Annual Report 2020
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Annual Report 2020 Supporting LGBTQ+ choruses as we change our world through song Letter from the Board President become our book of memories and There is no mystery to it, 2020 was not a good successes. 2021 will include a series of virtual year but its lessons are priceless. concerts, drawing from programs that had been planned for Festival 2020NE. The The Corona virus and its aftermath will long coming year will also include educational remind us of the importance of strong webinars that will help our choruses succeed leadership but also the value of listening to through the pandemic. Our relevance will and supporting one another as we found our continue to focus on empathizing with your grit to remain relevant in a year that became circumstances and strengthening your our worst case scenario. As we shared our organizations story, we exposed our vulnerability and we found our strength. As I retire from the GALA Board at year’s end, I look to my colleagues with great confidence We have learned that we are in this together that they will lead with fervor and resilience and that the GALA world is more than a worthy of your faith in our GALA family. community. The GALA world is a family. Michael Tate (San Francisco Gay Men’s Together we have suffered and together we Chorus) will become the new Board President have learned. With reduced circumstances, with Maria-Elena Grant (Lavender Light we created virtual shows, a virtual Symposium Gospel Choir) as Vice-President. Becky Porter and a new resource library dedicated to virtual remains as Treasurer and Michael McDonald licensing and production in a Covid-19 world. (Portland Gay Men’s Chorus) joins the While I could ruminate on what 2020 could Executive Committee as Secretary. have been and what a nightmare it became, I I am always awestruck by the enormous talent would prefer to take our learned lessons and of the GALA family and my gratitude is strengths and use them as guideposts into endless for the people who understand that 2021. the future doesn’t just happen. Most We have learned that through transparency, importantly, I look forward to the day when we honor and trust, we could share the real understand ourselves and our impact the cancellation of Festival 2020NE accomplishments in the context of history. had not only on our financial resources but also on our spirits. We have learned that the Dwight Joyner singing membership of the GALA family wants President, Board of Directors us to continue. And continue we will. With the promising conversions of festival registrations, GALA will continue its 411 Programs, including the very needed and demanded New Harmony Project. Our path forward will be more meaningful and together we hold the pen to the open book that will Letter from the Executive Director In November of this year the GALA Choruses we have a high enough percentage of Board of Directors met and made the very responses to see the path forward, the GALA difficult decision to cancel the 2020NE Board will make a decision about the future of the organization. Hopefully, we will be in a Festival. The COVID-19 pandemic has taken position to continue. If so, we will begin its toll on all of us, and like you and your making refunds to those who have expressed choruses, GALA has been hit hard by a need to have their payments returned and cancellations. move on with the programming that Dwight has described in his Letter from the President. GALA operates with minimal resources, a tiny No matter what the future holds it has been an staff and a dedicated Board of Directors. Our honor to serve GALA Choruses and I have no operating budget is almost entirely funded by doubt that we will sing together again! Festival, and many of the production costs for Festival 2020NE had already been paid. Without the revenue generated from Festival, the harsh reality is that GALA Choruses Robin Godfrey cannot survive. Executive Director We asked for your help by donating your Festival registrations rather than requesting refunds, much as many of our choruses had to ask their patrons to do when cancelling concerts for which tickets had already been sold. The response has been amazing and, while we are not yet out of the woods, nearly 2,000 registered Festival delegates have agreed to donate. In addition, we have received nearly $25,000 in cash donations. It is incredibly heartwarming to see this outpouring of love. Throughout the rest of 2020 and into early 2021 we will be continuing to follow up with singers and member choruses in order to resolve the remaining 3,500 registrations for which we have not yet received a response regarding their ability to donate. As soon as GALA Choruses 2020: Supporting Our Movement Through A Challenging Year Vision A world where all voices are free Mission Empowering LGBT Choruses as we change our world through song. Coming soon: even more information about sharing digital performances, copyright considerations in the virtual world, and an overview of software and other resources to GALA Choruses COVID Survival Resource assist in the rehearsal process as well as Center streamlining the virtual choir creation process so that we can keep the music alive. A New Harmony: Equity, Access and Belonging “Many GALA members consider their choruses to be crucial safe spaces in an unsafe world. Unfortunately, this feeling is what can keep LGBT spaces white. When we come together to bond around one identity, we often unconsciously believe that this identity is the only or most In March of 2020, when distancing measures important identity that is in play, ignoring were implemented, many of our member other identities—such as race—that are choruses leapt into the unknown to invent and equally salient.” – Sam Bullington, A New discover new and innovative ways of Harmony Facilitator connecting, rehearsing, and performing. While Amidst the perfect storm of a global pandemic physically apart, we are finding ways to stay and increased awareness after the murder of connected to one another and to our George Floyd, a large number of member communities. choruses have prioritized education and The resource center offers ideas, tools, action addressing racial justice. A recent inspiration, and support to keep your chorus pandemic survey of our member choruses running - making the most of what we can do reported that 40.5 % are addressing racial at this time. We have compiled a solid and justice, and 36% are utilizing GALA Chorus’s helpful list of rehearsal ideas, community- New Harmony workbook for internal training in building practices, fundraising suggestions, their choruses. 30 choirs have requested to and information about putting together virtual download the workbook and 20 of those have choir programs. been since the pandemic began in March 2020. GALA Choruses has experienced an 2020-2021 Artistic Programming increased request for facilitation assistance in utilizing the New Harmony workbook. Three “That was the best thing I have watched in a long time -- THANK YOU so much. New Harmony Task Force members are now Outstanding. Essential. Moving. serving as facilitator consultants for member Goosebumps ending -- WOW.” - virtual choirs and have offered 8 trainings during audience member for Lifting As We Climb 2020 with more requests coming in for 2021. 2020 was a year of both fear and resilience for our member choruses. In spite of reduced staffing, no live audiences, and mostly Zoom rehearsals, many of our choruses managed to devise creative ways to continue “performing” through video, outdoor events, and virtual choirs. A collaboration of five transgender and non- The New Harmony Task Force is holding a binary choruses self-produced a collaborative planning retreat in early January 2021 to virtual ROSES concert for Transgender Day of review our history and set priorities for the Resilience that was beautiful, powerful and work ahead including the following options: empowering. GALA produced two virtual Pride concerts and streamed a new Roma • Quarterly virtual workshops and Commission, Lifting As We Climb, honoring webinars the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage. • Completion of three New Harmony Workbook sections on topics of Neuro Diversity, Intergenerational Dynamics, and Religion • Continued facilitation for member choruses • Training facilitators to lead conversations within their choruses • Preparing workshops for the 2022 GALA Leadership Symposium • Development of a New Harmony As we enter into 2021, GALA choruses Certification program (members and the organization) are facing significant challenges. We struggle with Zoom fatigue for both singers and audiences, waning funding, and huge uncertainty. The many new tools on GALA Chorus’s Resource Center assist choirs in continuing to create new programming and share historical concerts. If funds allow, GALA Choruses will launch a series of virtual events during 2021 in place of Festival. These concerts will highlight individual choirs through recordings of Coffee Concerts that were scheduled for July 2021. We are designing virtual themed Blockbuster concerts that would feature songs from many increased 42% over the 2019 Symposium in of our member choruses. Tucson. In addition to a record high of 461 registered delegates, nearly half of our Training webinars on a variety of Covid- member choruses were represented (93 of relevant topics are continually requested by 190)! our member choruses along with consulting advice from our 411 Advisors. A team of Another advantage of the virtual platform is artistic directors will gather by Zoom in early that most workshop sessions were recorded, 2021 to help determine additional priorities for so delegates no longer had to miss a session GALA’s 2021 programming. while attending another in the same time slot.