The Seattle Trans and Non-binary Choral Ensemble (STANCE) is scheduled to sing at Bumbershoot on Labor Day weekend this year, but a funding crisis might shut the chorus down before then. In June, one of the choir's Pride concerts had to be canceled after a COVID-19 outbreak, causing the loss of much-needed income. In addition, grants have come in at lower amounts than anticipated. Haven Wilvich, the choir's executive director, has started a GoFundMe in hopes of raising enough money to keep the choir going.

STANCE began in 2016 as the dream of Wilvich, and the choir has been performing publicly since 2022, with successful Pride and Trans Day of Remembrance concerts each year, as well as talent shows and special appearances.

The choir's GoFundMe page (see link below) shows a good reason to offer support to this plucky group: a video recording of True Colors, STANCE's most recent concert. Artistic director Kaelee Alicia Bolme leads the choir through a varied and challenging program, with songs that showcase the group's ability to handle difficult harmonies.

In the 90-plus-minute concert video, the choir sings songs in five languages, ranging from "Resignation" by Black classical composer Florence Price, to a song in Urdu by A.R. Rahman, to a highly rhythmic song in Haitian Creole, "Karnaval" by Sydney Guillaume — not to mention David Bowie's "Space Oddity" and, of course, Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors," among other songs. It's an impressive concert that shows how hard choir members have been working and how ambitious their artistic goals are.

It would be a great pity for STANCE to cease to exist. Wilvich, Bolme, and the choir's members hope the region's LGBTQ+ community will respond to their funding drive in great enough numbers to keep them singing.

To support the STANCE GoFundMe, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/STANCEchoir .
For more information about STANCE, visit https://www.stanceseattle.org/.