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Hand in Hand Festival 2015

Choir Profiles

Find out more about the choirs featured here as they tell us about themselves in their own words.

Beijing Queer Chorus | G Major Chorus | G_Voice | NECO Punch | Rainbow Voices Mumbai | Unnie Choir | Wu Tong Gay Men's Chorus in Chengdu

Beijing Queer Chorus
Beijing
China
Links: Blog | Facebook

Beijing Queer Chorus marchingFounded in 2008 in Beijing, the Beijing Queer Chorus is now, with around 20 regular performing members, the largest and the only public performing LGBT choir in mainland China, and the first GALA member in Asia.

With a wide ranging repertoire from classical music to folk, jazz and pop, the Chorus' aim is to challenge society's preconceptions of the stereotypical image of a gay person, while providing a social network for its members and audience.

G Major Chorus
Taipei
Taiwan
Facebook

G Major Chorus backstageG Major Chorus is is the first gay chorus legally registered in Taiwan in 2001. Our members come from all disciplines of professions; though mostly not music major, everyone joined on their enthusiasm and passion for singing.

Our music spans a wide spectrum of interests, ranging from classical, sacred, folk, gospel, jazz to musical. We also attempt to integrate acting and dancing into our singing and express our opinions on current gay-related social and humanities topics through our performance.

We hold regular charity concerts to raise funds for gay friendly groups; we are also frequently invited to sing at school clubs, nursing homes and public welfare organizations.

Our vision is to spread love and happiness to every corner of the community with our passionate singing, lively performance and beautiful music.

G_Voice
Seoul
South Korea
Links: Blog | Facebook

G_Voice on stageThe first and only gay chorus in South Korea, G-Voice was founded in 2003 as a hobby group under the Korean Gay Men’s Human Rights Group, Chingusai.

Consisting of 35-40 amateur members, it is divided into tenor, baritone, and bass. Its repertoire includes not only traditional folk songs, Western musical numbers, classical pieces and pop favorites but also its own compositions, which reflect the joys, sorrows, and dreams of LGBT people in South Korea today.

G-Voice has held annual concerts since 2006. In addition, in solidarity with other minority and oppressed groups, it has performed on diverse occasions, often on invitation, for the protection and promotion of human rights. In celebration of its 10th anniversary, the chorus is currently filming a self-documentary, which will be completed and released in 2014.

NECO Punch
Tokyo
Japan
Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter

NECO Punch togetherNECO Punch (literally “cat’s paw punch”) is a gay male choir which was established in 2004 and has been active since. Under the direction of a professional musician, we focus on the joy of singing and realizing the enjoyment of blending our voices together. Our motto is to bring out the individuality and artistic expression of each member to the full, thus we don’t aim to become a large group but sing as a small yet unique choir. Every member has his solo part, so that you can fully enjoy the personality of each singer.

The choir has a wide range of repertoire. Instead of bringing in ready-to-go popular choir pieces, each member suggests the songs he wants to sing with other members, including mostly J-pop and others such as anime songs, enka (Japanese ballads) and songs of the good old days, which are all arranged by the director into the custom pieces you can never listen to anywhere else but here with NECO Punch.

We have been also carrying out annual live concerts since 2012 with a new repertoire - some are well-known tunes but with totally new arrangement - every time to entertain the audience. Please come and join the world of our choir. Additionally, we produce our own "premium" music videos which are shown only at the annual concerts. Don't miss them!

Rainbow Voices Mumbai
Mumbai
India
Links: Facebook

Rainbow Voices Mumbai singing in styleRainbow Voices Mumbai, India's first LGBT choir, aims to provide a platform to showcase musical talent in the community in the form of an ensemble of voices.

Founded by Sibi Mathen and Vinodh Philip in the Summer of 2014, Rainbow Voices Mumbai sings anthems and songs that range from the classical to the modern with harmonized voices. The choir is still finding its feet in terms of its repertoire, but gay anthems and Bollywood numbers seem to be the choir's specialty.

LGBT events, charity concerts and festivals get this choir busy practising. A Yaariyan (Hamsafar Trust's young adults) initiative, this choir comprises of not just Yaariyans, but also supporters and those who are not-so-Yaariyan too!

Come and audition and join, if you have the musical talent either by singing or playing an instrument. Submit your song requests and who knows, the choir, under the able and accomplished director, Vildsa, can make that request come alive.

Unnie Choir
Seoul
South Korea
Links: Facebook | Twitter

Unnie Choir on stage at the Korea Queer Culture FestivalUnnie Choir is a musical ensemble consisting of non-married female singers who are avid supporters of feminism and sexual diversity.

"Unnie" is a Korean word for "an older sister" but it is often used to refer to someone close and to express intimacy between women.

As one of the groups of South Korean cultural feminist organization "Unninetwork", we perform in various events, especially in solidarity with the LGBT rights movement such as Korea Queer Culture Festival.

We have also successfully held an annual year-end concert ever since we were founded in 2011.

Wu Tong Gay Men's Chorus in Chengdu
Chengdu
China
Links: Blog

Wu Tong Gay Men's ChorusThe Wu Tong Gay Men's Chorus in Chengdu was founded in January 2015 by Minimal (噪音) and is the first gay choir in China's southwest. The core spirit of the choir is "non-sexual sound", by which it aims to transcend divisions of gender and sexuality through the songs and music of a group of friends, and promotes a message of equality.

The choir is currently made up of 15 members, including the accompanist. Its repertoire includes ballads, pop songs and folk songs.