LA Gay Men's Chorus To Celebrate 30th Season With Concert

Join Della Reese, George Takei, Christine Chavez, Donzaleigh Abernathy, Del Shores, Billy Porter, Erin Hamilton and Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles as they welcome special guests (to be announced) to celebrate the launch of their 30th anniversary season with a choral repertoire of jazz, pop, classical, Broadway and more. Attending the event is support will be cast members of Sordid Lives, including Jason Dottley, Ann Walker, Ted Detweiler, Mary-Margaret Lewis, David Cowgill, Five of the nine members of HGTV's Design Star including: Matt Locke, Michael Stribling, Mikey Verdugo, Stephanie Cook, Trish Beaudet and Carol Burnett. 

Highlights of the evening will include:

-Christine Chavez, the grand daughter of Cesar Chavez, participating in a poignant piece reflecting on immigration, racism.
-A tribute to gay marriage with George Takei and his husband, Brad Berliner, which includes pieces from the Kander and Ebb' - "Kiss of the Spider Woman" & "Cabaret."
-Commemorating the anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I have a Dream" speech (40 years to the day), Actress/Activist/Author Donzaleigh Abernathy, who was there the day her God father "Uncle Martin" made the historic speech, will be participating.
-The GMCLA is honored to share the stage with the talented Billy Porter, performing "Lush Life" by Billy Strayhorn, the gifted Erin Hamilton will perform "Imagine" and her hit single "One World" and special selections with the legendary Della Reese.

Honorary Chairs for this event include: Dame Elizabeth Taylor, Angela Lansbury, Lily Tomlin, Liz Torres, Dr. Iris Levine, Hon. Diane Feinstein, Hon. Barbara Boxer, Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and Hon. Antonio Villaraigosa.

WHEN:   Monday, August 25th, 2008 at 8:00pm
WHERE:  Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 South Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012
TICKETS:     $25 - $80 by calling Ticketmaster at 800-523-1515 or www.ticketmaster.com

About GMCLA:

On a July night in 1979, a small group of men opened the doors to a room at the Plummer Park Community Center in Los Angeles (now West Hollywood) and waited and wondered if anybody would show up. They had posted flyers around the neighborhood announcing the formation of a new gay chorus and this night was to be its first rehearsal. To their great surprise, 99 men appeared and a chorus was born. Within three months of that rehearsal, founding director Harold Kjellberg led the group through its first major event: the March on Washington, D.C. and the first national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) concert at the Washington Memorial. While public understanding of gay life has evolved much since 1979, there is still fierce resistance to lasting change by opponents to LGBT equality. And the road to today has not always been easy. Through the height of the AIDS crisis, the Chorus lost over 150 members. Only 12 original members remain. As a result, GMCLA has a deep history of service within the LGBT community, singing at countless memorials, making and commissioning music that helps the community to mourn, to celebrate, to dream, and to prepare for victory.  For over 30 years, the Chorus has built an international reputation for musical excellence while remaining deeply rooted in service to the Los Angeles community. Hailed by the Los Angeles Times as "one of the last important links to a glorious tradition in music," GMCLA has more than doubled in size to 226 singers, added professional and artistic staff, toured nationally and internationally, released thirteen compact discs, commissioned more than 300 new works and arrangements and appeared frequently on national television. The Chorus membership donates over 60,000 volunteer hours annually to make GMCLA's mission of musical excellence and community partnership a reality.

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