The South Wales Gay Men’s Chorus was the first LGBT+ choir in Wales and currently only LGBT choir for male voices in Wales. It was founded in 2008 and over the 14 years the choir has become a recognised and respected part of the gay community in Cardiff and South Wales, attending numerous national and international festivals, and hosting one of  the Hand in Hand LGBT Choral Festivals in 2019. The choir became a festival champion at Cornwall International Male Choral Festival (the worlds largest amateur male voice festival) in 2017 and the award winning documentary Côr Blimey captured this extraordinary journey.

What creative activities and performances do you undertake?

We do one main ‘big’ concert per year in a large venue (eg. RWCMD) that has a specific theme and  small events and concerts in between eg. weddings, private events, Pride events. Have supported LGBT choirs in their concerts in other parts of the UK eg. visiting Brighton this summer during Brighton Pride to sing as a ‘support act choir’ with the Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus. Have taken part on large LGBT choral festivals – Hand in Hand and Various Voices. We were one of the host choirs of the Hand in Hand Festival in 2019. We have backed other artists, including Lulu and Bright Light Bright Light.

We also took part in the Cornwall Make Voice Choir Festival and won the performance competition and the individual piece prize for the arrangement of ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ arranged by our now Musical Director, Chris Fossey.

What do you do to meet participants’ engagement needs?

New members evening, socials, offered basic music training, no auditions, funding support for trips

Nature of rehearsals

Hard work, focussed but fun. Short break and refreshments to encourage socialising.

Selection of songs

Eclectic and diverse. Primarily decided by the music team, however occasionally put to choir members for suggestions / voting.

What is important to you in terms of values?

• Pride – we are proud of who we are, what we do and our positive image.
• Commitment – be present by learning, listening and making performance as best as it can be.
• Supporting – be patient, kind and respectful.

• Enjoyment – be part of the team, no egos, make singing and music fun.

What takes a lot of time but is really important?

Song selection for concerts – we want to be able to cover a wide range of music and show the diversity and potential of the choir. The Music Team aim to include songs the choir generally already know and love as well as pushing their boundaries to include pieces or styles they may not have come across or sung before.

What matters to older members of the choir?

Quotes from some of our members:

‘As an older member (64 years young)  of nearly 14 years now, it gives me the opportunity to meet LGBTQ+ members of all ages who you would not normally meet nowadays as apps have taken over the usual avenues of meeting.
It’s also important to show older members are still interested in getting engaged with Pride events and performances for charity etc’

‘At 76 years old, I am now the oldest member of the choir. i have been a member for twelve years, joining up when I returned to Cardiff on retirement. Up to a few years ago, I was able to play a full part. Now, because of deteriorating health, what I can do is increasingly restricted. I have had to withdraw from concerts at short notice. I rarely last the full two hours of rehearsal time. But the choir has remained incredibly supportive, allowing me to continue to play whatever part I feel able to. This means it continues to be the second family it has been these past years, my main circle of friends – it has met the different needs I undoubtedly have, and I am very grateful to them all for that.’