10 LGBTQ+ Choirs in London
Here is a growing selection of LGBTQ+ choirs of different sizes and styles, rehearsing and performing in a variety of places across London.
An advanced singers choir, The Fourth Choir focuses on performing works from early music through to contemporary choral works. Formed in September 2013, their aim is to represent the LGBT+ community on London's world-class classical music scene.
Rehearsing on Thursday evenings in Lambeth (19:00-21:30), you must request an audition to join through the application form on their website. There is no sign up fee, with the choir receiving voluntary donations as well as being able to offer grants to those who need support related to factors such as touring.
TRANS VOICES
Co-founded by Ilā Kamalagharan and Coda Nicolaeff, TRANS VOICES is the UK’s first professional trans+ vocal collective, blending meditative soundscapes, choral tradition, emerging technology and bold vocal experimentation. Passionate about reclaiming spaces where trans perspectives are rarely heard, the collective is part of the wider family of London Contemporary Voices who are currently featured in the Barbican Centre exhibition Feel the Sound with UN/BOUND. They have also performed at Tate Britain, Kew Gardens and Royal Opera House to name a few.
Started in 1983, Pink Singers is the longest-running LGBT+ choir in Europe. It has 90 amateur singers of ages 18-75+ who come together to sing, perform, and raise awareness of LGBTQ+ issues in wider society.
Auditions take place twice a year. You don’t need to be able to read music to join. There is a recommended minimum donation of around £30 per month, to cover the cost of music, room hire and the paid musical staff. There is a subsidised rate of around £10 a month for people who have difficulty meeting these costs.
Rehearsals take place every Sunday from 2-6pm in central London. All songs are memorised so that the group can perform without music.
Boasting over 200 members, the LGMC is the largest gay choir in Europe and regularly plays to sell-out crowds at Southbank Centre, Cadogan Hall and the Roundhouse. The chorus has been lucky enough to have worked with artists including pop stars Mark Ronson and Elton John, country legend Dolly Parton, and comedienne Sandi Toksvig.
The Chorus usually takes on members audition twice a year (in January and around August). Rehearsals take place every Monday evening in Camden, and there is also a monthly all-day weekend rehearsal. You don’t need to be able to read music.
F*Choir is a 60-strong, London-based, all-genders community choir founded by composer and multidisciplinary artist Jenny Moore. They focus on singing songs about gender, sexuality, freedom and rage.
Unlike other choirs on this list, F*Choir don’t use traditional sheet music and gendered voice parts or auditions, but instead devise other ways to notate and perform Moore’s high energy arrangements.
Signing up is determined by their capacity of 60 fluctuating - as people leave, new people join. Spaces in the core choir are offered to folks that have been to our open sessions first.
Helmed as the original LGBT choir, Diversity Choir are building upon their successes, performances have included a very diverse repertoire, ranging from the middle ages to the contemporary, from Mozart to ABBA and back again.
Usually performing two concerts each year they also perform regularly abroad, with recent trips including Berlin, Munich, Dublin, and Krakóv. Joining Diversity Choir requires an audition which can be arranged via contacting their membership secretary on the website.
Established in 2019, Rebelle Voices are one of London's non-auditioning choirs. A fun and friendly choir, they provide a safe space for LGBTQ+ women, trans and non-binary people as well as supporting the wider LGBTQ+ community who sing together and promote visibility through performance and activism. Their focus is to perform upper voice repertoire to a high standard and to enjoy singing together as a community.
Currently, they offer two free taster sessions for those curious about joining.
Set up in 2010 by a group of friends united by their love of a cappella and gin, The Harmonicas, as they are fondly known (at least to each other) sing everything from folk songs to Lady Gaga and have performed at a range of events and venues from Cadogan Hall to the Brighton Dome and at weddings, birthdays and charity concerts.
Starting in 2022 as a group of around 15 queer strangers meeting in a room, SE London Queer Choir has grown into a vibrant community of around 40. Founded by Genevieve Dawson, the choir has created a radical and inclusive space where singers are not boxed into vocal parts and are able to lift each other up during pressing times. They are proud to have raised money for a variety of charitable causes. To join, you must complete their waiting list form advertised on their Instagram page.
For those not wishing to perform in a concert setting, Many Voices is an LGBTQIA+ who, in their words, “sing because we like it.” Instead, sessions are structured more like workshops aiming to explore a variety of traditions and cultures.
Emphasising this laid back style further, there is no need to be able to read sheet music, no commitment, no auditions and no striving for perfection.
Rehearsing near Notting Hill Gate tube station, each session costs £10 (£5 concessions) with half price tickets for those who arrive early and help set up, all of which is provided on a first come first serve basis.
Hannah Fiddy is a creative entrepreneur, developing new audiences for classical music. She has created and promoted numerous concerts outside of traditional spaces, including warehouses, pubs, clubs, museums, hospitals, prisons and even in Primark. Hannah is also an interviewer, writer and guest lecturer. In a past life she founded London Flashmob, producing quirky events from wedding proposals to cultural pranks for up to 1,000 people.
