GALA Choruses (GALA), producers of the quadrennial Festival known as the world’s largest LGBTQ+ performing arts event, are proud to bring two stellar choral performances that are open to the public to Columbus next month as part of their annual Leadership Symposium. On Friday, February 13, GALA’s Ensemble Showcase will feature eight groups from around the Midwest and across the country coached by renowned choral director Dr. Ethan Sperry. The following evening, Saturday February 14, GALA’s Midwest Choral Blockbuster will spotlight six choruses from across the region in a performance hosted by Naysha Lopez, RuPaul’s Season 8 and All-Stars 8 contestant. Both events will take place at the Davidson Theatre inside the Riffe Center of the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts (CAPA).

The Ensemble Showcase on Friday night is the culmination of an ensemble bootcamp led by Dr. Ethan Sperry, Director of Choral Activities at Portland State University. Choirs under his direction have won over thirty awards and medals at international choir competitions on four continents, and sung at The Hollywood Bowl, The Kennedy Center, and the United Nations among other major venues. The eight ensembles performing at the Davidson Theatre are part of the Cincinnati Men’s Chorus, the Columbus Gay Men’s Chorus, LanSINGout, the North Coast Men’s Chorus, The Ohio State University Women’s Glee Club, the Phoenix Gay Men’s Chorus, and PRISM Chorus.

Tickets are available to the public for purchase here.

The Midwest Choral Blockbuster will be a musical extravaganza doubling as a fundraiser for GALA Choruses’ mission. Emceed by Naysha Lopez, a Chicago-based drag performer best known for her appearances on RuPaul’s Drag Race, the performances by exclusively Midwest ensembles cover a range of musical genres including Broadway, pop, rock, folk, and disco. Participating choruses include the Cincinnati Men’s Chorus, the Columbus Gay Men’s Chorus, the Indianapolis Women’s Chorus, MUSE Cincinnati’s Women’s Choir, PRISM Chorus, and Windsong, Cleveland’s Feminist Chorus. Tickets are available to the public for purchase here.

“It’s such a special opportunity for us to get to perform with other LGBTQ choruses from across the Midwest for these shows,” said Brayton Bollenbacher, Artistic Director of the Columbus Gay Men’s Chorus. “We’re so excited to have all of this musical talent from our community coming here, to Columbus.”

Both events are hosted as part of GALA Choruses’ annual Leadership Symposium February 12–14, a weekend of education, networking, and inspiration tailor-made to the needs of LGBTQ+ choral leaders. More than 30 expert-led workshops, presentations, roundtables, and rep sessions address topics of interest to artistic directors, board members and executive directors, and other roles, and include other special events like a Shark Tank-style contest awarding a $5,000 grant to support new initiatives and a master class by choral conducting expert Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt. GALA Choruses hosts this conference annual in rotating cities across the country during the years in-between its quadrennial Festival, gathering LGBTQ+ choruses from all over the Americas and the world.

“Since our members are based all over the country, and beyond, it’s important that we go to places like the Midwest that have vibrant musical communities and create opportunities for them to perform together,” said John D. Carrion, Executive Director of GALA Choruses. “It builds connections between local groups that make everyone better, like an intimate choral festival.”

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GALA Choruses is a non-profit, membership organization of LGBTQ+ choruses and their allies. Founded in 1983, GALA Choruses leads the LGBTQ+ choral movement in North and South America, cultivating the artistic development of 15,000 singers from approximately 200 choruses throughout the Americas. GALA’s mission is to support, guide, and inspire their member choruses to leverage the liberating power of singing to create harmony and equity for all. GALA is best known for its quadrennial Festival, hosted in rotating cities around the United States, which is the largest LGBTQ+ performing arts event in the world; the 2024 Festival gathered 7,000 singers from 122 choruses in Minneapolis.