Credit: Nonprofit Arts & Pride by Courtney Crews

Download the Printable Version!

The Cultural Data Profile (CDP) is an online survey gathering financial and programmatic data from nonprofit arts, culture, and humanities organizations. This data helps them apply for grants and contribute to nationwide research. The CDP asks whether organizations' missions are rooted in or serve specific demographic communities. The highlighted organizations answered yes, selecting LGBTQ demographic categories. Among them are 26 music organizations, the most common discipline, reflecting the long and rich history of LGBTQ choirs across the country.

Our mission at the Renaissance City Choir (RCC) is to affirm and celebrate LGBTQIA+ identity through the unifying power of music. RCC is western Pennsylvania’s only LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual) and allies choral group. We strive to promote a positive image of the LGBTQIA+ community and to be a leading contributor to the cultural life of the tri-state area.

As we celebrate Pride and consider ways to empower LGBTQIA+ arts organizations, I think about the work we do in addition to the arts we provide. For many such organizations, a primary goal is to build safe spaces and communities where we can express ourselves artistically. Our membership of 122 singers and attendance of over 400 patrons at our 2023 Holiday Concert are evidence that organizations such as ours are both needed and appreciated.

As an organization, the Renaissance City Choir navigates intersectionality as we serve our communities and members. We prioritize making RCC a choral group where singers of diverse abilities, voices, and identities are welcomed. We also focus on advocacy, outreach, and visibility within the many communities that comprise the greater Pittsburgh area.

I also reflect on what it means to be openly oneself, especially in the workplace where the law often does not protect employment. Having LGBTQIA+ diversity as a measurable attribute of a business or organization provides LGBTQIA+ individuals and allies with valuable insight. When LGBTQIA+ artists, arts workers, and leaders are represented in data, funding, and research as a valued component of diversity, then LGBTQIA+ organizations will thrive. I hope we continue to work to truly understand the full impact of these arts organizations within our own communities and beyond.

In closing, I share RCC’s mission to educate, challenge, and enlighten both our audiences and our singing membership. We continue to affirm, by example and through song, the worth and dignity of those in our community. Music that is queer-positive and openly supports issues related to human equality and justice is represented at all RCC concerts.

To learn more about the Renaissance City Choir, visit their website at RCCPittsburgh.com. To learn more about LGBTQIA+ choruses throughout the United States, visit GALAChoruses.org. The RCC is supported in part by the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council through its Creative Sector Flex Fund grant program and by the taxpayers of Allegheny County through a public grant from the Allegheny Regional Asset District (RAD).