Seattle Women's Chorus
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Seattle Women's Chorus (SWC) is a community chorus based in
Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...
. Founded in 2002, the group is the largest
LGBTQ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...
-identified women's chorus in the world. SWC is a member of the
Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses The Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses ("GALA Choruses") is an international association of LGBT Choir, choruses founded in 1982. In its inaugural performance 14 choruses performed together in September 1982 in San Francisco as part of the fir ...
(GALA Choruses) and Chorus America. Both Seattle Women's Chorus and
Seattle Men's Chorus Seattle Men's Chorus (SMC) is an LGBTQ community chorus based in Seattle, Washington. The group was founded in 1979, and today is, along with Seattle Women's Chorus, the largest community choral organization in North America. SMC is a member of ...
are governed by the same non-profit organization, Flying House Productions. Combined, they are the largest community chorus in North America. SWC has been led by conductor and artistic director, Paul Caldwell, since 2016. In 2019, Nikki Blackmer was named Assistant Conductor.


Performances

SWC regularly performs for audiences in Seattle at venues including
Benaroya Hall Benaroya Hall is the home of the Seattle Symphony in Downtown Seattle, Washington, United States. It features two auditoria, the S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium, a 2,500-seat performance venue, as well as the Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital ...
, Cornish Playhouse, Saint Mark's Cathedral, and
McCaw Hall Marion Oliver McCaw Hall (often abbreviated to McCaw Hall) is a performing arts hall in Seattle, Washington. Located on the grounds of the Seattle Center and owned by the city of Seattle, McCaw Hall's two principal tenants are Seattle Opera and ...
. They have been joined by guest artists including country singer,
Chely Wright Chely Wright (born Richell Rene Wright; October 25, 1970) is an American Activism, activist, author, and country music artist. She initially rose to fame as a commercial country recording artist with several charting singles, including the numb ...
,
Lesley Gore Lesley Gore (born Lesley Sue Goldstein, May 2, 1946 – February 16, 2015) was an American singer and songwriter. At the age of 16, she recorded her first hit song " It's My Party", a US number one in 1963. She follow ...
, VEEP's
Kathy Najimy Kathy Ann Najimy ( ; ; born February 6, 1957) is an American actress and activist. She was first nationally known for her feminist play ''The Kathy and Mo Show'', which she wrote and performed with Mo Gaffney. On film, she is best known for her ...
, The Voice's
Vicci Martinez Vicci Martinez (born September 21, 1984) is an American singer/songwriter and actress from Tacoma, Washington. She came in joint third on NBC's singing competition series '' The Voice'' in 2011. She released her 2012 album with Republic Records ...
and Sarah Rudinoff. In addition to concerts for adult audiences, SWC has performed free children's concert for Seattle-area families. This event has featured youth performance groups including
Village Theatre Village Theatre is a small community theatre located in the Seattle metropolitan area. It is a member of Theatre Puget Sound and the National Alliance for Musical Theatre. The theatre was founded in Issaquah, Washington, in 1979 and built a second l ...
KIDSTAGE and
Diverse Harmony Diverse Harmony is an American youth chorus based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 2002, it is the first Gay-Straight Alliance youth chorus in the United States. Today, Diverse Harmony is an LGBTQ-Ally youth chorus, and their stated mission is ...
, the nation's first gay-straight alliance youth chorus.


Marriage equality

In 2012, SWC, along with Seattle Men's Chorus, traveled to five cities in western Washington, performing a free concert, "Voices United for Marriage," that encouraged residents to approve state referendum 74 which would legalize marriage for same-sex couples. In November 2012, Washington became one of three states, along with Maine and Maryland, to approve same-sex marriage through a popular vote. Pete-e Petersen and Jane Abbott Lighty, both founding members of Seattle Women's Chorus, were the first couple to receive a marriage license in Seattle's
King County King County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 12th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle ...
. They were married on-stage during a holiday concert at Seattle's
Benaroya Hall Benaroya Hall is the home of the Seattle Symphony in Downtown Seattle, Washington, United States. It features two auditoria, the S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium, a 2,500-seat performance venue, as well as the Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital ...
. In 2015, Seattle Women's Chorus performed at Seattle Mayor Ed Murray's rally to celebrate the Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage across the country.


References

{{authority control Choirs in Washington (state) Music of Seattle LGBTQ culture in Seattle Lesbian culture in Washington (state) Women in Seattle