Pauline Adamek
Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles is thrilled to celebrate LGBT Pride Month with the Los Angeles premiere of Disney PRIDE in Concert, a show that features 200 Chorus members performing nearly 50 classic Disney songs with a 25-piece orchestra and stunning video projections. This amazing extravaganza will be conducted by GMCLA’s Music Director & Conductor Ernest H. Harrison and will conclude GMCLA’s Season 44.
Disney PRIDE in Concert marks Disney Concerts’ first-ever choral production. Disney’s beloved songs will be reimagined in a celebration of Pride. GMCLA will perform the music of iconic films like The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, and Mary Poppins, as well as modern classics like Coco, Zootopia, Wreck-It Ralph, and many more. The magical music of Disney Parks will round out this multimedia event. Solos and personal stories will add connection to Disney’s timeless and universal stories making this a truly magical experience for all ages.
“It’s so exciting that The Walt Disney Company celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. We have wanted to celebrate the Disney canon for years, and it’s finally happening. I was lucky to attend the concert premiere by the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus at Boston Symphony Hall last June, and it’s simply stunning. The audience leapt to their feet for both sold-out shows,” said Lou Spisto, Executive Director & Producer of Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles. “To say this is a once-in-a-lifetime event is not an overstatement: 200 singers, a 25-piece orchestra – the largest we have ever had – nearly 50 songs from 24 films (and the Parks) and projections above the Chorus on a large-scale screen! We can’t wait for everyone to experience this concert, and we welcome one and all, dressed in Disney or whatever they feel comfortable in! Other choruses will do Disney PRIDE in Concert, but only GMCLA will perform it at Walt Disney Concert Hall. To think Disney Concerts created its first-ever choral show and started with the gay chorus community is simply amazing!”
Disney PRIDE in Concert will have a limited engagement of two concerts only on Saturday, June 24, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. and Sunday, June 25, 2023 at 3:00 p.m. The concerts will be held at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Downtown Los Angeles, 111 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012.
Tickets prices range from $50.00 to $130.00 and are available online at GMCLA.org/disneypride or musiccenter.org; by phone at 323.850.2000 or 424.453.3987; or at the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office (Tuesday – Sunday, 12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.).
Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles (GMCLA)
GMCLA, under the leadership of Executive Director & Producer Lou Spisto and Music Director & Conductor Ernest H. Harrison, has continued to garner acclaim for artistic excellence while remaining deeply rooted in service to the Los Angeles community and beyond by promoting civil rights, tolerance and acceptance through music. Founded in 1979 during the emergence of the gay rights movement, GMCLA has spread its message of love and acceptance with concerts across the globe and has raised its collective voice in the struggle for equality, social justice, the fight against the AIDS crisis, the fight for marriage equality and all those seeking to find their own voice. GMCLA’s free ticket program has provided access to concerts for thousands of low-income families over the decades, and research-based education programs have served over 70,000 young people throughout the Los Angeles region. GMCLA returned to Royce Hall during Season 43 after a nearly two-year pause due to the pandemic. The three-concert season included the heartwarming A Holiday Homecoming, the sold-out QUEEN of the night and the tribute concert A Salute to Sondheim. In 2019, GMCLA performed at Carnegie Hall and The Hollywood Bowl (with Hugh Jackman), and in February 2020, GMCLA’s performed at the Film Independent Spirit Awards, which has gained more than 7 million online views. During the pandemic, GMCLA presented a full virtual season of concerts, special events, and school programs reaching thousands of longtime fans and building new audiences. From Los Angeles and Ireland to Brazil and New Zealand, GMCLA’s streaming concerts were incredibly well received. Critics have proclaimed the Chorus “inspired” and “expressive, innovative and utterly moving,” and hailed GMCLA for presenting “meaningful entertainment.”
About Disney Concerts
Disney Concerts is the concert production and licensing division of Disney Music Group, the music arm of The Walt Disney Company. Disney Concerts produces concerts and tours, and licenses Disney music and visual content to symphony orchestras, choruses and presenters on a worldwide basis. Disney Concerts’ concert packages include a variety of formats, such as “live to picture” film concerts and themed instrumental and vocal compilation concerts and range from instrumental-only symphonic performances to multimedia productions featuring live vocalists and choir. Current titles include the Star Wars Film Concert Series, Toy Story, Aladdin, Disney Princess – The Concert, Coco, The Lion King, Up, Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Muppet Christmas Carol.
