Dearest Stonewall Chorale Family,
As we embark on the holiday season in the coming days, our hearts go out to so many in the Colorado Springs LGBTQI+ community whose holidays will be especially difficult this year. The mass shooting that took place there this past Saturday night at Club Q, the only queer space of its kind in the city, and on the eve of this year's Transgender Day of Remembrance, has sent out ripples of shock, grief, and rage throughout the country.
Many of us find ourselves remembering other such horrible events, such as the shooting at Pulse Nightclub just over six years ago, where our community was likewise targeted and brought to this same place of grief and anger. As we each find ways to navigate the pain that comes with these all too common horrors, we must always work hard to remember that which makes us stronger and, ultimately, victorious against the repulsive hatred that brings about such atrocity.
When we face that kind of evil and ugliness, we do so with the beauty of our community, our chosen families, our light and our love and our hope. For us in the Stonewall Chorale, that also means the beauty of music, and of making music together, of making community through love of song.
This December concert, we will sing for those lost, and our pain, our love and our hope will all intermingle in the music. We will be dedicating the Ave Maria by R. Nathaniel Dett to the memory of the victims of the tragedy at Club Q, both grieving their loss and celebrating the wondrous beauty of their lives.
In hope, solidarity, and song,
Emily McSpadden
President