In 1985, a group of singers formed the Pittsburgh region's first choir for LGBTQ people and their allies. They called it the Pittsburgh Gay Chorus.
Right away there were concerns. Not so much, as we might assume today, about the name's imperfect inclusiveness. Rather, in the '80s, coming out was rarer and riskier, and the nascent AIDS epidemic gave bigots an additional excuse for homophobia. Citing safety concerns, and the desire for broader public acceptance, the group that same year changed its name to Renaissance City Choir.
The idea was to honor Pittsburgh's so-called second Renaissance, symbolized by the gleaming new Downtown skyline and the likes of PPG Place. After all, in those days, and for years to come, Pittsburgh was nicknamed "the Renaissance City."
But times change. Scarcely anyone uses the moniker "Renaissance City" these days. And some people even think a group called the "Renaissance City Choir" must sing songs from 16th-century Florence, or thereabouts. In fact, it performs show tunes, pop songs and contemporary choral compositions.
So a couple years ago, group leaders began discussing another name change.
"Our mission statement is to affirm and celebrate LGBTQ identity through the unifying power of music," said Douglas McIntyre, who became the group's president in early 2023. "It's hard for us to do that if we are sticking with this name that was developed to be less open about who we are."
Thus, starting this week, the 120-member group is known as the Pittsburgh Pride Choir.
"In a time when people are being still targeted for who they are, it helps us to be a symbol of our mission by affirming and celebrating our own LGBTQIA identity," McIntyre said.
The change was informally announced this past weekend, at the choir's two Pride Month concerts at Downtown's PNC Theatre. It was formally announced Monday, complete with a new logo.
It'll be the branding from now on for the group's three annual shows, including the December holiday concert, spring cabaret show and June Pride show.
In the wake of legal same-sex marriage, among much else, there's little question that for many, it's easier to be out than it was four decades ago, or even two. Yet physical attacks on LGBTQ people and attempts to limit their access to health care remain.
"We certainly have members who have concerns about that, especially because we are seeing — particularly targeted at the trans community — action that is unfriendly to that community and making those individuals feels less safe," said McIntyre.
But for the choir, he added, "It is even more important for us to be open and an example of affirming and celebrating individuals who may feel underrepresented or attacked in our environment. So we become a place where those individuals are celebrated and aren't facing the same kind of criticism and attacks that they're facing in the wider society."
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