GALA Choruses joins the Cultural Advocacy Group, a network of 60 national arts service associations dedicated to preserving a federal role in arts funding in the United States. 23 small ensembles, and more than 4,700 delegates register for the eight-day event, which ranks among the largest conventions ever hosted in Tampa. Rodney Eichenberger and Patrica Hennings conduct nine festival choruses. Ysaye Barnwell, Roger Bourland, David Conte, Joseph Jennings, Erika Luckett and Gwyneth Walker are commissioned to write new choral works. Holly Near and Gary Miller are honored at the first Legacy Awards Dinner.
Many choruses perform recently commissioned works.
Membership reaches 155 choruses. 1997 - GALA Choruses hosts the 13th Leadership Conference in Toronto, Ontario. The 1997 conference is the first to include a Singers Weekend, which draws an additional 145 participants. Seventeen ensembles comprised of 200 singers participate. The first Mid-Winter Managers Meeting is presented in January, and is hailed as an important new program for GALA Choruses.