Diverse Harmony

Now accepting membership applications for the Fall 2021 Season!

Diverse Harmony is eagerly accepting singers this fall season!

After a long hiatus due to COVID, Diverse Harmony is ready to be back and better than ever and we’d love to see your beautiful face at rehearsals! We are more than thrilled for you to be a part of a community that fosters growth, friendship and support in an intentionally queer and joyful space. And we want to emphasize as well that we accept all ranges of vocal experience!

With recruitment efforts currently underway, rehearsals are scheduled to begin early to mid-fall, so we highly encourage you to register at your early convenience. We are eager for you to become a part of our queer family!

Diverse Harmony: the nation’s first queer-straight alliance youth chorus

Diverse Harmony is the nation’s first queer-straight alliance youth chorus. Based in Seattle, Washington, our chorus presents music that opens the hearts and minds of communities and provides a safe environment for youth of diverse backgrounds to share their love of music and be accepted for who they are.

DONATE

Dear Diverse Harmony Supporter,

We are approaching our 20th year, thanks to you. Our donors have stood with us over the years and seen us through good times and lean times. Diverse Harmony is the nation’s first queer/straight alliance youth chorus and early in our formation we were loved into existence by the good folks at Companis.

We are inviting you to attend Companis’ Biennial fundraising event of which DIverse Harmony is a sponsor.

Companis provides Diverse Harmony and hundreds of other nonprofit agencies with volunteer professional staff support. We’re currently benefitting from Companis Workers Niko Purcell, new choir recruitment manager, Heidi Toppel, our business manager, and web and media specialist Judith Card.

What’s it like to come out at school nowadays?

Seattle’s LGBTQ+ youth speak out.

Here is a wonderful article in The Seattle Times featuring 2 former DH members! The article explores the nuances of coming out as a young person in 2021. Coming out is a subjective term, and definitions and experiences vary for everyone. Coming out can happen multiple times throughout life, once, or never happen at all, and no option makes a person more or less queer or whole. Read the article and get a glimpse into the experiences of Seattle-area queer youth, and what coming out means to them.

Seattle Times Article

EMAIL LIST

REGISTRATION

DH strives to be a safe, judgment-free space where everyone is accepted as exactly who they are, in various places in their own queerness. If you’re interested in joining, please sign up for our email list here!

Diverse Harmony is a space where youth can build community and confidence and experience the healing power of singing in a supportive and lively environment. It’s a space to make long-term friendships while exploring who you are, as exactly who you are.

| Luna Crone-Barón, 15, wears a Pride flag during sunset in Seattle on Oct. 4, 2021. Crone-Barón, a sophomore at the Center School, identifies as a transgender woman, lesbian… (Daniel Kim / The Seattle Times)

Our Story

Diverse Harmony was founded in Seattle in 2002 as the nation’s first gay-straight alliance youth chorus. Over eighteen years we have seen the choir grow to nearly 60 members, and have brought performances to communities throughout Seattle in our regular two-concert season. The chorus has also performed tours to Denver, Chicago, Montreal, Miami, and Portland — with an upcoming trip to Minneapolis in July 2021.

Diverse Harmony is a member of GALA Choruses (the Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses) and is considered a leading youth chorus among its ranks due to our longevity and large membership.

In tandem with our successful performances, Diverse Harmony serves as a safe space for our singers: youth age 13 to 19 who identify as queer, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, questioning, asexual, or allied, among many others. Weekly rehearsals have become a home base for many of our youth where they can feel respected and accepted, and have fun making music together.

Since our founding, we have realized that the term gay-straight alliance does not encompass our entire chorus family. As of 2014, we are fully supporting our community by identifying as a queer-straight alliance youth chorus.

Queer is used as an umbrella term that supports gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, asexual, queer, questioning, and other individuals that may not identify with other titles.

No tuition or membership fee is required of singers, and we accept all levels of musical ability.

Our Mission

Our vision is a world in which differences are celebrated.
Our common bond is the love of music and performance arts.
Our mission is to create a safe, affirming environment where each person is accepted for who they are.
We use our passion and the power of music to inspire all to celebrate the differences in our homes, communities and the world.
We believe that everyone should be loved for who they are and represented with the appropriate language and queer is the appropriate term for our Diverse Harmony family.

Contact

For more information on the term queer, please visit PFLAG.

PFLAG

Join us. Donate. Participate.

Recruitment Video

The Choir

DH performs songs from a wide variety of genres — from contemporary pop to classical to Broadway — through which our members create themed shows or even stage musicals that we perform at the end of each season. Whether they came for the music, the friends, the community, or the snacks, DH choristers often leave their first rehearsal feeling like they have a new musical family to welcome them every Tuesday night.

Board of Directors

Meet the Diverse Harmony Board and Staff

Bob Sittig

President

Bob Sittig is the retired administrator of Seattle First Baptist Church. As a result of his association with the church, he has watched…

Steve Walker

Vice President

Steve Walker is the Vice President of Diverse Harmony. He was formerly the Executive Director of the National Gay Pilots Association and…

Daneil Newcomb

Secretary

Daneil is a social services provider for youth and young adults in the Seattle Area. Their work focuses on empowering young people…

Bryant Vehrs

Treasurer

Bryant attended the MA Psychology program at the College of William and Mary followed by the Clinical Psychology PhD program…

Heidi Toppel

Business Manager

Heidi comes to Diverse Harmony as a Companis volunteer. She is a retired CPA and tax attorney. She serves on the boards of Naral Pro-Choice, WA…

J. Allen Leslie

Artistic Director

Allen has been teaching Music in the Shoreline School District for twenty-four years, led choirs as a Music Director, and worked for various…

Niko Purcell

Recruitment Facilitator

Niko is a former choir member turned facilitator of recruitment efforts. She is a graduating senior from Western Washington University studying English…

Upcoming Shows

Check back soon, as more performances will be added!

Pictured above – Diverse Harmony travelled to Portland in 2013 to celebrate Pride and do outreach. We assisted in the creation of Portland’s own queer youth chorus, which is called Bridging Voices.

Request a Performance

Postponed – TBD

Concert at Seattle First Baptist Church

June Concert

Time and loaction TBA

Postponed

GALA! Minneapolis. MN

Friends of Diverse Harmony

Seattle First Baptist

SFBC, a Welcoming and Affirming American Baptist Church, has been the home of Diverse Harmony from its inception. The choir utilizes the church’s wonderful facilities for weekly practices and performances. Members of the church are avid artistic and financial supporters of Diverse Harmony.

learn more

Companis

Companis fosters skilled volunteer service by placing dedicated professionals with nonprofit agencies that need staffing assistance. Companis placed Heidi our Business Manager and Judith our Webmaster with us. Companis staff and volunteers are avid artistic and financial supporters of Diverse Harmony.

learn more

ArtsFund

ArtsFund strengthens the community by supporting the arts through leadership, advocacy, and grant making. The Seattle-based nonprofit has been building community through the arts for over 50 years and is one of the nation’s leading United Arts Funds. Diverse Harmony is a grateful recipient of two grants from the ArtsFund: one in 2020 from its COVID-19 Arts Emergency Relief Fund and another in 2021 from the Nonprofit Community Recovery program.

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Say Hello

There are no strangers here; only friends you haven’t met yet.