The Palm Springs Gay Men’s Chorus is celebrating its 25th season with a performance of new and nostalgic Disney songs.
Disney Pride in Concert will be presented during four performances from Thursday, April 24, through Sunday, April 27, at the Palm Springs Art Museum’s Annenberg Theater. The family-friendly show, which combines timeless Disney songs with video clips from the Disney vault, is billed as a celebration of LGBTQ+ life, love, family and pride.
Jerry Soria-Foust, artistic director of the PSGMC, said Disney created the two-hour program specifically for LGBTQ+ groups.
“The pieces have been chosen to help people walk down memory lane, re-live their childhood memories with Disney and Disneyland, and celebrate human diversity, family and pride,” he said. “It’s a unique, specially commissioned piece, created and licensed by Disney Concerts. It has been performed by only a handful of choruses, mostly in large cities across the country. Palm Springs has been working on this project for about two years, getting it licensed and getting permissions.”
Soria-Foust said the 115-member chorus will bring its signature spirit to the Disney-curated slate of songs.
“As the person who programs the music, my goal is always to bring to the audience TLC, tears, laughter and chills,” he said. “That’s our specialty. We sing with heart, and our singers sing to not only entertain people, but also to build bridges of understanding. Our shows are all ages, all the time, and we welcome families and children. We have lots and lots of fun onstage, and people who see our shows get to experience costume changes and professional lighting design. We love bringing our audiences along on a journey—and in this case, obviously, the Disney audio-visual package that goes with our show is going to be really thrilling.”
The collection includes familiar songs and stories from early Disney classics, like Pinocchio, Snow White and Cinderella, along with music from newer fare, like Disney-Pixar collaborations Toy Story and Monsters Inc.—and even Disneyland attractions. “Grim Grinning Ghosts,” the Haunted Mansion theme song, is on the bill, he said.
Jeff Hocker sings second tenor in the chorus and pulls double duty as the marketing specialist and publicist. He said having the Disney machine behind the production will provide a seamless experience for the audience.
“It’s great to have the guidance of master marketers like Disney. (The company) provides specific programming in its graphics, its song choices and the way it’s presented with the film clips,” Hocker said. “Everything gets approved, from graphics to T-shirts to the way we produce the show. (That) provides a unique and dynamic experience for the audience.
“It’s beautiful, and it’s also very nostalgic. These films go all the way back to Mary Poppins and The Lion King, and things that were done in the early days of Disney … like “(When You) Wish Upon a Star,” which was one of the first featured songs Disney used.”
The PSGMC was founded in 1999, stemming from a collaboration with the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles. Soria-Foust said the L.A. group came to Palm Springs and helped put on a concert. “After performing together, (it) really gave us that first momentum to start a chorus in our town. We’ve been going strong ever since,” he said.
Soria-Foust has been leading the choral group since 2021. He said when they are not putting on concerts at venues around the valley, you can find the PSGMC members out in the community.
“We collaborate with Martha’s Village and Kitchen to do a toy drive at Christmas,” Soria-Faust said. “We do a school-supplies drive. And then we’re performing at all of the events around the city that celebrate diversity, like Palm Springs Pride … or the DAP Health Equity Walk, formerly the AIDS Walk. … Our first and foremost commitment is to the community that we live in.”
The Palm Springs Gay Men’s Chorus will perform Disney Pride In Concert at 7 p.m., Thursday through Saturday, April 24-26; and 2 p.m., Sunday, April 27, at the Annenberg Theater at the Palm Springs Art Museum, 101 N. Museum Drive, in Palm Springs. Tickets are $35-$70. For tickets or more information, visit psgmc.com.
