The birthplace of America. Philadelphia is the site where the founding fathers conceived and produced the Declaration of Independence. Once the colonies gained independence it was here, in Philadelphia, that the Constitution of the United States was drafted. The men who worked towards building our nation formed a brotherhood and a bond based on the common experience they shared. We, the members of the Philadelphia Gay Men's Chorus (PGMC) have a similar relationship with one another. Just as the founding fathers squabbled and experienced friction, we have a tendency to fray each others' edges. However, it is our love of music that binds us and creates the connection between us. Furthering this bond was the shared experience that was GALA Festival VIII.

Philadelphia Gay Men's Chorus (PGMC) - has an official mission which you can read on our website ( www.pgmc.org ). If you go by our behavior our mission is to talk incessantly and loudly, laugh, make catty remarks at others' expense, drink great quantities of alcohol, verbally step on each others toes, have more alcohol, occasionally have inappropriate hook ups, and oh yes - SING!

Two of my friends in the chorus have coined a word in my honor. They have on occasion referred to me as the chorus “twank”. That's a twink that is waaaay past it. For the mainstream America crowd, a twink is a young, gay male typically thin in his teens or twenties. The namesake of twinks is the " golden-colored phallic -shaped snack cake" Hostess Twinkie , commonly regarded as the quintessential junk food : "little nutritional value, sweet to the taste and creme-filled." Other roles I take on is the grunt worker. Most weeks I either set up or help set up our rehearsal space and have helped with set up of our concerts. I was an integral member of our GALA committee. Currently, I am the Social Co-Chair for the chorus providing opportunities for chorus members to get to know each other better, let off steam, and explore Philadelphia. I have been singing with PGMC for 3 years. 

Every four years, gay and lesbian choruses gather in one city to perform and share experiences. In 2008, the Festival is being held in Miami, Florida. The centerpiece of Festival is the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts (formerly the Carnival Center) which will be the home for all of the concert blocks. The Arsht Center is a brand new performing arts venue, beautifully designed and equipped with state-of-the-art resources, in which to present performances of the highest artistic quality where audiences can enjoy an incomparable entertainment experience. Over 130 choruses and ensembles are scheduled to perform during the week-long Festival. Festival also includes many other activities besides the concert blocks. GALA Choruses is hosting two parties, one on Wednesday evening at Jungle Island. On Friday evening the party heads to South Beach to the spectacular Nikki Beach for an evening of dancing and fun on the beach.
Mornings during Festival will include workshops, time to visit the Expo and shop at the GALA store along with a series of special performances in the Hilton ballroom.

Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses is an umbrella organization providing support to choruses around the world. Through workshops, festivals and ongoing networking and administrative support services, GALA Choruses fosters the continued artistic and organizational growth of its member choruses.

GALA preparations began in the summer of 2007. It was at this point that a chorus member who had just auditioned asked if he could be my roommate. I had not made any commitments at this point. Frankly, I don't think any one had at that point. I was more than happy to oblige so long as he did not snore loudly. The chorus member in question is Mark B.

I was well aquainted with his boyfriend, Alan. Alan had given me the boyfriend stamp of approval. I probably had gotten the stamp of approval because Alan recognized that I in no way resemble anything close to Mark's type. Hopefully, Alan also recognized that I actually have morals and scruples. I just don't get intimate with men who have significant others. First, I think of how it would feel should I be the boyfriend back home. Second, karma is a bitch. Third, I need to be numero uno. I come first. I am not built to be someone's plaything to be tossed aside when finished.

I fully intended on staying for the full week of the festival. Mark is psyched to stay the whole week as well. Time marches on. Chorus members find their respective roommates. PGMC makes arrangements to book everyone's hotel room. It is only AFTER everyone has found someone to share a room; and AFTER the room is booked that Alan puts the pressure onto Mark to cut his visit in Miami short. Alan has a 2-1/2 year old son and at this point was awaiting the birth of his twins. They would be born in May. Alan and Mark had not been a couple for even a year yet. They did not share a household. They were dating monogamously. Even though I would not consider them to be a partnered couple Alan convinced Mark that it would be a great help if he would cut the Miami trip short to help with the newborns and the 3 year old. Mark acquiesces. I, meanwhile, have no idea that any of this is going on.

Early one weekday morning I receive a text message from Adrienne, the chorus princess. She's the one who informs me that Mark would not be staying the full 9 night stay and only be staying 4 nights. AAAAaaaagh! I don't have the money to pay for a room all on my own for 5 nights. Adrienne had been going through her own little drama of trying to find a roommate. It didn't look like she would be able to go. Solution: Adrienne rooms with Douglas!

Time marches on. Mark and Alan have an acrimonious parting of the ways. Mark is back on for the full 9 nights. Time marches on. Mark and Alan reunite and is only going to stay 4 nights. Time marches on. I go through a few more yo-yo scenarios with Mark only to find that he has decided to not go to Miami at all.

Within a day of Mark deciding not to go to Miami, my partner in crime Onat decides he wants to go to Miami. Adrienne is on board for anything. She is just happy she has a place to crash in Miami. I love low maintenance women! Time marches on. Onat cancels going to Miami because his family from Turkey will be in the states at that time. Time marches on. It is now a week or so before we leave for Miami. I find out from Josh D. that he has been experiencing his own drama. Two of his roommates have dropped out and now he and Steve D. need lodging. I offer to house them in my room. Josh and Steve are staying for only 4 nights. Adrienne and I stay the whole 9 nights. Hopefully the drama has ended, but then again we are talking about gay men.

Late spring, early summer of 2007 a GALA committee is formed to help guide the chorus to a fantastic community experience. Albert and Josh E. (Shua) are appointed by the board as co-chairs of this enterprise. As Social Chair it just made sense to have me on the committee. GALA had produced a documentary about the GALA 2004 festival experience, "Why We Sing". The movie follows four different choruses through their journey at GALA Festival in Montreal.  We had 3 different showings of the movie to generate excitement and interest in the festival along with a Q & A session, and as much initial information about the 2008 Miami festival as we could provide. The first "Why We Sing" event was a dessert pot luck. The second was a wine and cheese party. We did nothing special for the third showing. 'Why We Sing" definitely was successful in motivating singers into registering early for the festival. Kudos to the producers of "Why We Sing"; I love that movie.

Albert went on a scouting mission of his own and explored Miami and all the host hotels that GALA had arranged. Albert decided we should book rooms at the Marriott Biscayne Bay for the following reasons: 1. a refrigerator was in the room, 2. rooms had a balcony, 3. hotel is within a five minute walk of the performance venues.

Albert and Shua had gathered all the rooming information from all delegates. The moment that online booking was available they got on their laptops and tried to book us all into our chosen hotel. There was a slight glitch. GALA eventually fixed the issue. We all ended up being booked into the Marriott as desired.

Albert was the Vice President of Fundraising for the chorus. He worked very hard in order to create a stipend for the delegates to offset costs. Unfortunately, the chorus experienced financial setbacks and snafus. The good news is the chorus still exists and we ended up going to GALA.

Albert and I created a packet for all PGMC delegates. Included in the packet was a packing checklist, packing advice, map of the downtown Miami area, lists of restaurants and essential stores, a mini pocket sized guide to all of the events, a personal organizer to record confirmation numbers and reservations for GALA registration, flights, shuttles, and hotel. I also asked Steve G., former Miami hotel concierge and hotel manager to create a list of must-sees, must-dos and restaurants. He did such an excellent job and came up with a thorough database that we decided to send the information via email. Our packet already ended up costing us a pretty penny with all the photocopying. Note to self: for 2012 have the entire packet online for individuals to print out on their own. It doesn't cost the chorus a penny.