The Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles (GMCLA) will make its first-ever visit to the UK next month, with three London concerts raising funds for HIV charity Terrence Higgins Trust.
Nearly 80 singers from the renowned LGBTQ+ choir will travel to the capital following appearances at WorldPride Amsterdam to perform Love Across the Pond at The Actors’ Church in Covent Garden on 7 & 8 August.
Proceeds from the concerts will support the work of Terrence Higgins Trust, the HIV and sexual health charity.
Lou Spisto, Executive Director and Producer of GMCLA, said the partnership was particularly meaningful given the shared history of both organisations during the HIV/AIDS epidemic. “For nearly five decades, the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles has believed that music can do more than entertain – it can create community, give voice to those who have been silenced, and help change hearts and minds,” he said.
Founded in 1979, GMCLA has become one of the largest and most influential LGBTQ+ arts organisations in the United States. The chorus has performed throughout key moments in LGBTQ+ history, from the fight for equality and marriage rights to raising awareness during the AIDS crisis.
Spisto said the epidemic remains a defining part of the choir’s story. “Like gay men’s choruses across America, we lost far too many members and friends during those years, and music became both an act of mourning and an act of resistance,” he said.
“We sang at memorials, we sang for people who could no longer sing beside us, and we sang against the fear, stigma and silence surrounding HIV and AIDS.”
He added that the group wanted its UK debut to be about more than simply performing concerts. “We wanted our time in London to have a purpose that reflected where we came from and the values we still carry with us today,” he said.
Spisto said choosing Terrence Higgins Trust as the beneficiary of the performances was a natural fit.
“The Trust was born out of the same crisis that so profoundly shaped GMCLA and the wider LGBTQ+ community, and its continuing work to end new HIV cases and confront HIV stigma speaks directly to a struggle our organisations have shared across generations and across the Atlantic,” he said.
“While extraordinary progress has been made since the darkest days of the epidemic, that work is not finished.”
The concerts will feature a wide-ranging programme spanning Motown, Broadway, gospel, pop and LGBTQ+ anthems, which Spisto described as “a celebration of joy, resilience and the extraordinary culture our community has created”.
Reflecting on the significance of the visit, he added: “Our histories are connected, our struggles have crossed borders and so has our pride. After 47 years of singing for equality and belonging, we can think of no more fitting partner for our first performances in the UK than Terrence Higgins Trust.”
Terrence Higgins Trust said funds raised through the performances will help support its ongoing work to end new HIV transmissions in the UK and tackle the stigma that people living with HIV continue to face.
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