We are very sad to announce that we have made the decision to cancel our concert, Queer Folk.
The main reason for this decision is because Leeds College of Music are not holding any external events for the remainder of 2020, due to COVID-19. As a higher education institution and a venue, they need to ensure the safety of their students, and provide the students with safe performance and rehearsal spaces, which will mean students will need greater access to The Venue. We here at Gay Abandon completely understand and respect Leeds College of Music’s decision to do this.
Leeds College of Music did offer us the option of postponing the Queer Folk concert again to a date in 2021, but after much deliberation we felt that actually the right decision for us is to cancel the concert and focus on developing a new set for in the future. There are other reasons influencing our decision such as there being uncertainty around the safety of people singing in groups, which means that it is highly unlikely that the choir will be able to gather and rehearse in the immediate future, and that we would need a full term to get our set up to a standard that we are happy to perform in front of an audience. Furthermore, as an unsubsidised choir, it is financially not viable for us to hold a concert under social distancing conditions.
This has been a difficult decision for us to make, and we would particularly like to thank Catherine, our Concert Organiser, for all of the hard work she has put in to supporting the choir through this difficult period.
It’s not all sad news though! We have been able to continue meeting as a choir over Zoom, and will be doing so until we can gather again in the future. Jane has even started planning what our “Coming Out” concert (pardon the pun) could look like when we are able to perform again, and you should all definitely start getting excited about that…
In the meantime, everyone at Gay Abandon hopes you are well, and we really can’t wait to perform for you again soon.
For those who purchased tickets for the Queer Folk Concert
Leeds College of Music will be processing the refunds for any tickets purchased for our Queer Folk concert. To get your refund, please contact Leeds College of Music at reception@lcm.ac.uk and provide your booking reference number.
They have requested, where possible, for people to hold off on approaching them for refunds until Sept 2020, when their team will be back in the building.
Gay Abandon 