See TRANScend’s singers in action this weekend at The Queer Agenda and Granite Planet’s Planet of the Micro-Operas!

What is queer spirituality? That’s a complex question with complicated answers, which vary from individual to individual. Religious traditions have historically been unpredictable in their support of the LGBTQ+ community, varying less by confession or denomination than by locale and the personal tolerance of the spiritual leader of each church in question.

The music of spirituality has also, historically been a source of queer friction.. Liturgical composers as far back as Handel have hidden their homosexuality in exchange for mainstream success, leaving only traces of their true identity hidden in their works for us to find and wonder, did they believe? We ponder, even today, how gay composers like Tchaikovsky balanced their internal selves with the demands of the liturgical circles in which they composed.