Queer Songbook Orchestra are a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

chamber pop Chamber pop (also called baroque pop and sometimes conflated with orchestral pop or symphonic pop) is a music genre that combines rock music with the intricate use of strings, horns, piano, and vocal harmonies, and other components drawn from t ...

ensemble, who record and perform orchestral versions of pop songs with meaning to the

LGBTQ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...

community. Songs performed by the orchestra do not necessarily have to be explicitly LGBTQ-themed; the group's stated selection criteria permits any song that can be paired with a compelling story about how that song has "touched a queer life in a way"."Queer Songbook Orchestra Puts the LGBTQ+ Experience In Pop at the Forefront"
''

Noisey ''Vice'' (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian-American magazine focused on lifestyle, arts, culture, and news/politics. It was founded in 1994 in Montreal as an alternative punk magazine, and its founders later launched the youth media company ...

'', June 20, 2018. In concert, each song performed is paired with a recitation of the background story that inspired the group to perform the song. The submitted stories are also collected for posterity by the

Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives The ArQuives: Canada's LGBTQ2+ Archives, formerly known as the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives, is a Canadian non-profit organization, founded in 1973 as the Canadian Gay Liberation Movement Archives. The ArQuives acquires, preserves, and pro ...

Membership

Launched by artistic director Shaun Brodie in 2014,"Rita MacNeil as a queer icon? Pop collective aims to challenge perceptions"
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Halifax Chronicle-Herald ''The Chronicle Herald'' is a broadsheet newspaper published in Halifax, Nova Scotia, owned by Postmedia Network. History Early years Founded in 1874 as ''The Morning Herald'', the paper quickly became one of Halifax's main newspapers. The same ...

'', June 20, 2018. the group's core members include vocalists Alanna Stuart and Alex Samaras, poet Stephen Jackman-Torkoff, violinist Jennifer Burford, cellist Evan Lamberton, oboist and English horn player Lief Mosbaugh, French horn player Micajah Sturgess, guitarist Thom Gill, double bassist Dan Fortin, and percussionist Stefan Schneider. A rotating collective of other musicians and storytellers have also collaborated with the group at individual performances, including

Carole Pope Carole Ann Pope (born 6 August 1950) is a British-born Canadian rock singer-songwriter, whose provocative blend of hard-edged New wave music, new wave rock with explicit homoerotic and BDSM-themed lyrics made her one of the first openly lesbian ...

,"Local hero: Queer Songbook Orchestra's Shaun Brodie"
''

Now Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * Na ...

'', June 13, 2017.

Beverly Glenn-Copeland Beverly Glenn-Copeland (born January 1944) is an American-born Canadian singer-songwriter. His albums include '' Keyboard Fantasies'' (1986). Glenn-Copeland began publicly identifying as a trans man in 2002. Early life Glenn-Copeland was born ...

, Leah Fay,

Vivek Shraya Vivek Shraya (born February 15, 1981) is a Canadian musician, writer, and visual artist. She is a seven-time Lambda Literary Award finalist and is considered a Great Canadian Filmmaker of the Future by CBC Arts. Shraya is dedicated to bringing cr ...

Mary Margaret O'Hara Mary Margaret O'Hara is a Canadian singer-songwriter, actress and composer. She is best known for the album ''Miss America'', released in 1988. She released two albums and an EP under her own name, and remains active as a live performer, as a con ...

, Gwen Benaway,

Mark Tewksbury Mark Roger Tewksbury, (born February 7, 1968) is a Canadian former competitive swimming (sport), swimmer. He is best known for winning the gold medal in the 100-metre backstroke at the 1992 Summer Olympics. He also hosted the first season of ...

Veda Hille Veda Hille (born August 11, 1968) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, keyboardist and tenor guitar player from Vancouver, British Columbia. She writes songs about love and tragedy, as well as about topical British Columbia subjects.. ''The Vue Wee ...

,"Queer Songbook Orchestra strengthens resolve with Songs of Resilience"
''

The Georgia Straight ''The Georgia Straight'' is a free Canadian weekly news and entertainment newspaper published in Vancouver, British Columbia, by Overstory Media Group. Often known simply as ''The Straight'', it is delivered to newsboxes, post-secondary schools ...

'', January 27, 2016.

Lorraine Segato Lorraine P. Segato (born June 17, 1956, in Hamilton, Ontario) is a Canadian pop singer-songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist for and a principal songwriter of new wave and pop rock group The Parachute Club, with which she continues to ...

Bill Richardson William Blaine Richardson III (November 15, 1947 – September 1, 2023) was an American politician, author, and diplomat who served as the List of governors of New Mexico, 30th governor of New Mexico from 2003 to 2011. He was U.S. ambassador to ...

Gentleman Reg Reginald Vermue is a Canadian indie rock singer from Guelph, Ontario. Born in Trenton, Ontario, he has recorded music under the stage names Gentleman Reg and Regina Gently. His musical style has been compared to Elliott Smith, Aimee Mann, The Sm ...

Gary Beals Gary Beals (born October 25, 1982) is a Canadian singer who is best known for being runner up in the first season of the reality television series ''Canadian Idol''. He is a resident of Cherry Brook, Nova Scotia and named "Best Halifamous Per ...

Louis Negin Louis Negin (20 October 1929 – 2 December 2022) was a British-born Canadian actor, best known for his roles in the films of Guy Maddin."Enchantment". ''In Toronto'', September 2011. Career Born in London, England, and raised in Toronto, Onta ...

, Wayson Choy,

Rémy Huberdeau Rémy Huberdeau (born 1979) is a Canadian filmmaker from Winnipeg, Manitoba. He is transgender, and many of the films he has worked on or directed touch upon the topic of being transgender. He is currently based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He h ...

Simone Schmidt Simone Schmidt (born 1984) is a singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer and composer from Toronto, Canada. Schmidt has helmed One Hundred Dollars (2007–11), psych-rock outfit The Highest Order (2011-?), and solo project Fiver (2012–present ...

Torquil Campbell Torquil Campbell (born March 17, 1972) is the co-lead singer and a songwriter for the Montreal-based indie rock band Stars. In addition to singing, he also plays the melodica, trumpet, synthesizer, and tambourine. Campbell is also an actor and ...

, Daniela Gesundheit, Katie Ritchie, Casey Mecija,

Cris Derksen Cris Derksen is a two-spirit Juno Award–nominated Cree cellist from Northern Alberta, Canada. Derksen is known for her unique musical sound which blends classical music with traditional Indigenous music. Her music is often described as "electr ...

Rae Spoon Rae Spoon is a Canadian musician, composer, producer, performer, and writer from Calgary, Alberta. Their musical style has varied from country to electronic-influenced indie rock and folk punk.Safia Nolin Safia Nolin is a French Canadian folk-pop singer-songwriter from Quebec City, Quebec.Videofag Videofag was a storefront arts space that operated in Toronto, Ontario's Kensington Market from 2012 to 2016. Founded and run by couple William Christopher Ellis, William Ellis and Jordan Tannahill, who converted it from an old barbershop, the spac ...

in 2014. In 2015 they gave their first live performance outside Toronto, performing at St. Alban's Anglican Church in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

. In recent years they have performed an annual show at

Buddies in Bad Times Buddies in Bad Times Theatre is a Canadian professional theatre company. Based in Toronto, Ontario, and founded in 1978 by Matt Walsh, Jerry Ciccoritti, and Sky Gilbert, ''Buddies in Bad Times'' is dedicated to "the promotion of queer theatrical ex ...

during

Pride Toronto Pride Toronto is an annual event held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in June each year to celebrate the LGBTQ community in the Greater Toronto Area. The centre of the festival is the city's Church and Wellesley village, while the parade and m ...

, and have performed at various arts festivals throughout Canada. In fall 2018, they undertook a 12-city national tour.

Recordings

The group collaborated with

on her 2017 album ''Part Time Woman'', which was a longlisted nominee for the

2018 Polaris Music Prize The 2018 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 17, 2018.k.d. lang Kathryn Dawn Lang (born November 2, 1961), known by her stage name k.d. lang (stylised in all lowercase), is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress. Lang has won Juno Awards and Grammy Awards for her musical pe ...

Billy Strayhorn William Thomas Strayhorn (November 29, 1915 – May 31, 1967) was an American jazz composer, pianist, lyricist, and arranger who collaborated with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington for nearly three decades. His compositions include "Take the ...

Rita MacNeil Rita MacNeil (May 28, 1944 – April 16, 2013) was a Canadian singer and songwriter from the community of Big Pond, Nova Scotia, Big Pond on Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Island. Her biggest hit, "Flying On Your Own", was a crossover Top 40 hit in ...

Joe Meek Robert George "Joe" Meek (5 April 1929 – 3 February 1967) was an English record producer and songwriter considered one of the most influential sound engineers of all time, being one of the first to develop ideas such as the recording studio a ...

Gene MacLellan Gene MacLellan (February 2, 1938 – January 19, 1995) was a Canadian singer-songwriter from Prince Edward Island. Among his compositions were " Snowbird", made famous by Anne Murray, " Put Your Hand in the Hand", " The Call", "Pages of Tim ...

Melissa Etheridge Melissa Lou Etheridge (born May 29, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and guitarist. Her Melissa Etheridge (album), eponymous debut album was released in 1988 and became an underground success. It peaked at No. 22 on the Billbo ...

and Arthur Russell."Queer Songbook Orchestra: Anthems & Icons"
''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

'', June 18, 2018.

References

{{authority control Chamber pop groups Musical groups from Toronto Musical groups established in 2014 Canadian LGBTQ musicians LGBTQ culture in Toronto LGBTQ-themed musical groups 2014 establishments in Canada