Sing Out Sydney

Twenty five years ago (or thereabouts) I remember attending the National Choral Championships in Wagga Wagga. Although it sounds fairly tame, the championship organisers found themselves the subject of national media interest, as they asked the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Choir to change their name to the “Eastern Suburbs Choir” (or something like that). The SGLC refused, and went on to win the championships that year in the community choir section.

A year later, they were back in Wagga Wagga. This time around, I was also involved in the National Choral Championships as host for the afternoon session (while the main host took a break). This time around the SGLC didn’t win, sadly. But there was still a lot of joy in seeing them compete. Vividly, I remember the choir invited members of the Riverina Gay and Lesbian Social & Support Group back to a restaurant to join with them in a joyous celebration of song. I also did a report on the event for “The World Today” on ABC Radio, though sadly it’s not in the archives. If you have a copy of the report, I’d love you to get in touch, as it remains a treasured part of my own broadcast history.

Today, I saw the SGLC, along with a number of other community choirs in Sydney (about 400 people) take part in Sing Out Sydney, an event organised by 702 ABC Sydney. There’s nothing quite like hearing so many people singing together.