GAY MEN’S CHORUS OF LOS ANGELES, under the leadership of Executive Director & Producer Lou Spisto and Music Director & Conductor Ernest H. Harrison, is in its 45th year of music and service. GMCLA continues 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 spreads its message of love and acceptance with concerts across the globe and has raised its collective voice in the movement toward 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 community concert program has provided access to concerts to tens of thousands over the decades, and its research-based education programs have served over 85,000 young people throughout the Los Angeles region. In June 2023, GMCLA returned to Walt Disney Concert Hall to perform the extraordinarymulti-media Disney Pride in Concert to two sold-out houses as the finale of Season 44, which also included “I’m With Her,” a celebration of boundary breaking women in music, as well as the beloved and sold-out holiday production, “A Motown Holiday.” In recent years, GMCLA has performed at Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl (with Hugh Jackman). Reaching global audiences, a GMCLA appearance at the 2020 Film Independent Spirit Awards has gained more than 7 million online views. During the pandemic, GMCLA presented virtual concerts, special events, and school programs, reaching thousands of new and longtime fans. 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.”
Terry Fator
Terry Fator’s long journey from the plains of Corsicana, Texas to the bright lights of the Las Vegas Strip was not without its challenges. Certainly, he had some