On Saturday, March 20, 2021 at 8pm, almost a year after it was to perform a program titled The California Sound onstage at Alex Theatre in Glendale, The Gay Mens’ Chorus of Los Angeles will stream a love letter to California and its musical heritage. The concert features 90 GMCLA members led by Music Director & Conductor Ernest H. Harrison. The virtual event features individual performances woven together and edited into a concert which, with additional video footage and commentary, becomes a narrative that is both timeless and current. This is the story of our love for California, its music and culture, and why — as members of the queer community — we came here, stayed here, and where we stand today. RESERVATIONS FOR THE CALIFORNIA SOUND, which is streaming free, can be made at GMCLA. Those who sign up will receive a link to stream the concert and then be able to re-play it for 48 hours.
The 45-minute program celebrates the sound and artists of California from 60’s classic harmonies like The Beach Boys’ Surfin’ USA and God Only Knows and The Mamas and the Papas’ California Dreamin’, to current California artists with Aloe Blacc’s soul-wrenching Wake Me Up, Billie Eilish’s mega-hit Bad Guy, and Shawn Kircher’s beloved choral work I’ll Be on My Way.
Special guests Carnie and Wendy Wilson, daughters of Beach Boy Brian Wilson and chart-topping members of Wilson Phillips, will sing their father’s Surf’s Up. Governor Gavin Newsom will make a special appearance and welcome as part of this program honoring California. Melvin Robert anchor of Spectrum TV news will host the concert.
GMCLA members have continued to rehearse and perform virtually throughout the pandemic shutdown. The Chorus’s December 2020 Holiday concert reached over 10,000 people in the Los Angeles region and throughout the globe.
