Local gay chorus to sing at inaugural event

A local gay men’s chorus has been invited to perform as part of President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration ceremonies next week, according to a statement from the group.

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington will perform during a pre-inauguration event Sunday that will take place from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Lincoln Memorial. Among the 800,000 attendees expected at the concert are Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden, the statement says.
Taunee Grant, a chorus spokesperson, said HBO, which will broadcast the performance live, tapped the group to sing at the concert.

About 100 members of the chorus, which consists of 225 singing members, will perform with “featured celebrity entertainers” that have yet to be announced, the statement says.
Grant said she was not yet in a position to confirm which pieces the group will sing at the concert.

Rev. Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop of the Episcopal Church, is slated to give the invocation at the Sunday celebration.

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington had earlier applied to be part of the festivities on Inauguration Day, but was informed last month that it had not been selected to take part in the celebrations on that day.