Pride Men’s Chorus London was founded in 2016 and is a program of Aeolian Hall. PMCL was this year’s recipient of the Jack Richardson London Music Award Best Classical Vocal (Choir/Group).

Approximately 40 men sing in the chorus, and those with all levels of musical knowledge are invited to join us. Pride Men’s Chorus London is part of a movement of LGBTQ2 Choirs in the world. Pride Men’s Chorus London made its unexpected debut at the Vigil for The Orlando Massacre hosted at Aeolian Hall on June 14, 2016. In the global arena of eroding human rights and particularly the rights of the LGBTQ2 community, we sing to enlighten and help those with closed minds and hearts to open up and celebrate diversity and love.

Pride Men’s Chorus London creates experiences through choral music that promote community, inclusiveness and excellence.  With the goal of combatting stereotypes and perceptions, we challenge the heteronormative worldview by inspiring our audience, the LGBTQ2 community and our broader community through advocacy and music. We celebrate victories won, we mourn lives lost, we find unconditional acceptance, and we celebrate all life in harmony, through our songs.

Canadian Bass-Baritone Chad Louwerse debuted in Europe with l’Opéra National du Rhin in Strasbourg as Bernadino in Berlioz’ Benvenuto Cellini. In Canada he has been heard from Quebec to British Columbia.  With Montreal Opera, he starred as Buonafede in Haydn’s Il Mondo Della Luna, sang Talpa in Il Tabarro, and covered Leporello in Don Giovanni. As a member of Montreal Opera’s Atelier Lyrique, he was singled out in Chabrier’s l’Étoile by Claude Gingras of La Presse, who wrote “for pure comedy, first distinction goes to Chad Louwerse”.

In past seasons Mr. Louwerse has sung Alidoro in Rossini’s La Cenerentola and Palémon in Thaïs for Pacific Opera Victoria, Capulet in Roméo et Juliette with Montreal Opera, and Hortensius in Edmonton Opera’s La Fille De Régiment. He has appeared with Vancouver Opera as The Nazarene in Salome, The Bailiff in Werther, Zaretsky and Captain Petrovich in Eugene Onegin, and as Monterone in Rigoletto. He was also featured in the Lanaudière Festival’s Der Vampyr conducted by Jean Marie Zeitouni.

He is a winner of both the CBC Westcoast Performance Pacific Spotlight competition and the Début competition and has given recitals broadcast on CBC Radio Two.  On CD, he can be heard in excerpts of Robert Turner’s opera Vile Shadows and Sylvia Rickard’s song-cycle Three Chinese Songs Of Autumn for the Canadian Music Centre.  He was named to the Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques in 2005 and received the Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold award.  An active oratorio singer and recitalist, Mr. Louwerse’s concert repertoire includes Handel’s Messiah, the Bach Mass in B-minor, the Brahms and Mozart Requiem and Mendelssohn’s Elijah.