Butterfly Music Transgender Chorus
The Butterfly Music Transgender Chorus was a Boston-based non-audition chorus that supported the transgender community through music, outreach, and research.[1][2] Founded in 2014 by Sandi Hammond, faculty member at the New School of Music in Cambridge, Ma[citation needed]. It is thought to have been the second transgender choir in the nation, the first being the Transcendence Gospel Choir of San Francisco.[3][4] The chorus held its first public performance on April 9, 2015 at the First Church in Boston.[5]
During the following two years, the chorus received a large amount of local and nation media attention, garnering stories in O, The Oprah Magazine, Local and National NPR stations, ABC News and others.[5][6]
The Butterfly Music Transgender Chorus does not exist anymore. After two sold-out debut concerts in downtown Boston, Hammond stepped down in October 2016[citation needed] during an intense debate about the impact of media exposure on the group and also the fact that she herself is not trans. A small group of volunteers continued a self-led, volunteer song-circle for several months under the new name, Boston Trans Chorus.[7]
The Butterfly Music Transgender Chorus has sparked the creation of similar groups in Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Kansas City, and Manchester, New Hampshire.[8]
References
- ^ "Mission Statement/Proclamation". Butterfly Music. Retrieved 2018-03-03.
- ^ Petersen, Lilli (December 8, 2015). "Trans Chorus Helps Members Sing With New Voices". Refinery 29. Retrieved 2016-08-18.
- ^ Binkley, Collin (December 8, 2015). "Transgender singers find their voices in Boston choir". AP The Big Story. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Marech, Rona; Writer, Chronicle Staff (2004-04-18). "SAN FRANCISCO / Singing the gospel of Transcendence / Nation's first all-transgender gospel choir raises its voices to praise God and lift their own feelings of self-love and dignity". SFGate. Retrieved 2020-03-18.
- ^ a b Tan, Avianne (December 10, 2015). "Boston Chorus Empowers Transgender Singers by Helping Them Find Their Voices". ABC News. Retrieved 2016-08-18.
- ^ Donaldson, Zoe (June 2016). "The Surprising Way This Woman Is Helping the Transgender Community". Oprah.comZoe Donaldson. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
- ^ "Boston Trans Chorus – Arts & Business Council of Boston". artsandbusinesscouncil.org. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
- ^ "Butterfly Music Transgender Chorus". New Music USA. Retrieved 2019-03-23.