The Gay and Lesbian Singers of WA (GALSWA) have entered a new phase in
their development with the appointment of new musical director
Claire King.
Ms King is currently in her final year of a Diploma of Education in
Music and also works part-time as a musical educator in the State prison system, with
aspirations to complete a music therapy specialty.
According to choir member Debra, Ms King teaches using her own style of
"BDSM": balance and discipline, synchronicity and musicality.
"Aside
from the usual note bashing of rehearsals we are beginning to appreciate the
poetry of sound with Claire’s instructions to execute phrases with tenderness
or with a meditative approach to 'appreciate the sound of an angels wings
beating'," Debra said.
"Our warm-ups get more and
more interesting, all with the purpose of making us more relaxed, confident and
better singers."
Choir members or potential members who would like to learn to read music are now able to join a music theory class run by Ms King for half an hour prior to GALSWA rehearsals.
Debra said the long-standing choir was hoping to incorporate more input from musicians into concerts withthe addition ofa rhythm section for some pieces.
"Claire and the choir have some innovative ideas we want to
translate into performance," she said.
"We will
also be performing some of our own members compositions in this term.There is talk of a documentary film and also
a recording."
The choir's next public performance will be at the Denmark Festival of Voice, held from 30th May until 1st June.
New members are always welcome in the choir, with rehearsals held at the North Perth Lesser Hall on View St
from 7 til 9:15 every Thursday.
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The 2008 Pride Parade may have been among the smallest, and certainly
the fastest in Pride's 19 years, but it remains a relevant and
important event according to this year's convenor, Charles Denham.
Gay favourite Rachel Berger is among the headliners this year as the Wild West Comedy Fest returns
to Perth for 26 days of hilarity and hijinks. Other Australian comedy
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The 2008 Pride Parade may have been among the smallest, and certainly
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important event according to this year's convenor, Charles Denham.
Gay favourite Rachel Berger is among the headliners this year as the Wild West Comedy Fest returns
to Perth for 26 days of hilarity and hijinks. Other Australian comedy
stars on the bill include Bob Franklin, Tom Gleeson, Fiona O’Loughlin
and Scared Little Weird
Guys.
Rebuilding trust was the key to the success of this year's Pride events
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less well than expected, many attracted good crowds and some film and
theatre sessions were sold out.
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showed 70 percent of black voters, and a majority of Latino
voters, voted yes to the ban. More 
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marriage. More 
Having failed to save same-sex marriage, GLBT Californians are taking their fight to court. City attorneys from San Francisco, Los Angeles and Santa Clara will seek to invalidate Proposition 8 on the grounds that it conflicts with the equal
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vile and crazy Rev Fred Phelps speaks out for the first time about the violent abuse he
suffered at the hands of his father. Read it 
US analysis of data on 53,567 men who have sex with other men has
found that circumcision is ineffective in reducing HIV rates.
African trials have shown circumcision cuts the likelihood of male to female HIV transmission by up to 60 per cent. More 
Australian Olympic gold medalist, Matthew Mitcham, is proud but also sad to have been the only gay in the village at Beijing. The champion diver says his decision to come out before the games was a vital part of the gold medal performance that denied China a clean sweep. More 
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October 2007, up 8 percent from 2006. Cases among gay and bisexual men jumped to 3.3 percent in 2007 from 0.4 percent in 2005. More 
Dancing in a circle with your friends, it's quickly becoming the
perfect night out. However amid the fifth round of drinks and
renditions of I Kissed a Girl, you can't help but feel a rift over the
dance floor.
From the Pride theatre and film seasons through to the Great Gay &
Lesbian Debate, Parade and Party, I thoroughly enjoyed this year's
Pride Festival. View footage from the debate and Parade and read about my festival highlights and the challenges I think Pride faces next year.
In winning today’s Presidential election, Barack Obama has provided the
world with the opportunity for a new beginning and his country with the
opportunity to put the disastrous Bush years behind it.
For some time now it's been popular among members of Generation Y to
declare that something is "so gay" to indicate that it's dumb, silly,
bad, ugly, unattractive, geeky, embarrassing, gaudy or even just plain
dull. That’s so gay. That’s so gay.
That’s so gay. It's the dull that hurts the most.
While I may not be the first person to go out on a limb and declare
that Barack Obama will win this year's Presidential election, I may be
among the first to declare that Sarah Palin will win the Republican
nomination and challenge him in 2012. That is, if she hasn't
bankrupted the Republicans with her wardrobe expenses first.
The global financial meltdown and impending economic Armageddon may
have an unexpected upside. For the first time in half a generation,
there may finally be a pool of people with the time on their
hands necessary to build exciting Parade floats.
