Welcome to a new gay chorus.
We’ve been working hard for the past year to modernize our organization and move us into our next phase. So we are extremely excited to announce that Bayou City Performing Arts is now…
Pride Chorus Houston (PCH) came from a desire to create an inclusive space for everyone who wants to be a voice for the LGBTQ+ community. We are excited to share with you what we hope is a stronger, more modern organization, and we hope you will join us on our journey!
Why the name change?
There are several reasons we decided to change our name. First and foremost was inclusion. Our two main choral groups, the Gay Men’s Chorus of Houston and Bayou City Women’s Chorus, often received questions from people who wanted to join, but weren’t sure there was a place for them. Can bisexual people join the gay chorus? Should a trans person join the chorus that matches their identity, or their voice part? With Pride Chorus Houston, we are sending the message that every person, no matter their sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, race, creed, age, or ethnicity, has a place in our chorus so long as they want to sing with Pride.
Secondly, we want to represent our home town, Houston, on an increasingly globalized stage. As members of GALA Choruses, the Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses, people sometimes wonder where exactly the Bayou City is. With our new name, it’s clear: H-Town, baby! We are proud of our city, and want to represent it visibly.
New chorus, new fresh look.
With our new name, we knew we wanted a fresh, modern look to reflect who we are. We got to work designing our new logo and brand identity. Our new logo features a fresh, bold font and a punchy rainbow graphic reminiscent of a 5-lined musical staff. It also evokes the image of an ampitheatre, one of the oldest stages for concerts and performances. We think this new look is perfect to start our next phase as an LGBTQ+ affirming music organization.
What happens to GMCH and BCWC?
One of our core values throughout this process and going forward to is respect our organization’s history as well as the history of the LGBTQ+ community and the gay choral movement. We have been making music as an organization continuously since 1980, including as the Gay Men’s Chorus of Houston since 1992 and Bayou City Women’s Chorus since 2005. This history is important, and we aren’t ready to abandon those names yet. We will still be using those names to refer to TTBB and SSAA smaller groups within the chorus which will perform at concerts and in the community.
I want to know more!
Be sure to explore our new site! Visit the About Us section to learn more about our updated Vision, Mission Statement, and Core Values. If you want to read more about the history of our organization, don’t miss JD Doyle’s incredible archival work at Queer Music Heritage. And if you want to know how you can get involved, visit our membership page!