The festival will be hosted by The Sydney Gay & Lesbian Choir, under the artistic leadership of Festival Creative Director Adam Majsay.

Out & Loud in general has been celebrating LGBTQIA+ pride through song since 2001, with choirs from all over Australia and our Indo-Pacific neighbours coming together to share the joy of singing. For Out & Loud & Proud, singers from across the world will unite to take part in workshops, rehearsals, performances and events. . . Culminating in a Gala Concert MCed by actor and singer Tim Draxl.

“For me, it is the coming together of voices from across the world singing with a common purpose,” choir member Jean-Claude Niederer says when asked what he's most looking forward to about the event. “And with 400 of us, there is no doubt at all that we will raise the roof of the Sydney Town Hall.”

The festival overall promises to be a fabulous celebration of pride and music, among Sydney's hosting duties for one of the most iconic pride events in the world.

“It is a celebration of all that is dear to us and possibly foreign to others in the hope that we can all celebrate diversity in its many varied forms,” Jean-Claude says. “For our choir, it is community, providing support and a safe space to be yourself. In general, it is that feeling of joy and communion through the power of the voice.”

So what should audiences be prepared for when it comes to Out & Loud & Proud, and its Gala, in 2023?

“They should look forward to the most amazing travel through musical genres. Light, colour, hearing choirs from Timor-Leste, Japan and the US and singers from all over the world as part of the Individual Voices Choir plus all our Australian friends,” Jean-Claude says.

“But most of all, the incredible wave of sound generated by 400 voices all singing the commissioned pieces in a grand finale.”

Out & Loud & Proud International Choral Festival is on in Sydney from 19-23 February.