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Welcome new member choir SINCORO LGBT & Friendly Rome, Italy Type: SATB Members: 15 Founded: 2019 SinCoro LGBT & Friendly is an LGBT+-friendly choir, affiliated with the LGBT community centre Gay Center and situated in Testaccio neighbourhood, Rome. It was born in 2019 thanks to the intuition of the LGBT association Arcigay Roma and, specifically, the longstanding managerial and musical contribution of Francesco Angeli and Sonia Minnozzi. SinCoro is currently made up of members of different ages and backgrounds, all united by their passion for music and motivation to offer their contribution to LGBT+ issues. First SinCoro’s performance was on TDOR Memorial Day 2019, when the choir executed Cohen's renowned Hallelujah in order to commemorate transgender victims. SinCoro’s repertoire has since then considerably expanded and came to include pop music greatest hits and timeless classics, for example, "The Show Must Go On" and "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year." When the pandemic hit, despite living in isolation, SinCoro did not give up uniting their voices and performed virtually "Somewhere over the Rainbow" in order to show closeness to the LGBT+ community members who were forced to live in lockdown in difficult family settings. While resuming live rehearsals, SinCoro was happy to welcome the Maestro Maria Carolina Luzzo. She conducts the choir with grit, fun and sense of sharing, which are among the keywords of SinCoro. On the occasion of WAD 2021, SinCoro performed a new arrangement of "Hallelujah" and an energetic version of "Hit the road Jack!". In June 2022, SinCoro participated in Cromatica Festival in Rome: a splendid opportunity to share with all Italian LGBT+ choirs their passion for singing and their desire to make LGBT+ community’s voice heard.

Welcome new member choir SPREEDIVEN Berlin, Germany Type: SSAA Members: 20 Founded: 2002 Die Spreediven sind mit allen Wassern gewaschen. Wir sind ein Lesbenchor mit 20 Sänger*innen aus Berlin und dem Umland, sind jung und alt, brünett, blond und Perücken-blau, haben Kinder oder keine und arbeiten oder nicht in den verschiedenen Berufen. Seit 2001 singen wir in wechselnden Besetzungen mit viel Spaß und Schwung. Unter der Leitung von Antje Hagen (hier verlinken mit Chorleitung) haben wir in den vergangenen Jahren unseren musikalischen Spielraum erweitert und neue Sänger*innen hinzugewonnen. Wir sind der Chor für Welle, Gesang und Lebensfreude! Wir verbringen gern Zeit miteinander und das nicht nur zum Singen. Reden, feiern, flirten, tanzen und Ideen spinnen, gemeinsam Texte ausdenken, Herausforderungen meistern. Gelegentlich verabreden wir uns auch für Aktionen ausserhalb der Probenzeiten etwa zum CSD Dykemarsch, zum Frauentag im Südblock… Es haben nicht immer alle Zeit, aber es sind immer alle willkommen. Die Spreediven sind vielseitig. Musikalisch segeln wir auf Pop, Jazz, Klassik, Rap und internationale Folklore.

Welcome new member choir AMSTERDAM GAY MEN'S CHORUS Amsterdam - The Netherlands Type: TTBB Members: 75 / Supporting Members: 15 Founded: 2015 Bringing together more than 80 singers and dancers, the Amsterdam Gay Men’s Chorus is the largest gay men’s chorus in the Netherlands. ​We pride ourselves on being an accepting, open-minded, and supportive group, and we strive to be a safe, welcoming place for gay men who love to sing and dance. The chorus performs several times throughout the year and our repertoire is fun and fresh, ranging from pop and musical theater to jazz, classical, and traditional melodies. AMSTERDAM GAY MEN'S CHORUS (legato-choirs.com)

Welcome new member choir 4NONSTRAIGHTS CHÓR NIEMĘSKI (POST MASC CHOIR) WARSAW - POLAND Type: SATB Members: 30 Founded: 2022 4 Non Straights is an amateur vocal ensemble created by Polish queer people, which performs pop, rock, and musical music in original choral arrangements. Our project focuses on finding "own voice" and overcoming subsequent stereotypes or limitations. The mission is realized not only through concerts and artistic activity but also through the organization of workshops, meetings, and study tours. The 4 Non Straights was launched on July 22, 2022. Currently, it includes 30 queer singers. The goal of the collective is to promote queer culture and art and to build a safer space for queer artists, bands, and singers to work in a creative atmosphere. Since October, the 4 Non Straights is also responsible for organizing two events promoting queer culture and artists in Warsaw and Lublin. More cities are yet to come in 2023. 4NONSTRAIGHTS CHÓR NIEMĘSKI (POST MASC CHOIR) (legato-choirs.com)

Welcome new member choir QUEERCHOR HANNOVER HANNOVER - GERMANY Type: SATB Members: 28 Founded: 2022 The Queerchor Hannover was founded in Spring 2022 and consists of nearly 30 queer singers of all ages between 20 and 70. We're open to all queer persons, regardless of their musical education, and we're encouraging trans persons to join our choir. And the style of our choir? It's a mixture of pop, musical, and traditionals... as colorful and diversified as (queer) life itself. QUEERCHOR HANNOVER (legato-choirs.com)

Welcome new member choir Type: SATB Members: 50 / Supporting Members: 8 Founded: 1992 We are a non-auditioned community choir based in Auckland, New Zealand. Going strong since 1992. It was the first-established gay and lesbian choir in Aotearoa and in 2022 celebrated 30 years of musical community participation. Membership fluctuates between 40 and 70 members, aged between 18 and 80. We generally present two concerts per year in June and November. We also participate at rainbow community events such as Auckland Pride month (February) and significant memorial days. We are members of the New Zealand Choral Federation and participate in local and national combined choral events encouraging rainbow visibility in the wider choral community. Like many Kiwis, we are great travelers. In 2019 GALS performed in Canberra at Australasia's "Out & Loud" choral festival, the latest in a long line of participation at international events including the Gay Games (Amsterdam, Sydney, Chicago Cologne) Various Voices (Dublin, Munich), and the World Outgames in Montreal. We have enjoyed hosting fellow queer choirs from across Australia and New Zealand, at events providing musical collaboration and development, and long-lasting friendships. https://www.legato-choirs.com/members/GALS---AUCKLAND'S-RAINBOW-CHOIR

Welcome new member choir Type: SATB Members: 5 Founded: 2018 The Friends of Dorothy is a queer a cappella group based in Helsinki, Finland, and consists of five singers. Through songs and music from marginalized groups and stories of discrimination, they create exciting performances. The group was established in 2018 and they have performed in Finland, Sweden, and Norway. https://www.legato-choirs.com/members/THE-FRIENDS-OF-DOROTHY

Team Bologna kicked off the weekend with a welcome meet with wine and appetizers on the Friday evening. Our hosts presented us with welcome bags. We were shown their lovely city by the VV Bologna team headed by Nicola Mainardi. There was a short guided walking tour on Saturday morning, we started in the Piazza Maggiore with the famous fountain and statue of Neptune, the location for the Friday evening big film and singing event at Various Voices Bologna 2023. Across the square we entered the magnificent Palazzo d’Accursio, the city hall, and sat in the Council chamber where we were addressed by the Deputy Mayor. She described the five year agreement about to be signed with a range of LGBTQ+ organisations in Bologna, and very much welcomed the arrival of the several thousand singers next year in Various Voices. Martin Brophy, our President responded on behalf of Legato. Bologna is the LGBTQ+ capital of Italy, and there are more than 30 active LGBTQ+ organisations in the city. It has a reputation for being the most socially liberal of all Italian cities, and had a strong ‘Red’ past – communists and socialists and social democrats – and a very strong anti-fascist tradition. We toured 3 or the 4 performance venues as well as the VV Village location, DumBo about 1.5km a good walk or 10 minute bus ride from Piazza Maggiore. On Saturday evening we toured the very impressive international museum and library of Music of Bologna with a musical tour followed by a concert by “Il Quinto Elemento”, women's jazz improv ensemble. The weekend ended with a lovely brunch at a queer friendly California Bakery to say good bye to new friends KOMOS Komos is the first LGBTQ+ male voice choir in Italy, as it was born in 2008. In 2015 Komos organized the first edition of Cromatica – Italian rainbow choir festival. For all the latest information and updates please refer to the VV Bologna website. Here is a bit more information we collected at the weekend. Volunteering may be available but everyone has to register because there will be no day tickets for the concerts in the theatres. Other performance opportunities 1. A day at the museum: singing during a public guided tour of a museum 2. V3 Performances: singing on the evening stages of the Various Voices Village, DumBo 3. VV and the city: singing in the city centre of Bologna, outdoors and in direct contact with people 4. The Festival: different locations are available. From the Binario Centrale for large choirs to the Baia for smaller ensembles. Locations Bologna Bologna is a city with one of the largest historic centers in Italy and offers many interesting places to visit. It has a large green area in the south of the city (the hills of bologna) where you can have outdoor experiences. but it is also a city famous for its openness to minority rights and the LGBTQ+ world. A range of guided tours is being offered to registered delegates (details on website). Piazza Maggiore It is Bologna’s beating heart and the place where for centuries the city life has had its natural stage. During Various Voices it is going to be the Great Gala’s wonderful venue. Venues All the venues are owned by the local council and are traditional older buildings with some accessibility limitations. Tech rehearsals will be run by inhouse teams. Venues are allocated based on enquiries to be made later to the registered choirs to establish their needs, numbers and access requests, as well as time restraints or other choir commitments. They were unsure if they will ask choirs to make a venue preference. And Choirs need to manage expectations as VVB will be delivered in a unique Italian style. Teatro Auditorium Manzoni Concert hall set in 1933, with stalls, two galleries and three balcony floors (1236 seats) max: 120 on stage. Warm up space in theatre, some steps. Arena del Sole Set in 1810, the Sala Grande has stalls, two tribunes and a gallery (888 seats) max: 60 on stage. Warm up in studio theatre downstairs and cloister open bar with small stage; lots of steps. Teatro Duse Set in 1822, 999-seat theatre, the twentieth-century frieze surmounts the proscenium with a majestic central chandelier. We did not visit as the theatre was in use. It sound like it may be anaccessible challenge. Oratorio di San Filippo Neri The Oratory of San Filippo Neri s a restored late-Baroque religious structure. It has 300 seats with a stage and 2 balconies /organ loft for up to 10 singers, fully restored it has ramp access from the street with 8 steps to main stage. Warm up is in building nearby. DumBo – VV VILLAGE The gathering point of nightlife during the festival will be Various Voices Village, which will be set in DumBO – Multifunctional urban district of Bologna: a 40k m2 surface urban area regenerated from a former freight yard. Recovered sheds and open areas are the perfect scenery for the opening and closing events. From sunset they will become dancefloors, with DJ-sets and other events. Everything will happen at a short distance from Bologna city centre and from the train- and bus-station. May be open to the public Museums MAMbo – Modern Art Museum of Bologna ... has hosted from 2007 on permanent modern and contemporary art collections, together with temporary exhibitions. The building was built in 1915 as “bread oven” of Bologna and is today part of Manifattura delle Arti, together with DAMS Faculty, Cineteca di Bologna and Cassero LGBTI Center.The museum has exhibition rooms, a bistrot and the CorrainiMAMbo art bookshop. Bologna’s international music museum and library opened in 2004, is set inside the fascinating Palazzo Sanguinetti (in Strada Maggiore, city center). Its majestic collections of ancient instruments are placed in the richly decorated rooms, in order to celebrate music in every form and expression. An incredible space full of music treasures and a great space for small number only 8/10 singers. Various voices Italy tour Like in a ”prequel” of Bologna’s Festival, the choirs that have applied will have the chance to take part to events and concerts in other Italian cities, hosted by local LGBTQ+ choirs, before the beginning of 2023 edition (June 12th-13th): All these concerts are going to be coordinated by Cromatica, the Italian rainbow choir's association. Accommodation There is a lot of mixed accommodation that is being handled by theirTeam Bologna’s organising agency, that offer VVB a 10%. Prices cannot be quoted until at least within 12 months. Email on website for bulk bookings. Good international airport and train connections – monorail from airport to central station takes 7 minutes for around €9.20. Lots of buses about €1.50 per journey, decent app and connectivity. Both have touch and go technology for tickets. Bikes schemes and hire, scooter or vespa rentals are also available in this easy walking city. Accessibility - Like most Italian cities Bologna being an UNESCO world heritage city, accessibility is a challenge. VVB trialed during the Rendezvous weekend a duo bike scheme to assist those less able to be moved around theatres in the day by volunteers. Check out all current details at the VV Bologna website: https://various-voices.it/

After 2 years of forced absence, Cromatica Festival was finally back. The national festival of Italian LGBT + choirs: an event of music, activism and culture to give voice to the needs of the community and color the streets and squares of Rome in the month of Pride. "Back Together", this was the claim of the fifth edition of the rainbow music festival which took place in the capital from 3 to 5 June. The gala went on scene Saturday 4 June at the Brancaccio Theater, where over 350 singers of 14 rainbow choirs were performing on stage from all over Italy: from Bergamo to Bari, passing for Milan, Padua, Turin, Bologna, Perugia, and Florence. Leading the evening will be Karma B, the famous Drag Queen duo, and with them many guests including Frad, cartoonist and comedian, Daniele Gattano, the stand up comedian already the face of Comedy Central and the actor and performer Federico Sacchi. The opening night of the Cromatica Party was held on Friday 3 June in the exclusive location of the Giardini delle Terme di Traiano in via delle Terme di Traiano 4 (Colle Opium): the evening was open to access and was hosted as part of the events of the Pride Croisette, which opens Pride Week, which will not lack speeches and debates in view of the Rome Pride on 11 June. Cromatica lgbt festival 2022

In 2015, the foundation Nederlands Rozekorenfestival (NRKF) was established. A foundation that wants to increase the awareness and visibility of all LGBTIQ+ choirs in the Netherlands. The second edition of the festival took place on Saturday 7 May 2022. The Hague gay men's choir Vox Rosa and women's choir De Heksenketel organized this day on behalf of the foundation. In the afternoon there were performances by the 12 participating choirs in the open air. At 3 striking places in the city center of The Hague: on the Grote Markt, next to 't Goude Hooft and in the Haagsche Bluf. In the evening the festival concert was held in the Amare Concert Hall. Check here for more Fotos and Videos from this event

After the pandemic subsided, we all developed a "ravenous appetite" for choir concerts - and a festival is a very good motivation and an attractive goal to get out of isolation and back into cultural life with one's choir. It had to be postponed for a year, but over the long weekend in mid June, about 520 participants from 19 choirs and two music ensembles (an orchestra and a big band) finally came to Munich to the Alte Kongresshalle for the 14th South German gay-lesbian queer choir and music festival. The festival takes place every two years in a different southern German city and under a different name. In Munich the festival is called MONACCORD. The organising team in Munich (almost the same team that organised the Various Voices Festival 2018) was very proud that all choirs from southern Germany and two guest choirs from Switzerland actually took part in this festival, which is a novelty. In addition, the first Munich trans* choir was also there, making their first public appearance: the Queerilla Singers. On three evenings, the following choirs presented their diverse programmes in front of a packed concert hall and earned great applause: DonnAcappella // Groove Sistaz (women's big band) // Liederliche Lesben // Lilamunde // Die Mainsirenen // Melodiva // Musica Lesbiana // Philhomoniker // Queerbeet-Chor // Queerilla Singers // Rainbow Sound Orchestra // Regenbogenchor // RosaKehlchen // Rosa Note // Saarbrücken gemischt hoch zwei // Die Schrillmänner // Die Trällerpfeifen // Die Uferlosen // Die WEIBrations and the two guest choirs from Bern: Schwubs // Sweet and Power. In addition, they also presented themselves to the public on two afternoons on a specially erected stage in the pedestrian zone in free open air concerts. The big party on Saturday evening after the last concert in the foyer of the Alte Kongresshalle was also a great success - but not the end. That took place on Sunday morning, when six choirs presented their contributions for the future festival anthem in an ESC-like competition. There were contributions from previous festivals but also three new compositions. After an exciting count, the prize went to the Nuremberg choir "Die Trällerpfeifen", who together with the Karlsruhe choir "Die WEIBrations" presented the song by Hans Leinberger "SING". It should not go unmentioned that the City of Munich has once again generously supported this festival financially - as she did in 2018 for Various Voices: the usual fee for participants could therefore be halved. And last but definetely not least, we and munichkyivqueer would also like to thank you for your willingness to donate. In total, almost 4000 euros came together on the festival weekend! This is a great sum with which we can support Ukrainian refugees in Munich and the LGBTIQ* community in Ukraine. Thank you very much for that! MONACCORD REPORT in German and English

Welcome new member choir Type: SATB Members: 15 Founded: 2020 Helsingin Queer feministinen kuoro is a chamber choir founded in 2020 that performs music with a queer and/or feminist touch. Helsingin Queer feministinen kuoro was founded in the middle of a pandemic, and it was able to appear for the first time in November 2021 as a compact but loud octet. There are already more of us now. Our choir is led by Kirsi Martinen, who turns queer out of everything about tone purity. https://www.legato-choirs.com/members/HELSINGIN-QUEER-FEMINISTINEN-KUORO