Queer Joy
Despite its setbacks, the WCPA has always been a safe space full of queer joy and acceptance. It has served as a platform in the fight against inequality and also as a refuge.
The Windy City Performing Arts was inducted into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame in 2022.
The WCPA has received critical acclaim and has collaborated with celebrities such as Kristin Chenoweth, Julie Andrews, Hugh Jackman, Marin Alsop, and Diane Schuur.
Don We Now… has become a staple for the WCPA, having been performed dozens of times during the chorus' 45-year run.
Founding Director Richard Garrin left WCPA in 1995 and joined the Masterworks Chorale in San Mateo, CA in 1997. In 2002, he moved to New York City. From 2004-2008, he was the conductor of the Summit Chorale in New Jersey where he currently resides.
He was inducted into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame in 1993.
In 2003, The Windy City Gay Chorus and Windy City Treble Quire became the first choruses in an LGBTQ+ organization to sing the National Anthem at an Illinois professional sporting event.
They performed at the Chicago Free Press sponsored “Out at the Ballgame” Day at US Cellular Field, opening for the Chicago White Sox v Cleveland Indians game.
Currently, the WCPA is in its 45th season and will be holding a concert titled “You Are Enough!” on Saturday, April 27th at Gannon Concert Hall!
Purchase tickets here.