Our annual partnership with Classic FM has brought some incredible Christmas carols from our member groups.It's a joy that our members are...
Barbara Eifler experiences the London Gay Men’s Chorus 'Christmas Bop' winter show at the Queen Elizabeth Hall.
Making Music member groups come in all shapes and sizes, and this is one of the largest and best-resourced ones. I already knew they had over 200 in the chorus (and 400+ on the waiting list!), but nonetheless experiencing those massed voices live is something else.
And this was no ordinary concert. It involved costumes (I lost count), lighting, choreography. It was incredibly well-rehearsed and beautifully coordinated – everyone was on top of what they were doing and when, effortlessly (or so it seemed!).
I particularly noted the choreography was well-executed by all, that is, a bunch of guys of clearly different ages and probably varying dance experience, so that means the choreographer sensitively tailored the movement not just to the songs, but to the great variety of men performing it, too, and succeeded in making them all look good.
And the filing in and out of choir members from backstage onto the risers can be a slow and painful (for the audience) spectacle, but these guys have it nailed. There was no hold-up, there was always music or choreography to cover, something for me as an audience member to look at whilst the transition from one number to the next took place.
The theme was the 1950s, with festive songs from that era. Given this is a gay men’s chorus, it was Daddy seen kissing Santa. And luckily the kids in the audience will not have understood the choreography to Santa Claus Got Stuck In My Chimney...
London Gay Men’s Chorus at their 'Christmas Bop' show. Photo credit: Steve Gregson Photography
The programming featured whole chorus numbers, but also many performed by a group of soloists. It seemed to me almost everyone 'got a go' at one of these smaller ensembles at the front of the stage, a lovely way of highlighting different groups of singers.
This is a huge piece of work, for the group and all participants, they must have rehearsed a lot to get such a large group of people so elegantly synchronised. They well deserve three sold out shows in the Queen Elizabeth Hall which seats over 900. These audiences can’t all be friends and family!
For me personally, though I love singing and will once again be attempting to join a choir in 2025, I’m not as much of an extrovert as these guys; so even if I was the right gender and sexual orientation, I would not be brave enough to join this chorus, so I’ll just stick to enjoying their shows!
But the huge variety and breadth of Making Music member groups means there will be a choir near me that suits my temperament, just as the London Gay Men’s Chorus suits the temperament of a great number of talented gay men, so pick the right one for you, and get singing this new year!
Find out more about London Gay Men’s Chorus on their website
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