In early 1986, “A Woman’s Place” bookstore, then on SE 24^th and Ankeny in Portland, was a place precious to Portland’s lesbian population. On its shelves and carousels were stories and information that couldn’t be found anywhere else. Not in other bookstores or libraries, not in the eateries and bars tucked into Portland’s Buckman neighborhood. It was where one frequent “Woman’s Place” patron, Sparky, read these words, and a phone number, on a note posted by Portland Lesbian Choir founder Cathryn Heron: “Join a Choir….Women Sing”. 

“Within a few minutes after seeing that note,” said Sparky, “I had my dime in the slot in the nearest phonebooth.” A dozen or so other women, who like Sparky would become PLC’s founding members, also made the call, gathered in Heron’s walkup and found one more thing they couldn’t get anywhere else – a safe community of women bonded together in singing. 

Thirty-nine years later and now celebrating a decade with Artistic Director Mary McCarty, Portland Lesbian Choir is a thriving chorus of 150 singers and on March 30 they will take the stage for an historic Arlene Schnitzer Hall concert with two of their sibling organizations, Portland Gay Men’s Chorus and Rose City Pride Bands. Joining that trio will be guest youth choir Bridging Voices.

The concept for this weekend’s concert, “Our New World,” began a year ago, said Portland Gay Men’s Chorus Executive Director Mark McCrary in recent telephone conversation with OAW.  “It’s our 45th Anniversary – we’re at 180 singers strong – and we started planning to come together as a community. But today, with recent events, the greater meaning of ‘Our New World’ is that we will never be silenced.” 

OAW recently previewed the anniversary concerts of three Oregon choirs in “middle ages” who have contributed to the growth of their communities. Likewise, Portland’s history has been enriched by these four music organizations – their leaders, singers and audiences – who have been and still are contributing to Portland’s musical culture and to the growth and vitality of the entire region. It began around 1980.

Men Sing

Twenty men responded to a newspaper ad calling for singers to participate in the 1980 Gay Pride Festival. By June the Portland Gay Men’s Chorus was organizing and was formally incorporated in 1981. Founding member Steve Fulmer served as conductor in a few events and new Portland State University choral conductor Bruce Browne, who was told his reputation might be ruined if he lent a baton to the new organization, conducted two concerts. In 1983 David York, who now directs Houston Pride Chorus, began his ten-year position as PGMC’s conductor, followed by Bob Mensel who served as Artistic Director for 26 years, until 2019. Portland Gay Men’s Chorus has the distinction of being the fourth Gay Men’s chorus in America, preceded by San Francisco (1978), Los Angeles and Seattle (both in 1979). Watch a KGW retrospective of the choir’s history and hear more bold stories of finding a voice.

Women Sing

At the early “women sing” gatherings Sparky, who would become one of PLC’s founding members, recalled that Jeri Hendricks volunteered to “keep a beat” and Cindy Zrinyi, another early member who had sung with ground-breaking conductor Catherine Roma in Cincinnati, had a collection of music to share. The first concert–within the first year, Sparky believes–was an invitation for the women to participate in a Wassail Night at Reed College. In this 39th season the choir has a three concert series.

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Listen here to PLC present the world premiere of A Roof and a Bed by Washington state composer Giselle Wyers.

One thing the women did, said PLC’s current Artistic Director McCarty in recent conversation with OAW, is something in which she and today’s PLC members take great pride – the naming of the choir. In 1975, Catherine Roma founded feminist women’s choir ANNA Crusis Woman’s Chorus which is still going strong. Calliope Woman’s Chorus/Twin-City’s feminist choir – also thriving – was founded in 1976. PLC took a more direct approach. Portland Lesbian Choir continues to be one of the few choirs in the US to include “Lesbian” in their name.

In 1992, when the PGMC and PLC collaborated on their “Sing Out Tour” of select Oregon cities, it was the choirs’ names that sparked controversy. PLC choir member Reid Vanderburgh’s reflections on that tour state “somebody objected to the idea of saying Portland Gay Men’s Chorus and Portland Lesbian Choir on the marquee. They wanted the words Gay and Lesbian removed from the names of the choruses.”

Of course, that underscores the reason that the two choirs embarked on “Sing Out Tours” and why several Oregon cities were the sites of the concerts. The choirs were saying “No. on 9”–reaching out in opposition to Oregon Ballot Measure 9, a proposed amendment to Oregon’s constitution banning government recognition, funding, or support of “abnormal, wrong, unnatural and perverse” behaviors. So the choirs connected with Oregon communities with kindness and beautiful music. Read more about other No. on 9 initiatives which, like the choir tour, helped defeat the measure – how the musicians and their singing changed some hearts and minds. 

This is just one of the ways in which the two choirs came together for meaningful events over the decades. Others included an AIDS vigil in 1990, the 10^th and 15^th Anniversaries of PGMC, appearances at Pride Parades – alongside the Rose City Pride Bands – and many more events.

When McCarty was voted in as PLC choir director in 2015 it was another connection affirmed between the two choirs. McCarty (bio here) had been one of PGMC’s artistic leaders since 2000, conducting the small ensemble Cascade; serving as interim conductor and Artistic Director; and for a while overlapping her PLC directorship with her final Associate Conductor position with PGMC. In 2022-23 she assisted current PGMC Artistic Director Braeden Ayres in his first PGMC season.

“Mary and I first got to know each other almost three years ago,” said Ayres in recent phone conversation with OAW. “Getting to work with her on this event has been a pleasure.” Ayres reflected on his move to Portland in 2022. “I knew I was stepping into something special but since then it has exceeded all of my expectations. Not only the quality of the music–it’s our community and our family. A sense of solidarity and purpose.” 

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Both conductors and their choir members participated in a spectacular choral event in Minneapolis last summer. McCarty believes that the positive energy generated at that 2024 GALA Festival, in which 7000 singers from choruses in America and around the world came together, was a validation for this upcoming collaborative event. Portland was well represented: over 200 singers including 32 singers and adult chaperones from Bridging Voices. “I have to admit we rocked it,” said PGMC’s Mark McCrary, “and PLC did, too.” Portland audiences often agree. Listen here.

“It was just like Christmas”

Laticia West, a doula, moved to Portland from Washington DC ten years ago and within three weeks auditioned for the choir and found a new community. “Sparky was the choir President,” said West, who spoke to OAW at a recent PLC rehearsal. She was joining the choir in what would be a tremendous period of growth under new Director McCarty. PLC had fifty members in 2015 and has tripled that in ten years. West was able to attend GALA 2024 and recalled, with a joyful twinkle, “it was just like Christmas.”

The Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses (GALA) Festival has been held every four years since 1986 the year PGMC’s Sid Galton was elected President of the organization. At that 1986 Festival 45 choirs were represented; thirty years later, in 2016, there were 145. Those are impressive numbers of singers. But here are the impressive numbers of singers from right here at home – our friends, colleagues and neighbors – who will be presenting “Our New World” this coming weekend. KOIN covered the upcoming concert: 

“Four hundred!” In that recent phone conversation, Executive Director McCrary couldn’t stop saying “four hundred!” To an ED ten days away from a concert, that number means maneuvering performers around the stage, a pyramid of risers, extra expense of a built-out stage in the hall and wondering whether tickets would sell. But to McCrary the number meant “chills” as he listened two days earlier to the first combined PGMC/PLC rehearsal of the the Mahler “Resurrection” Symphony No. 2 finale. “I’m having chills just talking about it,” laughed McCrary. 

And now he anticipates 2600 more folks in the SOLD OUT concert hall will experience the same reaction to the variety of choral works, by several choirs – including Cascade and Resonate, the smaller choirs from PGMC and PLC respectively – Bridging Voices and the Rose City Pride Bands.

Bridging Voices began as The Portland GSA Youth Chorus in 2013 and adopted its current name in 2016. Bridging Voice’s current conductor is DeReau Farrar, who also conducts Portland’s new SATB ensemble A Notion, A Scream. In 2017 the young singers were featured in a documentary, “Room To Grow,” created by Portland filmmaker/educator Matt Alber. Read more here about this growing LGBTQ+ choir for young singers ages 13-21. 

Rose City Pride Bands, founded 35 years ago – congratulations all – supports three ensembles: symphonic winds, classic march and swing. The Marching Band, drum corp and Colorguard, with a pre-pandemic membership of 80, is a favorite at the Gay Pride Parade. You know John Philip Sousa’s works for marching band but he composed for symphonic winds as did other composers like Grainger and Holst. Even choral all-star Eric Whitacre has composed for the genre. Listen here to a 2024 RCPB Wind Symphony performance with guest flutist Adam Eccleston.

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Adaptations, like Bernstein’s Overture to Candide, which will be conducted by Rose City Pride Bands Artistic Director Joseph Accuardi-Gilliam, are also a standard for symphonic winds. Ayres will lead the massed ensemble in Copland’s Promise of Living; McCarty conducts To Sit and Dream, by Rosephanye Powell; PGMC and PLC will sing three SATB works together and a few works each with only their own singers and accompanists. Colin Shepard is piano accompanist for PLC; David Saffert accompanies PGMC. Violinist Maggie Benware also performs with the combined choirs.

The concert begins with Come In composed by Braeden Ayres and conducted by PGMC Associate Artistic Director Garrett Bond. The penultimate piece, conducted by Accuardi-Gilliam, is Mahler’s “Resurrection” choral finale.

“Mahler’s Second Symphony is a message of renewal,” said Director Ayres. “This concert has always been about rebirth and renewal and positive change in the world. It is the message of hope.”

Our New World

Singer Jules Larson didn’t know any of the PLC history before joining up soon after moving to Portland. They listened intently in recent conversation at an OAW rehearsal when Sparky and PLC’s Publicity Coordinator Nori La Rue recalled Ballot Measure 9. Larson just loved to sing and was coming to Oregon from a small town in midwest America where “there wasn’t much choice.” Now after one and a half years they recalled the welcoming spirit of the choir members. “It was just ‘come, be with us, we are growing and learning’.” For Larson it was about the music but also about connecting to a safe community – the hope of finding choices in a new world.

Sparky is impressed by the enormous undertaking of “Our New World” but said “making big things happen is the essence of being in our choir.” About the recent massed rehearsal she said:

“I reflected back on a very early collaboration between PGMC and PLC. It was a concert called ‘Together’ and was held at old Washington High School which is now Revolution Hall. The men were all tidy in their crisp pressed shirts and we were just a collection of mostly gay women singing with lots of individualism. And as I stood on the top row I thought then, as now, here are people who were isolated or afraid or estranged from their families who now could be strong and build relationships – singing together.”

Four hundred!

Four hundred! Four community music organizations who offer their musicians and our audiences beautiful music and much more. Check out their other concerts still to come this season and in years ahead. Visit their websites for more information on event, membership – open to all allied musicians –  and support.

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“Our New World”, a performance collaboration between Portland Gay Men’s Chorus, Portland Lesbian Choir, Rose City Pride Bands with guest choir Bridging Voices, will be performed on Sunday, March 30 at 4 pm at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.  This concert is sold out. 

Connections

Enjoy a few additional resources – further glimpses into Portland history and the history of LGBTQ+ Choirs:

• Anndee Hochman. The nationally known author tells her own touching story of finding safety and community at “A Woman’s Place.” 
• San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus website chronicles: The Rise of the LGBT choral movement 
• No. on 9 Remembered: The Stories.