As the first lesbian feminist singing ensemble in the United States, Artemis Singers has been making music for decades. Founded in 1980, Artemis Singers is open to every woman who is interested in singing regardless of their musical abilities.
The 29-member chorus is, according to its website, "[composed] of women with diverse backgrounds who are dedicated to performing music written or arranged by women. The chorus works to effect positive change in cultural attitudes toward women and women artists, as well as to increase the visibility of lesbian feminists.
"Our goal in selecting and performing music is to provide an emotionally moving, spiritually and aesthetically uplifting, and politically motivating experience to our audience. We want to entertain, amuse and educate ... and most of all, to share a sense of community with our audience."
Artemis Singers was first introduced in December 1980 at the second annual Chicago Gay/Lesbian Community Band and Windy City Gay Chorus concert.
Since then, the group has performed at a variety of venues including the Center on Halsted, the Chicago Cultural Center, the Chicago History Museum, the 2006 Gay Games VI at Millennium Park's Jay Pritzker Pavilion, the Harold Washington Library, Lincoln Center in New York City, Women and Children First Bookstore and many other places.
Artemis Singers has also participated in the Sister Singers Network's—a nationwide cooperative of feminist choirs, singers and musicians—International Women's Choral Festivals around the country. They hosted both the third festival in 1986 and the 10th festival in 2010.
Additionally, Artemis Singers held a concert to benefit the Lesbian Community Cancer Project (now known as the Lesbian Community Care Project) in 2003; in 1987, the chorus participated in a fundraiser for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago.
In 1982, Artemis Singers received the Paul R. Goldman Award from the early LGBT group ONE of Chicago and, in 2008, the group was inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame.
Artemis Singers is a self-directed chorus. Each member is invited to select the music that the chorus sings at each concert. For their upcoming concert in January, all members of the group picked songs to perform that speak to their own personality and experiences such as falling in love, coming out as a lesbian or giving birth.
"The chorus has a diversity of ages and experiences," said Loraine Edwalds. "The result is a beautiful mosaic of music and poetry." Since Edwalds came up with the theme for the concert, she was chosen to be the artistic director. As artistic director, Edwalds is responsible for the order of each musical performance.
Although Artemis Singers operates in an organic and non-hierarchical way, as a 501(c)(3) organization the group has a president, Meta Hellman; vice-president (to be determined); treasurer, Midge Stocker; and scheduler, Diana Clegg. Stocker and Clegg met and fell in love through their involvement with Artemis Singers.
As president, Hellman is the face of the group to the rest of the world and as production coordinator, she is responsible for publicity, gathering volunteers, securing a house manager and all other non-creative aspects of each show.
"I have a community. That has been the most gratifying and wonderful thing for me," said Hellman. "It's a lot of work but you are working on something that is bigger than you are. It's kind of a sisterhood thing where we care about each other."
Hellman also noted that "everyone should sing and can sing. We feel that every woman has a voice and Artemis is here to help women make their voice become a part of everyday reality."
"Artemis is my extended, chosen family," said Stocker. " One of the great things about Artemis is that we teach and learn from each other as well as help each other outside the musical realm. That has changed the lives of lots of the women for the better over the years."
As scheduler, Clegg (along with Hellman) looks at the song list and determines the rehearsal schedule each week so every song gets equal rehearsal time in the weeks prior to each concert.
Clegg noted that the best part of being a member of Artemis Singers is the family atmosphere. "Artemis Singers is still going strong and we would love it if people came to see our concerts." Clegg said.
The chorus will be performing "Many Voices Create the Song: Artemis Singers in Concert" at the Ethical Humanist Society, 7574 N. Lincoln Ave., Skokie, on Saturday, Jan. 19. The group will also be performing in June for Pride month and in December to celebrate the winter solstice. Dates and locations for those concerts are to be determined.
See www.artemissingers.org and find "Artemis Singers" on Facebook for tickets and information.
