BUILDING IMPACT AT THE LONDON GAY MEN’S CHORUS

My first experience of building impact through singing was as Musical Director and Conductor of London Gay Men's Chorus from 2002 to 2007. We sang about what mattered to us - about HIV, about dating, about love and about death. We did so with all kinds of music, from new commissions to Christmas favorites, from Henry Purcell to Kylie songs.

As a community grows, so does the passion and impact of the music-making, and vice versa. Gradually, our community (singers and audience) grew from 120 to around 220 members, and LGMC became the largest gay choir in Europe, as a direct result of seeing their own lives directly reflected in what we sang.

Increased musical excellence followed, along with greater fundraising need, and bigger artistic ambition. LGMC performed to sell-out audiences in London's leading concert venues every year, including the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Barbican Hall, the Sydney Opera House, the Kennedy Center, Washington, DC, and Settembre Musica, Turin.

What I learnt was that, like a flywheel, better connection leads directly to wider impact. And in the end, connection and impact are what all music-making is about.