The Rainbow Chorus is delighted to be awarded £1500 by Tesco Community Grants to support their commitment to provide a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter at their main concerts in 2023 and also at the World Aids Day concert on 1st December.

We are committed to promoting diversity and inclusion. Sign Language Users, including deaf, hard of hearing, their families and friends are excluded from many aspects of life and often marginalised within the LGBTQ+ community. Rainbow Chorus will continue to reach out to them by working with Marco Nardi, a brilliantly skilled BSL Interpreter, well known and respected in the LGBTQ+ Deaf community, to provide BSL interpretation at our concerts and publicising this through deaf networks. Members of the choir will also learn some repertoire in Sign Supported English (SSE) to make their performances as inclusive as possible.

We provide BSL Interpreters at our 2 main concerts and we would like to develop more partnerships with other community organisations to spread the practice of using BSL interpreters at other LGBTQ+ events in the City.

Finola Brophy, Chair of the Trustees commented: “Our Sign Language User audience appreciate seeing our concerts interpreted. They also enjoy our SSE performances which are seen as pro-actively reaching out. Our hearing audience say this has increased awareness around deaf and disability issues. This was helped enormously by Rose Ayling-Ellis on ‘Strictly’ via that moment of silence. Her success also encouraged greater appreciation of the joy of music amongst the Deaf and Sign Language User community and a realisation that equality can be achieved in every sphere of entertainment. We are proud that Tesco customers have chosen Rainbow Chorus in the vote in local stores and look forward to welcoming more members of the Deaf and Sign Language User community at our concerts in 2023.”