The last note from their season finale at The Parker has barely faded, but the Gay Men’s Chorus of South Florida (GMCSF) is already warmed up and took the show on the road.

Members headed to Minneapolis for a quadrennial event that brings LGBTQ-centric choirs together to share ideas, strategies, and performances.

The GALA Choruses Festival took place in Minneapolis July 10-14. GALA stands for The Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses.

“Eight thousand LGBTQ+ chorus members will descend on Minneapolis, and it’s gonna be one, big gay chorus fest,” GMCSF Artistic Director Gabe Salazar said.

Like most things in 2020, GALA didn’t happen, making this year extra special and filled with first-timers, including Salazar. “I think there’s so much anticipation and so much excitement since we haven’t gathered in so long. I think it’s going to be pretty epic.”

While they’re in the Twin Cities, they needed lots of hot tea to get them through the weekend. Venues throughout the area hosted concerts nearly nonstop. Think of it like a film festival, where there are so many great shows you can’t see them all.

GMCSF hosted the choral directors in January as they prepared for July’s mega-singoff. There was excitement in the air even back then.

“There is that sense of belonging that LGBTQ people tend to be in the minority. Then all of a sudden you’re at an event where you’re the majority,” Craig Koogan of the Seattle Men’s Chorus and Seattle Women’s Chorus said.

Music selections reflect how the cities represent their queer communities. “We think a lot about queer artists and try to have queer composers and queer lyricists and or queer arrangers,” John Carrion from New York’s Gay Men’s Chorus said. “It’s key to showcase our community.”

You can stream them at GalaChoruses.org.