http://www.rainbowchorus.myzen.co.uk/index.htmlLatest performance newsencybershop@mac.comCopyright 2011 Rainbow Chorus2012-04-21T12:07:36+01:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 Wed, 16 May 2012 14:00:34 +0100cybershop@mac.comLatest News2012-04-21T12:07:36+01:00http://www.rainbowchorus.myzen.co.uk/LatestNews/items.html#unique-entry-id-92http://www.rainbowchorus.myzen.co.uk/LatestNews/items.html#unique-entry-id-92Rainbow Chorus is delighted to announce the appointment of our new Musical Director, Aneesa Chaudhry.

Her passion for music is evident in that she also works as a professional jazz singer, runs corporate and community singing workshops and teaches singing. She has led a number of choirs over the past 10 years, including youth choirs and small ensembles of 10-18 year olds. She particularly enjoys ensuring that everyone has a chance to use and enjoy developing their voice, whilst making as professional a sound as possible. She is thrilled to have been invited to take on the role of Musical Director of the Rainbow Chorus. Aneesa has her own web site where you can read more about her.

Aneesa takes over from Jacob Swindells, our MD since January 2012 who is fast approaching the end of a gap year where he observed rehearsals with the world renowned Berlin Philharmonic and Radio Symphony orchestras as well as the Berlin Radio Choir. Jacob has an Associate Diploma from Trinity College London and a Licentiate Diploma from The Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Choral singing is central to Jacob’s musical focus and he is also the director of Music at St Andrew Old Church. In October he leaves Brighton to begin a Music Degree as a Choral Scholar at Merton College Oxford.]]>cybershop@mac.comLatest News2012-04-22T10:48:47+01:00http://www.rainbowchorus.myzen.co.uk/LatestNews/items.html#unique-entry-id-91http://www.rainbowchorus.myzen.co.uk/LatestNews/items.html#unique-entry-id-91We will be serving up a delicious cocktail of music at our 'Pimms and Pergolesi' summer concert on Saturday 30th June, where you can be wowed by a heady mix of jazz, pop and gospel, and moved by Pergolesi's Stabat Mater.

The Chorus's new Musical Director, Aneesa Chaudhry, will be leading the first half, while guest conductor Jacob Swindells will be conducting the Stabat Mater in the second half.

The concert starts at 7.30pm and will be at our lovely home venue of St George's Church, St George's Rd, Brighton BN2 1ED. See here for a map.

Refreshments will be served before the concert and during the interval.

Tickets are £9 (£7 concessions). Enquiries can be made to chair@rainbowchorus.org.uk and tickets are available online from the link below, via the chair and members of the Rainbow Chorus or on the door on the night.

]]>cybershop@mac.comLatest News2010-07-25T17:56:50+01:00http://www.rainbowchorus.myzen.co.uk/LatestNews/items.html#unique-entry-id-72http://www.rainbowchorus.myzen.co.uk/LatestNews/items.html#unique-entry-id-72Living here in Brighton it’s easy to become blasé about our freedom to be ourselves, but you don’t have to go too far beyond Brighton’s boundaries to realise that the rest of the UK is not Brighton and that other countries and cities aren’t either. Martin Brophy of the London Gay Men’s Chorus was with the LGMC in Warsaw in July 2010 and had this to say:

Poland Europride 2010   

128 members of the London Gay Men's Chorus sang in the Europride concert and awards on Friday 16th July at the iconic Palace of Culture and Science and we marched in the 10,000 strong parade on Saturday. 

There was very obvious opposition to Gay Pride from Christians and Nazi style thugs who pelted the lead float I was on with eggs, bibles, balloon bombs with coloured liquid and other missiles, including stones one of which hit the top of my head and made a rather dramatic and bloody 4cm gash, mixed with broken eggs- I looked a right sight. 

It was very scary, as I was not sure what was happening, what was hitting us and then to feel the crash on my head to reach up and see my hand covered in blood. I was mystified to be faced with so much hatred.  Only two days before I had stood with incredulity at Auschwitz-Birkenau, wondering how this could all happen. If we allow hatred, fear and ignorance to fester, I now can see more clearly what happens.  

The start of the march was delayed as the hundreds of Police took control of the situation and as we now know some 7 arrests were made for throwing eggs. Along the route there was verbal abuse, spitting, gesticulations, posters, placards and blessings with crucifixes and holy water. Later there was a further 45 minute delay in very hot sunshine as the parade route was changed and cut short to avoid other counter demonstration marches and a rally. The men and women who marched were so brave.

There were a number of long range cameras being used by protesters who target LGBT people in Poland publishing photos with names and contact details; in recent years there have been reprisals, including the murder of at least 1 'outed' gay man. The heavy Police presence to protect the march was clear and plain clothes officers were picking troublemakers off the streets. Although the Police did react to the initial violence, it was naïve to have corralled the known violent protesters within hurling distance of the parade and that they were allowed to be in possession of projectiles to throw. Although its insulting to be sprinkled with Holy Water, its less aggressive than stones, but where will they draw the line and who decides what is OK?

This was all normal to the locals, I was deeply shocked.  Smaller groups of chorus members were surrounded and intimated and spat on by youths, but some aggressive verbal’s from German gay guys nearby sent the youths running. 

My dear Polish friend, Maciek, who lives in the far east of Poland on the border with Belarus says “things are changing, but it’s a long journey, recent surveys show there is around 65% support gay rights, but mainly in the cities”. He talks about the need for openness and education although he is unable to be out in his home village where he makes a living running a tree plantation.  

I am fine, my wound is healing, I was relieved to leave but know that the LGBT people of Poland will continue to live, love and fight for freedom and know they are not alone. I put my faith in humanity and what is right.  

I was so glad I went and my motive for ‘freedom for all’ has been further reinforced.

The Rainbow Chorus was the first gay choir to perform at Brighton & Hove’s IDAHOBIT and has also sung with the Life & Death Orchestra to acknowledge International Holocaust Memorial Day. We have also accompanied Podium Paris on the first float in Paris Pride in 2007. As a choir we have sung gay cabaret songs from 1930s Berlin and our own arrangement of the uncompromising Homophobia by Chumbawamba as well as other songs of protest and defiance in our Choral Propaganda concert and at other times as well. We have also performed a concert of works by 20th Century Gay Composers.

We sing in the choir for many reasons - fun, sociability, glamour(!), friendship, travel, connection and community - but we are all aware that as LGBT people we can never take our rights for granted and that we sing proudly wherever we go and to be out and proud about who we are as people and as members of our community.

We are lucky to have Finola singing with us in the Rainbow Chorus and she recently had this to say:

I'm quite sure I don't need to tell you how to suck eggs when it comes to homophobia but I hope you won't mind me sending you the [message above] I received from my brother, Martin, who many of you know sings with the London Gay Mens Chorus. I've obviously asked his permission and it seems timely to share it before our performance on Thursday. It's great that most of us will be singing at Charleston’s Gay Outing - a celebration of the Gay Liberation movement. We'll be singing both Homophobia and the Lavender Song (written originally in German), among others, to remind us all why we must never get complacent and in recognition that there's still a long way to go for LGBT communities in this country and worldwide.

All something to think about as we sashay down London Road, Brighton on the 7th of August.]]>cybershop@mac.comLatest News2007-09-28T17:48:41+01:00http://www.rainbowchorus.myzen.co.uk/LatestNews/items.html#unique-entry-id-14http://www.rainbowchorus.myzen.co.uk/LatestNews/items.html#unique-entry-id-14Don't forget that this page supports an RSS feed - what that means is that we always call you instead of you having to remember to call us! Can't be bad eh? So, details of how to do this can be found at the bottom left of this page (Latest News). It's really not hard to do and after that you'll have all the news sent automatically, though don't let that stop you from calling into the site anyway to see what new pictures and other information has been added.]]>