. It was a new discovery for me.

Hate Crime - Why?

The overriding feeling of those of us at the Anti-Hate Crime Protest in Trafalgar Square last week was, "Why is this still happening?" The memorial to Ian Baynham coincided with another attack on a gay policeman called James Parkes the week before, and the bigoted hate-ridden post by Jan Moir in the Daily Mail. It all served as a chilling reminder that although we take it for granted sometimes that we have almost achieved parity in the eyes of the law, in reality certain segments of society are far from accepting.

So it was rather heart warming that so many people showed up in Trafalgar Square that cold Friday night to light a candle to remember not just Ian, but all those who have died in homophobic attacks around the country in the last decade. And while there was dismay as the names were read out, anger at those in the public eye who continue to spew hatred and frustration that we, as a community, were still standing on those steps, still having to fight for those basic human rights we all deserve, there was also a sense of pride. Pride that we could come together and pride that there continues to be something worth fighting for.

When we sang Seasons of Love, Something Inside So Strong and You'll never Walk Alone, the Pink Singers, together with LGMC, Ddiversity and voices from Brighton and Birmingham, and joined remotely by others in other cities around the country, I felt a sense of cohesion I don't often feel. This is a source of strength and something to hold on to.

Congratulations To All The New Pinkies!

Week 3 of the new season has now come and gone and Liang has been busy calling all the would-be Pinkies with news of whether they got through the audition or not. Congratulations to all those who did, and welcome to our little family. That said, as anachronistic as it may sound, one does not need to sing to be a Pink Singer. The Pinkies wouldn't survive without the many people who work behind the scenes making sure that the engine remains well oiled. The Pink Singers are as much about the social interaction as they are about the actual performance, and you can have the former without necessarily being part of the latter. So the invitation remains open to those who didn't get on so well in the audition - do stay and be a Pinkie! You are always welcome.

Project Gaydar

This has been on the newswire for the last couple of days, but it is still making waves so I thought I'd comment on it. Basically, some MIT kids did a study which demonstrated that, even if you are not out on Facebook, they can guess whether you are gay or not by seeing who your friends are.

No duh.

What amazes me is that people are surprised and worried that this means that their privacy is compromised. The linked article has this pithy comment:

Discussions of privacy often focus on how to best keep things secret, whether it is making sure online financial transactions are secure from intruders, or telling people to think twice before opening their lives too widely on blogs or online profiles. But this work shows that people may reveal information about themselves in another way, and without knowing they are making it public.

Is anyone surprised in the least by this? That a stranger can tell your interests/ inclinations by the friends you hang out with?

I think we are in fact missing the bigger picture, which is that people (a) are compelled to micromanage their relationships and (b) feel a need to even be in the closet still, in this day and age. I can vaguely understand the first - sometimes you want to keep work and play separate. But as for the second, surely we've moved beyond that, especially in a forward-thinking computer-literate society?

Thoughts On Choral Competitions

Now here's an interesting subject: choir competitions. The reason it has even come up is that the Pinkies are, for the first time in my travels with them, entering such an event. On the face of it there is quite a lot of interest from many Pink Singers, particularly in light of the recent successes with Various Voices London. But the difference is that Various Voices was a festival and not a competition, a small but very significant difference.

Prior to joining the Pink Singers I was in several church and university choirs, some of which were semi-professional, and at least two of which regularly entered competitions. I have some idea of the amount of blood, sweat and tears it takes to put up a competition-level performance. It involved an awful amount of work and committment, much more, dare I say it, than many Pinkies realise.

We are a community choir, and many members join because they love singing. I know I adore being in the Pink Singers because I like the relaxed environment. Not everyone has the same vocal or choreographic ability, innate or acquired, by the time the season ends, but that's okay because it is about getting together and enjoying both the concert we put on and each others' company.

Add a little competition to the mix and the emphasis changes somewhat. If you've been to one of our concerts you will know that the Pink Singers already perform to a very high standard, but to take it to the next level requires far more attention to things like blending, dipthongs, breathing, consonants, dynamics, posture, choreography etc. Then you go to the competition itself and have to deal with the added stress of performing in front of critical eyes. I must admit to being a bit apprehensive about turning a hobby which I enjoy into something I just know I will fret about.

Thankfully, the competition we are getting our feet wet in is the Manchester Amateur Choral Competition, organized by our counterparts in that city, the Manchester Lesbian and Gay Chorus. Despite my concerns I am reassured by their statement that:

The competition is not solely focused on the winning choir and there are no great financial rewards at stake - simply the satisfaction of having sung to a high standard and had an opportunity to experience and enjoy the diversity of performance from other amateur choirs.

Perhaps more importantly, it looks like all the choirs which took part in last year's inaugural contest had a really good time, so it was, in spirit, more like a festival with the competition component thrown in for added frisson. Despite my reservations I've been won around and not only am I going to go, I'm actually quite looking forward to it. In fact, I think a bit of concentrated preparation will improve our choirs general performance as well. And of course a trip anywhere with the Pinkies is bound to be fun!

I'll leave you with some videos of the kind of competition we are up against. These are all from last year's inaugural MACC.

Bridge Over Troubled Water

I can't believe that we are finally doing a gospel song in the choir, and a doozy we've picked too: an arrangement of Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water. Interestingly, at the start of the sheet music is a recommendation to see Luther Vandross and Jennifer Holliday singing the song for "stylistic authenticity". Well, thanks to the magic of YouTube there is a video of the pair singing it, ironically with Paul Simon, and totally stomping the composer vocally in the process.
Watching the video and listening to Jennifer Holiday's vocal pyrotechnics, I am not sure we can be that authentic, but we sure can try!

New Eclectic Season

The Pink Singers season has started again, and none too soon I might add. It was with a bit of a hop, skip and a jump that I went to rehearsal, running into Ali, Gill and Kate O on the way (the last actually missing gay Sunday at the zoo!) and it was like the first day of school all over again, but with classmates you actually like. Of course there were many new members too, some of whom looked shell shocked even before we started rehearsing! Now that we have auditions, I imagine that it is quite stressful, but I think we did our best to make them feel welcome. Fingers crossed for them. We have 4 slots in the tenors this season, but there are about twice as many would-be Pinkies for our voice part, so there has to be some selection process.

As usual, the first rehearsal is also when we get a peek at the repertoire for this season. It is typically diverse, and we sang two songs yesterday: Rutter's For The Beauty Of The Earth which is is typical saccharine sweet loveliness, and Brecht's Mack The Knife. I think we did a fairly creditable job all considered, and the latter inspired the album art for this season's rehearsal tracks. My Pink Bits is actually open for business, but I won't be posting access until the foruth week when the choir has settled down. In the interim, get in touch if you want to take a peek!

Welcome back everyone!

Pink Singers Twitter Design

If you've never been to the Pink Singers twitter page, or even if you have but your monitor is less than 1024 pixels wide, you have probably missed the slightly updated image which sits behind our tweets. It is a pic of us performing at Various Voices in May this year, with the updated logo. I thought I'd post it here in all it's glory so you can get an idea of what it looks like. If you are going to visit our twitter page, why not follow us while you're there?

Out Of Africa

It is a shame that I learnt of these rather gorgeous posters for the South African LGFF only through the report that they are being torn down in the streets of Cape Town. I'm doing my bit to virtually post them, but mainly because I really like the designs and want to share them!

Over The Rainbow

Here's a bit of morning happiness courtesy of the ever brilliant Mandy Patinkin. I love this version because the song itself is wonderful as it is, needing no embellishment, and Mandy's crystal voice is a perfect fit.

When all the world is a hopeless jumble,
And the raindrops tumble all around,
Heaven opens a magic lane.

When all the clouds darken up the skyway,
There's a rainbow highway to be found,
Leading from your windowpane,
To a place behind the sun,
Just a step beyond the rain.

Somewhere, over the rainbow,
Way up high,
There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby.

Somewhere, over the rainbow,
Skies are blue,
And the dreams that you dare to dream,
Really do come true.

Some day I'll wish upon a star,
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops,
Away above the chimney tops that's where you'll find me!

Somewhere, over the rainbow blue birds fly,
Birds fly over the rainbow,
Why then, oh why, can't I?

Someday I wish upon a star,
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops,
Away above the chimney tops that's where you'll find me!

Somewhere over the rainbow blue birds fly,
Birds fly over the rainbow,
Why then, oh why, can't I?

If happy little blue birds fly,
Beyond the rainbow,
Why, oh why, can't I?

Pink Singers Winter Season 2009 Next Sunday!

Just a quick reminder to one and all that the Pinkies' winter season will be starting in just over a week's time, on Sunday the 20th of September. I've just received word that one of our friends, Bernard, from Malta Gay Rights Movement will be coming to visit, and we have the usual bunch of newbies giving us a try too, so there's lots to look forward to. I've only heard rumours on the grapevine about this season's repertoire, but needless to say it is entirely new, and Michael De's arrangement of Wind Beneath My Wings is definitely in there. As for events, we are taking part in a competition in Manchester and our winter concert is some time in January, so not before the 25th of December as it was last Christmas (sorry, had to fit the Wham! reference in because of the gratuitous and not-at-all-gay photo above).

On a personal note:

I've got my sisters by my side,
I've got my sisters' love and pride,
And in my sisters' eyes I recognise,
The star I want to be.

And with my sisters standing strong,
I'm on the stage where I belong,
And nothing's ever gonna change the fact:
I'm part of one terrific sister act.

I really, really miss the choir now. Desperately need my Pink Singers fix ASAP!

2010 California Protection Of Marriage Act

In the wake of the farce that was the passing of Proposition 8 in California, one John Marcotte is taking the logic of 'protection of marriage' to its logical conclusion and asking that divorce be banned. He has set up a website called Rescue Marriage which makes for an amusing read. There is also an interview with him on Cockeyed.com. It is full of wodnerful quotes like:

People who supported Prop 8 weren't trying to take rights away from gays, they just wanted to protect traditional marriage. That's why I'm confident that they will support this initiative, even though this time it will be their rights that are diminished. To not support it would be hypocritical.