Chorus Stories: Bri Walden

Our name is Bri (she/her) and we are a plural system, brand new this term with PGMC. Ever since we moved to Portland in 2016, we have been hesitant to join PGMC because we had this image in our head of it just being a bunch of crusty old gay men, and as we are a genderfluid transgender woman, we thought we would feel out of place in a “men’s” chorus. However, last term our peer support person acquired some tickets to see PGMC perform live. The experience and impact on us was extraordinary. The pieces chosen were superb, rigorous, challenging, and focused on uplifting victims of racial violence. We also saw the beautiful variety of genders present in PGMC and we were immediately sold. Excited, we joined PGMC the very next term. We are disabled, so our fixed income is often a barrier for us to participate, but so far we have felt nothing but welcomed with open arms and included 100%. Our quality of life has improved dramatically since joining PGMC, and the experience of singing together with a group of other skilled vocalists, building mastery together, has been such a wonderful addition to our life, and this has been a fulfilling and phenomenal experience thus far. We have been approached by so many friendly wonderful folks from all walks of life, with a shared passion for music, and the strong sense of community and belonging has truly enriched our life. In our personal life, we have a very strained relationship with our family of origin, but with PGMC we feel we have truly found a chosen family here among other queer singers, and we feel like we have returned home.