Gay Men's Chorus Of Los Angeles 2023 GALA  Honors Mayor Karen Bass And Disney Concerts 

Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles will present the 2023 GALA on Sunday, June 25 at Walt Disney Concert Hall immediately following the 3:00 p.m. matinee performance of Disney PRIDE in Concert - a multimedia musical celebration featuring GMCLA's 200 singers, a 25-piece orchestra and stunning video projections, with almost 50 songs from over 20 beloved Disney films and Disney Parks.

At the annual gala, outstanding individuals, companies, and institutions are honored with GMCLA's Voice Award - a longstanding Chorus tradition. This year, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass will be presented with GMCLA's Civic Voice Award, and Disney Concerts will be presented with its Artistic Voice Award. Television host and journalist, Melvin Robert ("Extra" senior correspondent, Fox's "Good Day L.A. anchor") will host the reception and dinner event, which will include a silent and live auction. Funds raised will support GMCLA's extensive Alive Music Project in schools and its numerous free public concert events.

"We are thrilled to recognize Mayor Bass for her decades of service to the LGBTQIA community as both an advocate and a leader," said GMCLA Executive Director & Producer Lou Spisto. "In 2019, Mayor Bass voted in favor of the Equality Act, which would ban discrimination against LGBTQIA people." He also noted, "Mayor Bass has a long history of legislative work that has positively advanced civil rights, justice, and equality for all. As a California State Assembly Member, she was a strong and vocal opponent of Prop 8, the ban on gay marriage in our state. While serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, Congresswoman Bass brought her support for our community to the national level as an influential member to the Congressional HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ+ Equality Caucuses."

Spisto added, "We are tremendously proud to honor Disney Concerts. For years, this group has brought the magic of Disney - the incredible artistry and the incomparable music -to small and large stages and concert halls across the country and around the world. The performing arts world is forever grateful for this amazing canon of work and the opportunity to perform and present it - made possible by Disney Concerts. This alone would have been enough to honor this entity, but we have more reason that's even closer to home. Disney Concerts chose to begin its journey into choral presentations with the LGBTQIA community of choruses, and this is simply groundbreaking." He exclaimed, "We are thrilled to perform Disney PRIDE in Concert and honor Disney Concerts at our gala dinner. It is going to be epic. Other choruses will perform this work and do it beautifully, but GMCLA is the only chorus that will bring it to life at Walt Disney Concert Hall. The milestone of Disney's 100th anniversary is yet another great reason to celebrate Disney and to take pride during this very special Pride Month!"

GMCLA's 2023 GALA will be a truly spectacular event. Gala guests will start the celebration on GMCLA's signature pink carpet. After the conclusion of the 3:00 p.m. performance of Disney PRIDE in Concert, guests will enjoy the unique silent auction offerings beginning at 5:30 p.m. in the soaring architecture of the Frank Gehry-designed event space at Walt Disney Concert Hall, as well as the hour-long open bar and hors d'oeuvres reception. This will be followed at 6:30 p.m. by a three-course dinner featuring custom food and drinks by The Music Center's exclusive catering arm Hope & Grand Events. The dinner event will conclude with the Voice Awards celebration honoring Disney Concerts and Mayor Bass.

Current gala sponsors include Amazon, AT&T, Disney Concerts, Royal Bank of Canada, U.S. Bank, the Vyas Family, Greg Weaver & Haig Youredjian, and Richard & Carol Weaver, and, with major season sponsor support from Perenchio Foundation. Individual gala tickets are $750 and $1,250, and table sponsorships are available for 10 guests at $7,500, $12,500, and $25,000.

Gala tickets and table sponsorships are available at www.GMCLA.org/gala or by contacting Brian Tillisat brian@GMCLA.org or 424.453.3990.

Disney PRIDE in Concert marks Disney Concerts' first-ever concert production developed specifically for choral performance, and presents Disney's most beloved songs reimagined in a celebration of Pride. GMCLA will perform the music of iconic films like The Little Mermaid, The Lion King and Mary Poppins, as well as modern classics like Coco, Zootopia, Wreck-It Ralph and many more. The magical music of Disney Parks will round out this multimedia event. Solos and personal stories will add connection to Disney's timeless and universal stories, making this a truly magical experience for all ages.

This amazing extravaganza will be conducted by GMCLA's Music Director & Conductor Ernest H. Harrison and will conclude GMCLA's Season 44. Disney PRIDE in Concert will have a limited engagement of two concerts only on Saturday, June 24, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. and Sunday, June 25, 2023 at 3:00 p.m. The concerts will be held at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Downtown Los Angeles, 111 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Single tickets range from $50 to $130 and are available online at GMCLA.org/disneypride or musiccenter.org; by phone at 323.850.2000 or 424.453.3987; or at the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office (Tuesday - Sunday, 12:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.).

GMCLA, under the leadership of Executive Director & Producer Lou Spisto and Music Director & Conductor Ernest H. Harrison, has continued to garner acclaim for artistic excellence while remaining deeply rooted in service to the Los Angeles community and beyond by promoting civil rights, tolerance and acceptance through music. Founded in 1979 during the emergence of the gay rights movement, GMCLA has spread its message of love and acceptance with concerts across the globe and has raised its collective voice in the struggle for equality, social justice, the fight against the AIDS crisis, the fight for marriage equality and all those seeking to find their own voice. GMCLA's free ticket program has provided access to concerts for thousands of low-income families over the decades, and research-based education programs have served over 70,000 young people throughout the Los Angeles region. GMCLA returned to Royce Hall during Season 43 after a nearly two-year pause due to the pandemic. The three-concert season included the heartwarming A Holiday Homecoming, the sold-out QUEEN of the night and the tribute concert A Salute to Sondheim. In 2019, GMCLA performed at Carnegie Hall and The Hollywood Bowl (with Hugh Jackman), and in February 2020, GMCLA performed at the Film Independent Spirit Awards, which has gained more than 7 million online views. During the pandemic, GMCLA presented a full virtual season of concerts, special events, and school programs reaching thousands of longtime fans and building new audiences. From Los Angeles and Ireland to Brazil and New Zealand, GMCLA's streaming concerts were incredibly well received. Critics have proclaimed the Chorus "inspired" and "expressive, innovative and utterly moving," and hailed GMCLA for presenting "meaningful entertainment."

Disney Concerts is the concert production and licensing division of Disney Music Group, the music arm of The Walt Disney Company. Disney Concerts produces concerts and tours, and licenses Disney music and visual content to symphony orchestras, choruses and presenters on a worldwide basis. Disney Concerts' concert packages include a variety of formats, such as "live to picture" film concerts and themed instrumental and vocal compilation concerts, and range from instrumental-only symphonic performances to multimedia productions featuring live vocalists and choir. Current titles include Encanto, Hocus Pocus, The Sound of Magic, the Star Wars Film Concert Series, Toy Story, Aladdin, Disney Princess - The Concert, Coco, The Lion King, Up, Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Muppet Christmas Carol.

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