A Note From Our Board of Directors;

Hello Friends,

Our WCS Board of Directors met (virtually, of course!) to discuss this situation and what we could safely confirm for the the near future. We came to the unfortunate, but realistic, conclusion that we have no choice but to announce an end to our 2019-2020 season. We are the postponing our Oil Can Harry’s fundraising concert, which had been scheduled for April 26th, and cancelling our June 6^th spring concert.

With social distancing comes loneliness, which is unavoidable when all we want to do is gather together, laugh, share and especially create music, and accepting that suddenly we can’t is hard. The desire to come together and make music is heightened when times are troubled and worries are high. Mourning the temporary loss of our reliable regularity and feeling the void that is our community. To me that is what makes these circumstances particularly difficult and, although I know we are all working through this time in our own ways, the joy and happiness that making music brings is what we need to focus on.

Singing together is such a huge part of our mission and vision that we can’t wait till we can “put on a show” and show you how much!

Mission: Our quality musicianship, engaging choral performances, and inclusive environment unite LGBTQ and Ally singers to celebrate diversity, inspire equality, and build a community of acceptance.

Vision: Diverse voices uniting to inspire positive change.

Thinking of that mission and vision as why WCS exists. We are a “community chorus” and at the core of that is a “community” first and foremost; a chosen family. We will get through this and be able to sing for you again.  In the meantime, all of us in the West Coast Singers hope all of you and your loved ones are staying safe and well!

Love and strength,
Jane Hjellum and the WCS Board of Directors

We are excited to present our last concert of our 37th season. Our current repertoire, is centered around the central theme of “INSPIRE! Courage, Hope, & Change!” is so timely and speaks to many of the feelings we are experiencing RIGHT NOW!  In our first commissioned piece, “Find Your Courage,” the lyrics say “Find the strength that lies within your heart to make it to that day!”. These themes resound loud and clear with many of us in these current times and we can’t wait to share these songs with you!

West Coast Singers is headed back to the Oil Can Harry’s for our 5th annual fundraiser!

So brush up on your favorite movie soundtracks, bring out your dancing shoes, and open your hearts to feel the love! There will be live performances by the WCS, with small groups and solo acts to round out the show.

Full bar available to purchase your favorite cocktails, Heads and Tails raffle (where you could win $300 cash), and, as always, loads of fun!

After we are finished singing, stay around and enjoy your time with the choir because Oil Can Harry’s will be open until 7:00 PM!

Doors will open at 2:30 PM and the show will begin at 3:00 PM.

We hope to see you there!
Sunday, April 26, 2019
3:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Many thanks, again, too Oil Can Harry’s for generously sharing their space with us to hold this concert and, since it is a bar, all attendees must be 21+ to attend.

Spring Auditions are now open for all voice parts! Interested singers should have some choral experience, be able to maintain/match pitch, willing to attend and work in weekly rehearsals, able to practice on your own when needed (downloadable rehearsal CDs are available), and be open to having a fun time. Are you an alum? Come back and be a part of our exciting 36th year and GALA Festival 2020!

Auditions will be held on Monday, January 13, 2020, from 6:30 to 9:00 PM at the Angelus Plaza Senior Activity Center in downtown Los Angeles. We can make special arrangements if that night does not work with your schedule–just ask.

For more information and to set up an audition, email auditions@westcoastsingers.org or call/text (818) 404-5740. You can also download an application by clicking Audition Application.

We rehearse on Monday nights and start our Spring season on Monday, January 27, 2020! Our bar mixer event is April 26th at 3:00 PM quickly followed by our exciting Spring concert, June 6 at 7:00 PM.

Getting in the mood and filled with the holiday spirit has never been easier than attending our annual holiday concert. This year’s concert is focused around the joys of the holiday; carols, cocoa and candy canes! It will be balanced with some regular standards, a couple of fantastic new holiday arrangements, and of course, no holiday concert would be the same without our annual Handel’s Messiah Hallelujah Chorus sing-a-long!

Our holiday concert comes just in time for you to kick off the holiday season! As in recent years, an audience member (one per concert) will have a chance to win $300 in our fun and easy Heads ‘n’ Tails Raffle!

Click here to purchase tickets!

We are excited to present LOVE IS LOVE! Concert & Live Auction as the close of our 36th season. This concert will feature songs about love, including many favorites, some beautiful new arrangements, and even a fantastic choral version of ‘This Is Me’ from The Greatest Showman, making it a concert not to be missed!

We will also hold our annual Live Auction featuring three amazing items you will clamor to outbid your neighbors over! If you can’t wait to know what they are, maybe check back and we will have posted a teaser of one or two of them! Lastly, we will still hold our annual fun cash raffle game of ‘Heads ‘n Tails’ that everyone, no matter what age or skill level, will have a chance to win $300 cash!

Click on the graphic above or here to purchase tickets!

West Coast Singers is headed back to the Oil Can Harry’s for our 4th annual fundraiser!

So get your glitter on, bring out your dancing shoes, and open your hearts to feel the love! There will be live performances by the WCS, with small groups and solo acts to round out the show.

Full bar available to purchase your favorite cocktails, Heads and Tails raffle (where you could win $300 cash), and, as always, loads of fun!

After we are finished singing, stay around and enjoy your time with the choir because Oil Can Harry’s will be open until 7:00 PM!

Doors will open at 2:30 PM and the show will begin at 3:00 PM.

We hope to see you there! Click here for pre-sale tickets.
Sunday, April 7, 2019
3:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Many thanks, again, too Oil Can Harry’s for generously sharing their space with us to hold this concert and, since it is a bar, all attendees must be 21+ to attend.

West Coast Singers is the third oldest LGBTQ mixed chorus in the nation. This is part of our 36th season and it will give you a glimpse of what’s in store for our Spring concert, June 1, 2019. Funds raised from this show will support our scholarships for chorus members.

Spring Auditions are now open for all voice parts! Interested singers should have some choral experience, be able to maintain/match pitch, willing to attend and work in weekly rehearsals, able to practice on your own when needed (downloadable rehearsal CDs are available), and be open to having a fun time. Are you an alum? Come back and be a part of our exciting 36th year!

Auditions will be held on Monday, January 14, 2019, from 7:00 to 9:30 PM at the Angelus Plaza Senior Activity Center in downtown Los Angeles. We can make special arrangements if that night does not work with your schedule–just ask.

For more information and to set up an audition, email auditions@westcoastsingers.org or call/text (818) 404-5740. You can also download an application by clicking Audition Application.

We rehearse on Monday nights and start our Spring season on Monday, January 28, 2019! Our bar mixer event is April 7 followed by our exciting Spring concert on June 1.

Getting in the mood and filled with the holiday spirit has never been easier than attending our annual holiday concert. This year’s concert is focused on what brings us together in the season: joy, peace, family, pride, and love, blended with some holiday favorites. And of course, no holiday concert would be the same without our annual Handel’s Messiah Hallelujah Chorus sing-a-long!

Our holiday concert comes just in time for you to kick off the holiday season! Like many past years, our concert will enable an audience member (one per concert) a chance to win $300 in our fun and easy Heads ‘n’ Tails Raffle!

Click here to purchase tickets!

We had a great time join in with the the Gay Freedom Band of Los Angeles’ 40th Anniversary Concert Sunday, October 21st! We were excited to add our voices and perform Eric Whitacre’s beautiful composition, ‘Sleep.’ If you are not familiar with the piece it is wonderful, and the director of the Gay Freedom Band, Justin Raines, was great and dedicated the performance to all the members of the band who have passed on. We were very happy to be invited and included.

The concert featured:

• Justin Raines, GFBLA Artistic Director
• Jadine Louie, Guest Conductor
• Bill Masonheimer, Guest Conductor
• and more!

West Coast Singers has a special connection with the GFBLA as we actually stemmed from the band 35 years ago on October 31, 1983. A handful of members that had been singing with the Freedom Band officially broke off to start the chorus. Now West Coast Singers is the third oldest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, mixed-voice chorus in the nation. It is hard nowadays to understand, but in the early 1980s it was a difficult time to be gay, let alone out and gay. The original intent was to provide a safe place for lesbian and gay people to come together and sing. The gay mens chorus (GMCLA) had been around for almost five years but there were no mixed choruses and truthfully, there were not many things that gays and lesbians did together back then, so the West Coast Singers were founded. We enjoyed singing in this beautiful Gothic/Cathedral-style building with amazing traditional acoustics.