Strength in Harmony

The Rainbow Chorus is Brighton and Hove's largest community LGBTQ+ SATB choir.

 

About us

Welcome to the Rainbow Chorus! We are the largest community LGBTQ+ SATB choir in the south-east outside of London. Based in Brighton & Hove we have been celebrating diversity through music since 1997. We welcome people from all sections of our community.

 

We offer an enjoyable, supportive and affirming environment for LGBTQ+ members to sing, develop their community spirit and awareness, and enable individuals to develop their talents, skills and confidence.

 

Through public performance, we enhance the profile of LGBTQ+ people, particularly in Brighton and Hove, and contribute to the quality and range of community events. We believe that singing at events such as World Aids Day and TransPride sends a clear message that we are out and proud and all different. As part of our commitment to the local community, we also support other charities by singing to help them raise funds.

 

Join the Choir

Anyone who identifies as LGBTQ+ is welcome to join us. There are two ways to join the Rainbow Chorus family:

Join Rainbow Chorus

The Rainbow Chorus is a community choir with high standards that rehearses weekly on a Monday evening with additional rehearsals on some weekends. We have New Members Nights twice a year (January and September) with no obligation to join and no audition, although there is an expectation that you can sing in tune.

 

Join RC+

If you have less free time, or want to improve your singing voice in a less formal setting, our monthly RC+ sessions are loads of fun and a safe space where you can learn some great songs by ear, with sheet music and lyrics to aid if needed. 

Choir News

Our next New members session will take place on Saturday 18th January 2025. Get in touch with our membership team to book a slot. Email us at membership@rainbowchorus.org.uk.

 

What happens at the New Members Session

 

You will be allocated a time slot for your voice placement meeting by the membership team. This 5-10 minute assessment will take place in a separate room so that Aneesa and Olly (the music team) can properly review your voice and consider the balance of voices in the choir.

If you have a song in mind that you’d like to sing that would be great - but don’t worry if you don’t.

Please don’t be nervous, this meeting will be fun, relaxed and open. One of the membership team will be there too so you can have a chat about it afterwards if you want.

The music team will then decide whether you are best suited to the Rainbow Chorus or the RC+ monthly choir and the voice part, and we will let you know their decision by Thursday 23rd January.

While the voice placements are taking place there will be the chance to get to talk to existing choir members and ask any burning questions, chat about all things music, LGBTQ+ and more!

You’ll find a variety of hot drinks, cold drinks, and nibbles available. We try to make sure we have some gluten and milk-free alternatives so that everyone can join in.

 

Your Commitment Expectations


The Rainbow Chorus is a community choir with high standards and the commitment level can be a bit daunting. We’ve set out our expectations of you below – if the Rainbow Chorus is not for you then our monthly RC+ choir may be a better fit. Talk to the membership team for details.

The Rainbow Chorus have 2 main concert performances a year (plus additional festival, community and charity performances). To be able to perform at these concerts you MUST:
 

  • Be able to sing in tune and sing your assigned voice part in tune.
  • Come to at least 75% of all rehearsals – weekly rehearsals are on Monday nights and additional rehearsals at weekends (usually 2 or 3 per term on a Friday evening or Saturday afternoon).
  • Attend pre-rehearsal sectionals (1 or 2 per term from 6.30 - 7.30 on Mondays) and where possible to attend ad-hoc sectionals organised by members of soprano, alto, tenor and bass sections to support with song learning.
  • We also encourage new members to attend 3 RC+ choir sessions in their first term.
  • Choir members must also adhere to the choir’s membership policies – the choir is a safe and welcoming space for all LGBTQ+ people and we do not tolerate discrimination towards our members.
  • There will be a 3-month trial period - so that both sides can check-in as to whether you have been placed in the right voice part and if the choir best suits your needs.

Support the Choir

There are many ways to support the Rainbow Chorus:

Volunteer

Donate

Sponsor Us

Help Us

Find us on Social Media

You can find Rainbow Chorus on most social media platforms. Please follow us, show your support and keep up to date on the latest Rainbow Chorus news!

Youtube Logo

You can find videos of past performances on our Youtube channel.