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Stefanie Grosekemper, a singer in our soprano section, shares her thoughts on the song "And We Walked" from the choral suite "Quiet No More". 
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Joe Sigman, a singer in our bass section, shares his story of growing up gay and participating in activism.  Joe in 2019 vs 1987. Kelly Sundin, a singer in our tenor section, shares their thoughts on the songs "What If Truth is All We Have?" and "And We Walked" from the choral suite "Quiet No More".
LGCSF singer Pax Ahimsa Gethen reflects on gender transition, voice changes, and the role of trans people of color in the Stonewall Uprising. Transcript
Hi, I’m Pax. I sing in the bass section of LGCSF, but when I first joined our chorus in 2013, my voice was in the alto range. While singing in the alto section, I came to realize that I was transgender. Though I’d been assigned female at birth, I’d suspected for some time that I was not a woman. I’d always preferred to sing songs written for male voices, and felt out of place in a section that was, at that time, all women. I switched to the tenor section, and soon afterward started on testosterone therapy, which gradually lowered my voice to the baritone range. I also sing with New Voices Bay Area, a new chorus hosted by the Community Music Center specifically for transgender, intersex, and genderqueer singers. This February, we hosted a symposium, Trans and Singing, which was a great opportunity to educate singers and voice teachers about the unique talents of, and challenges faced by, singers in our community. Being transgender, I feel a special connection to the Stonewall Uprising. Trans and gender-nonconforming people, particularly people of color like myself, were on the front lines of the riots, and were the most likely to be harassed by the police. Fifty years later, there is a lot more awareness about our community, but we are still facing discrimination and violence. One of the songs in our upcoming concert, “Glorious Beauties”, was written by Our Lady J, a trans musician known for her writing for the TV shows Transparent and Pose. One of the lyrics reads, “Some say we’re freaks, we’re monsters. We say we’re nothing new.” Indeed, trans people--under various names and faces--have always existed. We will continue to exist, persist, and resist. “No, we won’t back down.” Video and audio editing by Pax Ahimsa Gethen and Ziggy Tomcich “Glorious Beauties” music and lyrics by Our Lady J Photo credits
Sign up for information about the Community Music Center Trans and Singing symposium: http://tinyurl.com/trans-and-singing LGCSF will be performing "Quiet No More", a brand new choral suite celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, at our OUT in the Streets concert on May 31. Get tickets at https://stonewall50.brownpapertickets.com/. |
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