Monday, July 7, 2008

Reveille off to Miami for GALA Festival


TUCSON (Observer Update) - Reveille Men's Chorus will be departing Friday (July11) for their groundbreaking trip to Miami, Florida to participate in the GALA (Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses) VIII Conference, July 12 - 19.

Reveille will be joining over 150 GLBT choruses from around the world (5,700 singers) for a week of music and pride. Reveille is very proud to represent Tucson at this event as they have for the past 12 years. In addition to performing the chorus members will be attending the performances of all the other choruses representing their cities (or countries), seminars and classes, and of course there's a lot of fun activities planned too (South Beach is just a cab's ride away). "GALA Conference is held once every four years and for someone who has never been to one it's hard to describe just what an amazing experience it is," said Reveille singer and board treasurer Ted Rigney. "The love and support you feel from all the other choruses is amazing and let's face it, to spend a week with over 5,000 gay and lesbian people isn't bad!"

Reveille has been planning this trip for over a year now. "The logistics of getting a 25 member chorus to conference like this can be daunting," said Michael Monyak, Board President. "I guess that's one reason why this conference is only held once every four years when you think of accommodations for 6,000 singers, the venues, etc. Of course, not all of our members could afford to go on such a trip and it was very important to us to make sure that all Reveille members who wanted to go to Miami could go. The chorus has been busy over the past year sponsoring many fundraisers to raise money for their GALA Scholarship Fund."

"The local community has been so great to us," remarked Jeffrey Bracker, Chorus President. "Woody's has allowed us to hold several beer busts at their bar and Colors Food and Spirits hosted a fundraising party for us. One of our members is a waiter at Vila Thai Restaurant on University Blvd. and the owners have had a fundraiser for us there every Wednesday evening for the past three weeks. We are blown away by the support." Now with less than a week to go Reveille has met their fundraising goal and they are off to Miami for a week of music, sharing, magic, and a lifetime of memories.

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