Below is more information about the participating choirs (in alphabetical order).
Cantatori del Duomo
Chorillas
daChor Colonia
DFKS
dieTAKTLOSEN
GALS
Homophon
Kölner Spitzbuben
Le Zbor
Mannenkoorts
Manoeuvre
Rheintöchter
Zauberflöten
Musical Director: Loes Egbers
www.cantatori-del-duomo.nl
Choral Concert on Friday, August 06
In the beginning ... Cantatori del Duomo ('Cathedral Singers') is the name of this men's choir from the beautiful Dutch city of Utrecht. Ever since its founding in 1990, this gay amateur choir proudly and passionately sings about all the beautiful and sometimes difficult sides of life. Cantatori del Duomo presents a colourful repertoire of pop, musical, cabaret and (Dutch) folk songs. All songs are specially arranged for this four-voiced choir, and the group uses subtle choreography and sometimes surprising changes. "To touch and to amuse" is Cantatori's style. With a little pink flavour of course, but always straight from the heart.
Musical Director: Julia Cramer
www.chorillas.de
Choral Concert on Monday, August 02
Open Air on Sunday, August 01
The „Chorillas“ – since 2005 this mixture of strong women’s voices shares its enthusiasm for singing together powerfully and soulfully. Be it jazz, pop, disco or “Schlager” – the “Chorillas” concerts are always little stories telling of love, life and love for life. Sometimes romantic and playful, sometimes snappy and mean, they take audiences along on a journey of deep emotion and allow space for dreaming. They are made to caress the ears with harmony, to warm the hearts, and to put smiles on the faces.
Musical Director: Annette Piel
www.dachor-colonia.de
Choral Concert on Friday, August 06
Open Air on Sunday, August 01
daChor Colonia is the most recent lesbian and gay choir in Cologne. Since April 2008 they have been conducted by Annette Piel, at the beginning as a women’s choir and since September 2009 as a mixed one. Their repertoire combines serious gems with German pop songs and is continuously growing.
They look forward to finding more male singers.
Musical Director: Thomas Wien-Pegelow
www.dfks.de
Choral Concert on Sunday, August 01
Open Air on Tuesday, August 03
For more than 12 years the red headed quintuplets and their masculine companions are one of the most extravagant choirs not only in the gay scene of Cologne, but also in Germany.
Always perfectly dressed up, singing a cappella bitchy songs about everything that moves gay men’s hearts. You can´t compare the nine men with anything else you´ve ever seen in the gay choir scene – have fun with Die Fetten Koketten Soubretten.
Musical Director: Ilka Tenne
www.dietaktlosen.de
Choral Concert on Monday, August 02
Open Air on Sunday, August 01
Lesbians, gay men, and their straight friends making music together and having fun Harmonies, rhythms, kitsch and charm. A wide-ranging repertoire. And a consistently high degree of choral competence.
Performing full choir a-cappella, solo, or in small ensembles. Established in 1997under the professional guidance of choral director, Ilka Tenne. diETAKTLOSEN have since become a musical highlight within Cologne’s lesbian and gay scene.
Musical Director: Stephen Bowness (Ruth Gilbert in Cologne)
www.gals.org.nz
Choral Concert on Sunday, August 01
Open Air on Tuesday, August 03
GALS (Gay and Lesbian Singers) is a non-auditioned gay and lesbian community choir from Auckland, New Zealand. Going strong since 1992, they were the first gay and lesbian choir in New Zealand. There are 35-40 active members, with a balanced mix of men and women who range in age from 16 to 78. A select nine are here in Cologne to perform for you. They enjoy singing an eclectic mix of music ranging from contemporary choral works to show tunes. The choir successfully organized and hosted the Australasian Out and Loud Choral Festival in Auckland at Easter 2010 for 10 choirs and over 200 choristers from across Australia, New Zealand and a sprinkling from the USA.
Musical Director: Benno Jockweg
www.homophon.de
Choral Concert on Monday, August 02
Open Air on Tuesday, August 03
1987, the year Homophon was founded, the region was astonished. There has always been something like this in Berlin or Cologne – but in Münster? Colorful or simple, vicious or well-behaved – but always good-looking, the acapella singers have made their unusual stageshows their trademark. In Cologne, Homophon presents a part of its current program.
At the senior residence “Arthrosa” the twelve singers wait for the centennially person celebrating his jubilee. Meanwhile, they pass the time with the real essential questions of a long life.
Can Gays age at all? What has to happen, so that a former eternal juvenile face gets something like wrinkles? And what do you wear with that?
Musical Director: Susanne Bellinghausen
www.koelner-spitzbuben.de
Choral Concert on Friday, August 06
Open Air on Tuesday, August 03
Kölner SPITZbuben (Rogue of Cologne)
Whether in old English love songs, French film music, German pop-trash, or overseas swing - the recent Men's Chorus of the Cologne “Stimmfusion” is always very passionate with the material.
Even if some notes are sometimes accompanied with choreography, the focus of the about 20 singers is clearly in the musical field.
Under the new Choir Director Susanne Bellinghausen, the boys are currently rehearsing the repertoire for their on 13 and 14 November 2010 presented concert in “Theaterhaus Köln” in Cologne-Ehrenfeld.
Musical Director: Lidija Dokuzovic
www.lezbor.com
Choral Concert on Sunday, August 01
Open Air on Tuesday, August 03
Inspired by the growing need for promoting lesbian-feminist sociocultural visibility, this group of feminists started an initiative to form an lesbian-feminist choir.
“Le Zbor” was formed in October, 2005. and currently consists of 17 members/singers.
"Le Zbor" tries through art to contribute to the advancement of women´s and LGBTIQ rights. Their approach combines grassroots activism with artistic expression.
From 2005. until now, “Le Zbor” has held 80 concerts in Croatia and abroad. “Le Zbor” partcipated in many cultural projects, theatre shows, exhibitions, fashion shows, films, and even in cartoons.
Musical Director: René Jakobs
www.mannenkoorts.nl
Choral Concert on Friday, August 06
Open Air on Sunday, August 01/Tuesday, August 03
Mannenkoorts is a small Dutch a cappella group based in The Hague but the eight members are drawn from across the Netherlands. Mannenkoorts, which is best translated as “gay fever”, brings a combination of stunning close harmony music combined with exquisite staging and choreographies. From their inception 15 years ago, Mannenkoorts have worked with their musical director René Jakobs and choreographer Hanna Samson. Mannenkoorts has twice performed at earlier Gay Games: in the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam in 1998 and at the famous Opera House in Sydney in 2002.
Musical Director: Floor Erp
www.manoeuvre.nl
Choral Concert on Monday, August 02
Open Air on Sunday, August 01
Manoeuvre, the Gay Men's Chorus of Amsterdam, entertains and moves the audience through singing with pleasure and quality. As the Gay Men's Chorus of Amsterdam they are visibly and proudly part of the gay-community and they create a place of leisure and camaraderie.
Manoeuvre was founded in 1992 and consists of 50 men singing musical arrangements from the Eurovision Song Festival, musicals, golden ballads, recent hits, and every year there is a new theme. The choir is divided into 4 vocal groups, high and low tenors and high and low basses and sings arrangements which often sound better than the original!
Musical Director: Katharina Schneider
www.rheintoechter.de
Choral Concert on Friday, August 06
Open Air on Tuesday, August 03
They are charming, ice-cold, confused, determined, cheerful, playful and dramatic - preferably all at once. And they are Germany’s oldest mixed ladies Choir, founded in 1984.
Their repertoire contains grand opera, rap, West Side Story, ABBA, all kinds of pop songs and their texts are ironic, sometimes even malicious.
Choir music meets cabaret as twelve Rheintoechter singers get lost in a skyscraper, captured in the midst of a tea room, a dance floor, a cosmetic surgeon, and an unruly elevator.
Musical Director: Carsten Stüwer
www.zauberfloeten.de
Choral Concert on Sunday, August 01
Open Air on Tuesday, August 03
‚Die Zauberflöten’ (The Magic Flutes) are a choir of gay men who have significantly shaped the choir landscape of the large gay and lesbian choirs from Cologne since 1994. The singing is not everything and Die Zauberflöten want more. The aim of their work is an entertaining stage production that combines song, choreography, spoken text and presentation as one, and offers audiences a well rounded evening. Six evening filled programmes have so far been created. ‘Das Erste Mal’ (‘The First Time’-1996), ‘Männer im Spiegel’ (‘Men in the Mirror’-1998), ‘Rauf aufs Land’ (‘Out into the Country’-2001), ‘Willkommen in Neurosia’ (‘Wecome to Neurosia’-2003), ‘Gold’ (2004) and ‘Starshine’ (2007). Currently Die Zauberflöten are playing and singing their latest programme ‘Boeuf Katastroff’ (Beef Catastrophe) that premiered in 2009.
