Butterfly Music Transgender Chorus to perform at May 6 Greater Boston PFLAG Pride and Passion Benefit
BOSTON, Mass.—Greater Boston PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer people) is thrilled to announce that the Boston-based Butterfly Music Transgender Chorus will be performing at Greater Boston PFLAG’s Pride & Passion Benefit and Auction to be held on May 6, 2016.
One of the first all-transgender choirs in the country, Butterfly Music Transgender Chorus was founded to provide trans people with a safe space to enjoy singing and celebrate trans voices and trans musical talent.
“Our mission is to empower and support the transgender community through music,” said Butterfly Music Transgender Chorus Founder and Artistic Director Sandi Hammond. “We are also strongly committed to outreach and research so that transgender persons are able to build community and lead happier and more integrated lives. We are honored to perform at Greater Boston PFLAG’s Pride and Passion event- an event that celebrates unconditional love and support among all people.”
According to Hammond, the Chorus will be performing an original song entitled “Five-Year-Old Jacob” celebrating a day in the life of transgender child Jacob Lemay. Jacob’s mother Mimi Lemay will be a featured speaker at Pride & Passion.
Held on Mother’s Day weekend, this year’s Pride & Passion Benefit is recognizing mothers and all those who provide unconditional love and support to their families, friends and loved ones. The organization is honoring one of the nation’s most inspirational moms, Cynthia Germanotta, co-founder and president of Born This Way Foundation, and the proud mother of Lady Gaga, a leading voice in the LGBTQ movement. Also joining the celebration are Honorary Co-Chairs Attorney General Maura Healey and her mother Tracy Healey-Beattle, and Culinary Chair Karen Akunowicz, Executive Chef at Myers & Chang, a 2015 James Beard Nominee and Top Chef contestant.
Pride & Passion is co-chaired by Greater Boston PFLAG Chair Emeritus Stan Griffith and his wife Ann Schauffler, and Tom Harvey and Manny Correia, founders of The Manny Correia Youth Speaker’s Fund that supports Greater Boston PFLAG’s LGBTQ youth and young adult speakers in schools and the community. In addition, Greater Boston PFLAG will present Elsie Frank Scholarship Awards to three high school students whose actions have advanced greater support and acceptance of LGBTQ youth in their schools. Scholarships will be awarded this year to Wachusett Regional High School senior Kelsey Denley of Sterling, MA; Concord Academy senior Quess Stile Green of Bronx, NY; and Brookline High School senior Ethan Kahn of Chestnut Hill, MA.
Greater Boston PFLAG’s Pride & Passion Benefit and Auction will be held on Friday, May 6, 2016 at 6:00 pm at the Boston Marriott Copley Place, 110 Huntington Street, Boston, MA. For tickets and information, visit www.gbpflag.org/prideandpassion or call 781-891-5966.
About Greater Boston PFLAG
Greater Boston PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer people) is dedicated to fostering LGBTQ-inclusive families, schools and communities through support, education and advocacy. For over 21 years, Greater Boston PFLAG has provided award-winning, highly effective bullying and violence prevention services. Each year, Greater Boston PFLAG delivers over 200 educational programs statewide, reaching over 18,000 people in middle and high schools, religious organizations, colleges, corporations, and at conferences for healthcare, counseling, and prevention specialists. Greater Boston PFLAG helps change attitudes and creates an environment of understanding so that LGBTQ family members and friends can live in a world that is safe and inclusive.
About the Butterfly Music Transgender Chorus:
The Butterfly Music Transgender Chorus was formed in November 2014, after Founder Sandi Hammond shared an idea on the Transgender Alliance Facebook page—what did people think about the idea of an all-trans chorus? The response was incredible; comments poured in from the Boston area and around the world, and Butterfly Music was born. What started out as a safe space for trans individuals to gather together, sing, and create a joyful musical community, has grown into much, much more. Butterfly Music now offers many other programs in addition to the repertory chorus, including a drop-in Trans Song Time for any trans individual interested in singing, speech classes, workshops, and a teen choir, which will be forming in Fall 2016. Since the Chorus’ founding, trans choruses have started around the country, including in Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Kansas City, and Manchester, New Hampshire. The Chorus has been featured in media outlets, including The Boston Globe, NPR, and the Associated Press, and is extremely proud to be part of a worldwide movement working to bring awareness, support, and equal representation to trans individuals everywhere. For more information, visit www.butterflymusictranschorus.org.
[From a News Release]
