On Monday 4 July 2011 Alisdair Low, Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the London Gay Men’s Chorus addressed the members of the Annual General Meeting. This was his message to the membership.

 

Friends,

Since our last AGM we have accomplished numerous projects in line with our charitable goals.

Among our objectives we state that; we aim to study the practice of choral music and that by performing as an identifiable gay group, we challenge preconceptions both musical and social and demonstrate that diverse and confident minorities can contribute to the enrichment of society as a whole. 

Over the past 12 months we have performed in schools, with pupils and supported Camden's Education Department. We supported the LGBTQ community in Warsaw in a summer concert and Pride March. We performed a wide variety of music in Seven Deadly Sins, Make Your Own Kind of Christmas and Sound. We also performed in public spaces, such as the Clore Ballroom, West End Live and at the end of July, the Barbican, connecting with families and children. In June this year we had the opportunity to work with the charity `Survivors UK' accompanying our patron Hannah Waddingham as well as Lesley Garrett and David McAlmont among others.

The Chorus represented by Far From Kansas (FFK) won the People's Choice Award at the Absolut Gay Theatre Festival Dublin and played to packed houses at last year's Edinburgh Fringe.  The visibility of FFK promoted the main Chorus across a wide variety of sectors, Children in Need, the One Show with Dolly Parton, civil partnerships, and most recently at `Interbank' the LGBT banking network.

A highlight for some was the invitation to Downing St a few weeks ago, to link up with organisations committed to kicking homophobia out of sport.

The arc of our musical journey from Seven Deadly Sins, through Make Your Own Kind of Christmas to Sound, has seen our organisation commit to exploring a wider variety of musical pieces. In our 20th year we are now producing concerts of such a high standard, that even a few years ago we might not have thought possible.

As a membership body we come together essentially to learn how to sing as a Chorus. There are many benefits we each individually receive above and beyond this. We connect and make lifelong friendships, we meet future husbands and partners, we challenge ourselves as a performance based organisation, and we support each other and raise self-esteem. We also pass on life skills that we have learnt to younger men as we advise and coach them through their own personal paths.

The next 12 months will be an exciting and challenging time for our Chorus and for the Board of Trustees who steer our organisation.  This Christmas we hope to engage with the charity Scope for our concert `Make Mine a Snowball' and are due to meet at the end of July to discuss our partnership.

2012 will be our 21st birthday and we are planning some inspirational concerts.

Already performance scheduling is taking place – we have planned to sing at Southwark Cathedral next summer, and we have entered into negotiations with the Queen Elizabeth Hall for our 21st celebrations at Christmas 2012 - two incredibly prestigious venues. We are also engaging with the Cultural Olympiad.

There are a number of challenges ahead that we need to meet.

There are changes within our music team. We appreciate the work that Matt Jelf has accomplished as DMD and we thank him for the significant work he undertook in producing and refining our skills, in particular for our recent summer show `Sound'. We welcome our new Deputy Musical Director Tom Coltman and have committed to contracting the services of a rehearsal pianist. Our Musical Director's contract is also up for renewal in 2012 – how do we move forward with this?

Having acquired patronage – how do we manage these relationships going forward? We have connected well with Hannah Waddingham, how can we replicate this with our other Patrons?

If we plan our finances well – we can afford to have a retreat in 2012.

There are many jobs that the Board of Trustees undertake and others in the chorus, purely because they have the time. Some of us are only too aware how this impinges on our personal time. I would suggest to the Board that it is now time to explore external funding and consider appointing either a CEO or a full time Office Manager.

In conclusion, we are a financially sound organisation. As a Board of Trustees we have a collegiate approach in how we work. We each have specific responsibilities and we are all committed to clearly sharing with you our decision making processes. I would like to thank the Board on behalf of the Chorus for your time, passion and integrity.

Similarly I would like to thank the music team led by our own Simon Sharp. You challenge, inspire and shape us as a chorus to produce music that creates joy, laughter and tenderness.

The sheer joy of singing together and making beautiful music is why we sit here tonight. Each and every one of us has a duty of care to this organisation and to each other. Never forget why you joined this Chorus and what motivates you to sing each season. Never forget how you felt in those first few nervous rehearsals as you tried to fit in.

We remember that feeling of elation we get after a successful gig, we remember the smiles, the ovations the friendships, the overseas trips, the camaraderie the music we share together, and maybe now is the time to reflect – how has this affected me- how have I grown – what have I learned - how has being a part of this Chorus affected my life and the lives of others, how can I affect what we do?

 

Thank you.

Alisdair Low

To contact Alisdair, email chair@lgmc.org.uk