In June of 1985, gay men inspired by a San Francisco gay choir wanted to bring the same idea to Pittsburgh. Later that winter, the group became known as Renaissance City Choir and performed their first holiday concert.
40 years later, the group formerly known as Renaissance City Choir is celebrating their 40 year anniversary with a name change that conveys the changing times. The new name is the Pittsburgh Pride Choir (PPC).
“The choir has continued to grow and grow, and we’re now at 120 plus singers, which is great,” says Endy Reindl, PPC Marketing Chair. “That alone is a sense of community, and it is its own community within the LGBTQIA+ community.”
The original name of the choir was in reference to Pittsburgh’s nickname shortly after World War II. In the 80s, members felt it would be precarious for the group to have the word “gay” in it, and Renaissance was a widely known reference to the city. However, with times changing and years passing, the name didn’t invoke the same familiarity and understanding that it did back then.
“It’s not as commonplace a term anymore for this city,” Reindl explains. “So there was a lot of conversation at the board-level of, is this name indicative of the group? Does this really personify the joy and the community and the singing that this organization does?”
With the current political climate, the board wanted to lean into the community unapologetically and with pride.
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“As an organization, we want to be leaning forward and advocating and saying that this organization is here, and we’re very, very proud,” Reindl says. “Hence why it is Pittsburgh Pride Choir, with pride being a special point for us.”
The name isn’t the only thing that has changed about the choir over the last 40 years. The choir has grown exponentially, and so has the talent. Reindl praises the level of musicianship and artistry that those on the choir possess.
“They do actually know what they’re singing, there’s some depth to it,” he says. “There is a level of musicianship, despite having members from all ranges of musical backgrounds or lack of musical backgrounds – there’s a wide variety. But yet the level of musicality continues to exceed anyone’s expectations.”
“The thing is, it’s not just community, it’s not just singing – it’s the awareness and the positive reinforcement of truly being yourself, sharing your gifts in that community, with allies, and just being unabashedly grateful and proud of that,” says Reindl.
Community is a leading principle of the choir, and it always has been. There was a separate Renaissance Women’s Choir formed, which would meet up with the men’s choir to perform together at every concert. The choir moved into their current home where they are the resident artists, East Liberty Presbyterian Church, in 1996. In 2008, the men’s and women’s choir joined together into one choir, which then went on to record a holiday concert CD with the Edgewood Symphony Orchestra.
PPC has continued to grow and receive more opportunities, such as singing with Hugh Jackman, performing at former Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolfe’s inauguration, and performing at Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato’s inauguration.
Between the talent and the feeling of community, the PPC’s performances mean a lot to those performing and supporting.
“We have a variety of individuals from all backgrounds of musicianship, and it could be your neighbor who you didn’t realize sings, or a loved one who you’ve never seen perform in this capacity,” Reindl says. “But when you come to the concerts, when you share in that community, you feel that joy.”
Pittsburgh Pride Choir is launching into their 40th year strong, currently preparing for their upcoming fall season. For those interested in joining, auditions are held before the fall, before the winter cabaret season, and before Pride. Auditions entail a short vocal placement audition with the choir’s artistic director. Those interested in joining the Pittsburgh Pride Choir may email Dr. Kym Scott at director@pittsburghpridec.org.
“It really is about the earnest expression of joy in music as an LGBTQIA+ choir,” Reindl says.
