Up to 1999 the band was directed by Les Farnell from behind the tuba. At this point Cathy Chan was appointed as conductor, and a serious effort made to grow the band. The name was changed to the "Sydney Homotones" in 2000. Meanwhile, rehearsals had followed Caesar's Bar to the old APIA club on Parramatta Road, and moved to its current rehearsal space when the bar ceased operating.
The band made its first appearance in the Mardi Gras Parade in 2001, and has been able to continue this in all succeeding years, sometimes teaming up with other groups such as the Rainbow Babies.
In recent years the band has become sufficiently large and proficient that we
have been able to put on several concerts. The most recent of these is
available on DVD.
These concerts have featured a number of guests: Darlene, Justin JBear, the Sydney Gay
and Lesbian Choir, the Australian Pop Choir.
Predecessors
The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Concert Band was formed in mid 1991, and played a considerable
number of concerts right up to when it disbanded in late 1992. These included appearances
at the 1992 Mardi Gras Launch and the Parade of that year. It rehearsed
originally in the Mardi Gras building in Boundary St, Darlinghurst, later at Heffron
Hall on Liverpool St.
The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Big Band was initiated by some of the concert band players in 1993, and had a more jazz-based focus. It rehearsed initially at Randwick Boys High School and then at the Addison Road Community Centre in Marrickville. It had a successful debut at Mardi Gras Fair Day in 1994, but then disbanded later that year.
There was a rather separate group called Bent Brass, which had no continuous existence, but played from time to time at events of the Metropolitan Community Church in the late 1990's.