SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — The Syracuse Gay and Lesbian Choir is not your ordinary singing community. This choir welcomes all, no matter what your gender, race, or age is.
Even though there is an audition process, it’s simply to place you in the right voice group. But what if I don’t know how to sing, you might ask? Treasurer Kathleen Kearney doesn’t see an issue with that.
“Anyone can join. If you are unsure of where you sit in the vocal range,” said Kearney. “Like, I’ve never sung before, but I wanna join. We have people who don’t read music, we have people who have professional training.”
Choir member Kris Sceiford who uses the pronoun “they” is currently going through a gender transformation. They say this group of singers is helping them through the process.
“I get to hang out with a bunch of awesome gay people and sing,” said Sceiford. “It’s a very supportive space. Everyone has been so happy for me.”
For some members, the Syracuse Gay and Lesbian Choir is a safe space to express their feelings and share them with the audience. Especially, when there is so much stigma directed towards the LGBTQ+ community even in the 21st century. Kearney reflected on how important it is for her to have the platform to speak — and sing — out.
“Nobody wants what’s happening today in the world, but we are getting it. And we don’t want it but we gotta go through it, we gotta keep fighting,” said Kearney. “So, you know, we try to do it for each song, what does it mean to us, and try to project it out to the audience.”
The choir is performing this upcoming weekend, June 9 and 10 at 7 p.m. at the May Memorial Unitarian Universalist Society. You can find more information on the Syracuse Gay and Lesbian Choir website.