"We fight prejudice with music," say members of the only Czech gay choir to sing in churches
It started as a summer idea by the water. Today they are part of the Czech queer scene. The Prague choir Doodles has been active since 2011 and in the fifteen years of its existence has transformed from what was originally intended to be a male choir with a choral repertoire into an openly declared gay vocal ensemble that aims to "fight prejudice with music". As the only gay choir in the Czech Republic, they perform not only at festivals and during Prague Pride, but also in homes for the elderly, primary schools and even at masses in Catholic churches.
They see music as a tool for dialogue - a way to meet people outside their own bubble. Today, Doodles is made up of several dozen men of different ages, professions and nationalities. They are united not only by orientation, but above all by discipline, responsibility and the joy of singing together.
Choirmaster and arranger Lukáš Filippi and founding member Radovan Ředina talk about the journey from their first meeting to a profiled gay choir, their clashes with prejudice and why authenticity without pretentiousness is essential for them.
The choir Doodles was founded in Prague in 2011. What was at its birth then? Was it primarily the desire to sing or the need to create a queer space?
Radovan: Initially, a few people met on the water. They were talking about all sorts of things on the water and came up with the idea that it would be nice to start a male choir. Two or three others said they wanted to sing in a choir at some point in their lives. That's how the very basic idea came about. Then the people gathered for a constituent meeting in the garden of one of the founding members.
I heard about it from a friend I was skating with. He told me he had to go to the constituent meeting of the men's choir. It was really only supposed to be a men's choir at that time. I figured I was interested - I've been singing since I was five, so I'd go too. And so we got together, about ten to twelve people, in the garden of one of our houses and started the choir.
So it wasn't primarily a queer project?
Radovan: No, not primarily. In the beginning it was really a male choir with the idea of a more choral repertoire. But gradually we felt the need to open it up more, make it more varied and fun. Nobody wants to listen to an hour and a half of six-century-old hits.
But today you're profiling yourself as a gay choir. How did that come about?
Radovan: Gradually, we broke with the original choir director in our idea of direction. He wanted to go a different way, we wanted a more modern, more varied concept. One of the choir members took a conducting course and took over the leadership. At the same time, we decided to declare ourselves openly as a gay choir, which the original leadership did not want. So after about two years we clearly defined ourselves as a gay choir with the subtitle "fighting prejudice with music".
In the beginning, it really meant outreach - for example, we came to sing as an openly gay choir in an elementary school. We expected possible reactions from parents, but nothing negative happened. On the contrary, we experienced absolute acceptance.
Was it in Prague?
Radovan: Yes, it was in Prague. We had a similar experience in the homes for the elderly. We introduced ourselves as a Prague gay male choir. At the beginning some grandmothers were reticent, but at the end of the concert they stood - even those who could hardly stand - and clapped enthusiastically. This gave us a terrible energy and a sense of purpose.
So do you feel that you are also doing some outreach?
Radovan: Definitely. And we got to the point where we sang in several Catholic churches, even at masses and in different regions, quite openly - and it was fine.
The clergy had no problem with that?
Radovan: In the vast majority of cases, no. But we had one situation when we were supposed to perform as guests of another choir in the Emmaus Monastery. A day or two before the concert, the rental was terminated, saying that they did not want "such people" to perform there. A little panic in the village square.
The media asked us how we felt, if this was a topic for us. And I said, ironically, it's not a topic for us. That's their problem if they don't want to accept us. Many of us are believers, some of us are actively involved in church life. It shouldn't be an issue for us. Rather, the theme is that it shouldn't be a theme at all.
How did it turn out then?
Radovan: There was a temporary boycott of the concert hall by other congregations. The community sided with the music. It didn't really matter who was singing - the important thing was that it was about music.
Were the monastery leaders able to change their minds?
Radovan: Honestly, if you want to have a dialogue, there has to be someone on the other side who is willing to have it. If that will is not there, the dialogue turns into a monologue - and it is meaningless. In that case, it's no longer about arguments, but about expressing a position.
Do you remember the very beginning of the choir? Was there euphoria, or was it more uncertainty? What were the first rehearsals like?
Radovan: The first rehearsals were actually quite ridiculous. People who had never sung and people who had been singing since the first grade came together. It was about learning how to learn - explaining what the note value means, how to sing it. For example, I don't know music, yet I've been involved in music all my life, and I'm certainly no exception.
It was all about a sense of togetherness. We were pulling together and we were gradually moving somewhere. The first five or six years were very much about the band. We were few in number, but there was a community of people who didn't just go to rehearsal together, but also to have a beer, to go on holiday. It wasn't primarily a community, but it naturally evolved that way.
So it was a community project from the beginning?
Radovan: Not in the first place, but in the end, yes. It was a group of people who spend time together outside of rehearsals. It's not just about getting together and singing. A lot of people still go on holidays together, spend their free time together. The community around the choir came about naturally.
As the quality grew, new members began to arrive. We set higher standards for ourselves. We didn't want it to be just "after work, we're going to sing." We wanted the result to have quality. And that means commitment. Choral singing is not without commitment. It's all about individual responsibility - preparation, attendance, discipline, respect for the conductor and others. Those who don't want to accept that usually leave eventually. And that's okay.
You have a more rigorous hiring process today than in the beginning. I suppose a potential candidate must have at least a musical ear.
Radovan: Yes. It's no longer about someone coming in with no experience and no elementary talent. We don't have the capacity or time for that anymore. We are amateurs, but we want to give a professional performance.
What does the entrance exam look like in practice?
Lukáš: The door is open to everyone. Anyone interested can come for three or four rehearsals to see if it suits them - the repertoire, the way of working, the atmosphere. The admission procedure itself consists of the candidate singing a song of his or her choice. It can be a pop song or a folk song.
I've even introduced a new feature where the candidate can sing a part of a song he or she has learned during the few rehearsals. Then comes the basic intonation test - re-singing the notes I play on the piano. You need to come to the choir with some elementary intonation and tuning skills. This can be trained, but we have no room for individual voice leading.
There are no professional tests involved. It's about whether the candidate can sing a few notes. We then - often in consultation with the candidate - determine the voice group based on that.
Do you have a classic male voice division?
Lukáš: Yes, a male four-part voice. The tenor and bass are still divided, so we have first tenor, second tenor, baritone and bass - from the highest to the lowest voice.
Is there a shortage of any of the voice groups?
Luke: Generally speaking, there is a shortage of first tenors. For us it's rather the opposite now, we have them strongly represented. I think we would welcome more basses. Extreme vocal positions - very high or very deep - are generally less common, because they require certain natural dispositions.
Radovan: We have historically had a deficit of first tenors. With basses, I see more of a problem of prioritizing free time. Some people have realized over time that the choir is not their priority - and have made a fair decision to leave.
When you talk about demanding, we're not just talking about a three-hour rehearsal a week, are we?
Radovan: Of course not. You need to prepare for the songs at home. We have instruments where everyone can play their voice part, or the whole choir, with notation or simple transcription, so that it's clear when I sing up, when I sing down, when to start and when to stop.
In addition, we have four camps a year. Three are away camps, when we go outside of Prague and work intensively. The summer camp is specific - it takes place without overnight stays in Prague, it serves as a refresher of the repertoire after the holiday break. We are fine-tuning our form during Prague Pride, which is the highlight of the season for us.
Are there competitions for LGBT choirs? Do you participate in them?
Lukáš: I don't really know much about classical competitions in the sense of first, second, third place. I don't think it even fully captures the spirit of this activity. It's more about meeting and singing together. There's a European organisation called Legato, which brings together LGBTQ+ choirs, and they organise a festival called Various Voices. But it's not competitive.
Have you considered entering a regular male choir competition?
Radovan: We have participated in some things, for example the Chomutov Song Festival, which I think is a competition. We want to have high quality, but we don't feel the need to compete. We don't have the ambition to compete in this way.
Lukáš: I'm not saying that we would resist it, but we have enough activities. We sing at Prague Pride, we renewed the tradition of Christmas concerts, we try to go outside of Prague - we were in Slovakia, we are planning a concert in Sezimovo Ústí. To add a competition would be difficult in terms of capacity.
Radovan. Festivals are often partially subsidized, so they are more affordable. We have to work with what we can afford as a choir and as individuals. We have members from twenty to almost seventy years old, different income and social groups, even different countries of origin. We have a social fund to support, for example, students or members with lower incomes.
But in recent years, support for queer projects in general has declined. I don't want to name specific partners because they have helped us in the past, but the priorities have shifted. Today, survival is a priority for many organizations. If there was more support, we could afford more international activities. These are financially demanding - we are talking about tens of thousands of crowns per person. And rather than just one person going, sometimes the whole choir would rather not go.
Your repertoire ranges from Renaissance music to pop. What do you use to choose your songs?
Lukáš: That's a question mainly for me, because every choirmaster approaches it a little differently. When I became choirmaster of Doodles, I knew that the choir had a strong tradition of popular music and arrangements of folk songs. I wanted to bring more classical choral singing back into the repertoire.
For example, I included Renaissance polyphony - unaccompanied polyphony that requires precise intonation and the ability to listen to each other. It's a kind of basic choral training. When a choir learns to sing a cappella in a way that is truly in tune, it shows up in pop arrangements with piano.
Last year I focused a lot on working with intonation and collective breath. I think it has reflected in the sound quality and the color of the choir. What I like about Doodles is the range - from 16th and 17th century liturgical pieces to romantic works to 20th century pop arrangements to contemporary choral music.
Do you combine these styles even within the same concert?
Lukáš: Yes. Dramaturgy is sometimes tricky, I try to stick to a certain axis - for example a block of folk songs, classical choral works and more contemporary pieces, we often end with popular or jazz music.
The interesting thing about Doodles is that you have to sing a Renaissance motet in a completely different way from, say, Y.M.C.A. It's a different way of singing, a different expression. I think it teaches the choir flexibility and it refreshes the audience. Some people come for the pop stuff, others come for the classical stuff. People often tell me that they liked the song they liked best, which was completely different from what they expected. I think that's a good thing.
Radovan: That's exactly the original purpose - to manifest diversity and break down prejudices. Different worlds can meet. People of different opinions, ages, professions and musical preferences meet in the audience and in the choir. They are united by music.
Does that give you a wider fan base?
Radovan: We definitely go beyond just a narrow queer audience. And in retrospect, we enjoy it too. Singing one style for an hour and a half would be boring for the conductor, the singers and the audience. Diversity is what represents not only the LGBTQ+ community in the symbolic sense of the rainbow, but more importantly the connection of very different people.
In the choir we have colleagues from the helping professions and people from the top management of large companies. The diversity is real.
Are there also partnerships in the choir?
Radovan: We have all variations. We have couples who came to the choir together and are still together today. We have couples who came and are no longer together. And we also have cases where people in the congregation got together - some stayed together, others didn't. I don't think it's the choir's fault. Relationships have their own dynamics and time.
So a potential candidate can also count on the fact that theoretically he can meet a partner there?
Radovan: Probably the same as on the tram, at work or in the pool.
Lukáš: The only difference is that he goes straight to a group of people who have a common interest - and orientation.
What projects or challenges are you looking forward to in the near future? Where would you like to take the congregation?
Radovan: I will answer from the perspective of an "older scout". I would like to see the congregation continue to develop primarily in individual responsibility. This was beautifully demonstrated during the covid. A lot of choirs ended then, but we came together. We rehearsed online, rehearsed two songs and managed to record one of them by everyone singing alone at home, and then the recordings were edited together. We made a joint track without physically meeting each other.
It was about everyone working on their own and being responsible. And I think that's a never-ending process - to keep getting better, to start with each other and bring that to the whole.
Lukas: I think it's great that people really like coming to the choir. I think that's crucial to maintain. Radovan is right that there has to be a sense of responsibility - you can't say right before a concert that you don't want to or that you have another plan. That would gradually erode the morale and the result.
But at the same time, it's important that people enjoy themselves. What I see as unique about Doodles, and what the audience confirms to me, is the joy that you can see on stage. You can hear a professional choir with perfect intonation, but here you see a group of people who are really enjoying it and experiencing it together. And that's a huge value.
So is the key that people are really enjoying it?
Lukas: Yes, but it's not obvious. I've sung in various ensembles where it worked more institutionally, sometimes there was a small financial reward or other motivation. Here it's purely about people wanting to be together and sing.
For me it's essential to maintain a safe environment. Singing is a personal thing - you kind of go with the skin on the game. Even if you're standing among others, sometimes only one voice group sings, sometimes a couple. It's intimate. I try not to let anyone be afraid, not to gossip, not to create bullying. Any group can slip into tension, and the role of the choirmaster is to moderate the discussion so that it remains friendly.
Alongside this, I have specific goals - to educate the choir a little in music theory, to work on solmization, to cultivate the voice. The male voice is also close to me professionally, so I try to work with the color and sound of the choir. But all this is subordinate to making the choir function humanly.
Radovan: The atmosphere is very much determined by who is leading the choir. For me, the goal is to maintain authenticity - to put emotion into the singing, but at the same time to maintain the integrity of the whole. Not to perform as individuals, but as a choir. The line between authenticity and excessive individualism is very thin. And that is where I see our great strength - authenticity without exaltation.
If someone is interested in the interview and would like to join you, what should they do?
Radovan: The easiest way is to go to our website www.doodles.cz, where there is a "Join!" section. They fill out a form, we get back to them and invite them to a rehearsal. He comes in, tries out the atmosphere, puts on his slippers - and if it fits, after a few tests he can go through the admission process.
