Gay Men's Chorus

A gay men's chorus is a choral organization founded by and for gay men, often welcoming allies as well. The movement began with the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus, whose roughly 115 singers first performed on the steps of City Hall in 1978. It is credited as the world's first openly gay chorus and the spark for the wider LGBTQ choral movement. Its 1981 national tour helped inspire new choruses across the United States and abroad, including groups in Boston, Washington, and Melbourne. Many of these choruses are members of GALA Choruses, the association of LGBTQ choruses. Through the AIDS crisis and beyond, they have served as sources of community, mourning, celebration, and public visibility.