CN Lester (born 1984) is a British classical and

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

singer-songwriter, as well as an

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

and

transgender rights A transgender person is someone whose gender identity is inconsistent or not culturally associated with the sex they were assigned at birth and also with the gender role that is associated with that sex. They may have, or may intend to establi ...

activist. They were rated 41st on ''

The Independent on Sunday ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

'''s 2013

Pink List The Rainbow List (called the Pink List until 2014) is a list of the most influential openly LGBT individuals in the United Kingdom, published annually in the British national newspaper ''The Independent on Sunday''. The list was started in 2000 ...

, which acknowledged their co-founding of the

Queer Youth Network The Queer Youth Network (QYN) was a national non-profit-making organisation that was run by and for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) young people and is based in the United Kingdom. It had an aim to represent the needs and views of ...

and their founding the UK's first gay–straight alliance, as well as their fundraising for

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...

causes and writing for publications such as ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...

'' and ''So So Gay''.

Career

Lester is a

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

who specializes in

castrati A castrato (Italian, plural: ''castrati'') is a type of classical male singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto. The voice is produced by castration of the singer before puberty, or it occurs in one who, due to ...

and

travesti Travesti may refer to: * Travesti (gender identity), a transgender identity in South America * Travesti (theatre), a performance while wearing clothes of the opposite sex * "Travesti", a section of Arca's 2020 single "@@@@@" See also

* Tr ...

opera, as well as

early Early may refer to: History * The beginning or oldest part of a defined historical period, as opposed to middle or late periods, e.g.: ** Early Christianity ** Early modern Europe Places in the United States * Early, Iowa * Early, Texas * Early ...

and classical music and works by female composers. Classic FM has showcased their work and research on travesti roles, while

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

's '' Front Row'' has included their work with Silent Opera. They've cited

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

and Tchaikovsky as amongst their earliest influences, aged 3–4. As a child, Lester began learning to play the piano at age 6, and received vocal coaching from age 13. They went on to obtain a

BMus Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or music school, conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consi ...

degree from

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

and an MMus from

Goldsmiths, University of London Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wor ...

. In 2019, Lester received a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

degree in music from the

University of Huddersfield , mottoeng = Thus not for you alone , established = 1825 – Huddersfield Science and Mechanics' Institute1992 – university status , type = Public , endowment = £2.47 million (2015) , chancellor = George W. Buckley , vice_chancel ...

.PhD Thesis CN Lester: Representing Strozzi: A Critical and Personal Re-Evaluation of her Life and Music
- website of the University of Huddersfield Repository Their albums ''Dark Angels'' and ''Aether'' were funded using

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...

platform Indiegogo and raised US$3414 and £4575, respectively. In addition to performing live and recording music, Lester works as a teacher and an author. Their debut opera, ''The Lion-Faced Man'', appeared at Tête à Tête: The Opera Festival in August 2015, including a libretto by Hel Gurney and sung by Alison Wells. Their first book, ''Trans Like Me: A Journey For All Of Us'' was published by

Virago Press Virago is a British publisher of women's writing and books on Feminism, feminist topics. Started and run by women in the 1970s and bolstered by the success of the Women's Liberation Movement (WLM), Virago has been credited as one of several Briti ...

in May 2017.

Discography

Awards

Lester was ranked 41st on ''

'''s 2013

of the most influential LGBT people, and 92nd in the renamed 2014

Rainbow List The Rainbow List (called the Pink List until 2014) is a list of the most influential openly LGBT individuals in the United Kingdom, published annually in the British national newspaper ''The Independent on Sunday''. The list was started in 2000 ...

Identity

Lester is

out Out may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 * ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander * ''Out'' (2002 film), a Japanese film ba ...

genderqueer Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

, and has been hailed as a role model for combining their identity and their public career. They have spoken about having difficulties finding work because of their gender identity and expression: To preserve their singing voice, Lester has not used testosterone treatments, although they've since spoken about their own research showing losing a singing voice is not always a result of such therapy.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lester, CN 1984 births Living people 21st-century British LGBT people 21st-century British singer-songwriters Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London Alumni of King's College London British LGBT songwriters British LGBT singers British mezzo-sopranos British singer-songwriters British LGBT rights activists British non-binary musicians Non-binary activists Non-binary singers Non-binary songwriters Singers from London Transgender rights activists Place of birth missing (living people)