Spectrum Queer Choir

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St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, NL
Spectrum Queer Choir

Spectrum Q***r Choir is a non-auditioned community choir that creates a place of celebration, belonging, and safety for 2SLGBTQIA+ people.

Together, we seek justice, growth, and connection through music-making that enriches our lives and the culture of NL Spectrum Q***r Choir is the first community choir in Newfoundland and Labrador for le***an, gay, bisexual, transgender, and q***r people and our allies. Founded in 2011, the choir creates a space of safety, community, and celebration for LGBTQ people. There are no audition to join

Spectrum and the choir welcomes all ages 13+ who want to sing with us, regardless of experience or identity. Wednesday nights, 7:30pm-9pm
E-mail - info@spectrumq***rchoir.com

05/09/2026

Spectrum would like to send a heartfelt Thank You to everyone who joined us for Where the Light Breaks Through 💖 It was a joy to sing for you all in collaboration with the amazing Aurora Women's Choir, and invite you into the uplifting community spirit that Spectrum is all about.

We are grateful to our sponsors St. John's Pride, MusicNL, the City of St. John's, and the phenomenal folks at First Light for their generous and continued support. Thank you to our concert volunteers for flawlessly handling our tickets, programs, merch sales, and performance tech. Last night couldn't have happened without all of you!

This time next week, Spectrum will be representing Newfoundland and Labrador at the Unison Festival, joining 2SLGBTQIA+ Choirs from across Canada for a spectacular time in Vancouver 💖🌈🎶 This is no small feat, and if you have contributed in any way, big or small, to helping Spectrum get to Unison, we are so incredibly thankful!

See you on July 15th for our Pride Week concert!

04/24/2026

Mark your calendars folks, you're invited to a beautiful choral concert!

"Where the Light Breaks Through" will bring together the voices of Spectrum Q***r Choir, led by Alice Hietala, and our special guests Aurora Women's Choir, led by Abra Whitney. Both choirs will be accompanied by Mado Christie. We are so excited for this collaboration!

In honour of International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia, our program will emphasize joy, light, and belonging. You won't want to miss it 🎶💚🌈✨

📅 Friday, May 8 | Doors 7:00, Concert 7:30

📍 First Light Centre for Performance and Creativity

🎟️ Tickets available here: https://tinyurl.com/4ynydxfs

04/22/2026

📣📣 NEWS RELEASE
For immediate release

Spectrum Q***r Choir to represent St. John’s at Unison Choral Festival

Community support needed to help bring Newfoundland and Labrador’s 2SLGBTQIA+ voices to Canada’s National q***r choral gathering

April 22, 2026 | St. John’s, NL | Spectrum Q***r Choir

Spectrum Q***r Choir will be proudly representing St. John’s and Newfoundland & Labrador at the Unison Choral Festival (Unison) in Vancouver, BC this May.

The opportunity places local 2SLGTQIA+ artists on a national stage while strengthening
connections between q***r and transgender communities across the country.

Since Spectrum’s participation at the 7th Unison Festival in 2023, membership has grown exponentially. While the choir has raised enough funds to support returning members, over 15 new members are hoping to join the journey. Spectrum must raise an additional $25,000 to make participation possible for everyone. The choir is calling on our community to help ensure that no voices are left behind.

For many members, attending Unison in 2023 was a transformative experience, offering an experience of being surrounded by hundreds of 2SLGBTQIA+ singers celebrating identity, music and belonging. Conductor Alice Hietala recognized how vital this kind of space is for fostering connection, confidence and pride within the choir’s community.

Donations can be made directly on Spectrum’s Canada helps page or through GoFundMe.

CanadaHelps: https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/spectrum-q***r-choir-inc/

GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/473c5099a

Quotes:

“The voices of Newfoundland and Labrador have always resonated with a unique resilient beauty and deep rooted love of community, and nothing less can be said of Spectrum Q***r Choir. We can not wait to share our message of belonging and joy and show our national family what makes our music, tenacity, and passion so Rock solid.”

Alice Hietala
Artistic Director, Spectrum Q***r Choir

Quick facts:
● Spectrum Q***r Choir will attend Unison Festival in Vancouver, May 15-18 2026
● Nearly 50 choristers are planning to attend
● Although over $65,000 has been raised to support returning members, the choir is
seeking $25,000 in additional support to ensure new members can participate

About Spectrum Q***r Choir

Founded in 2011, it is the first community choir in Newfoundland and Labrador for 2SLGBTQIA+ people and allies. It is a non-auditioned community choir that creates a place of celebration, belonging, and safety for 2SLGBTQIA+ people. Spectrum welcomes all who wish to join regardless of experience, ability, or identity. Together, we seek justice, growth, and connection through music-making that enriches our lives and the culture of Newfoundland and Labrador.

About Unison

Unison is a national gathering of 2SLGBTQIA+ choirs and choruses from across Canada. This year's festival will welcome nearly 40 musical groups in a spirit of celebration, resilience and belonging. Each performance reflects this year's theme of music, healing and spirit – a timely reminder of the power of community voices during a period when many 2SLGBTQIA+ communities are facing growing social and political challenges.

Associated links:
● Website: spectrumq***rchoir.com
● Facebook: Spectrum Q***r Choir
● Instagram: ***rchoir

Contacts
Alice Hietala | Artistic Director
conductor@spectrumq***rchoir.com

Nathalie Brunet | Chair
chair@spectrumq***rchoir.com

Board of Directors
info@spectrumq***rchoir.com

04/12/2026

🚨Spectrum Q***r Choir NEEDS YOUR HELP!

On May 14th, we are leaving Newfoundland on a very important adventure…to go to Unison Choruses Canada / Chœurs Unisson Canada
Festival 2026! Canada’s LARGEST 2SLGBTQIA+ choral festival.

And we really need your help to get there 🙏

Here are two ways you can financially contribute:

➡️ Support our GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/503b6b3f5

➡️ Donate directly to our Canada Helps page: www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/spectrum-q***r-choir-inc

Spectrum Q***r Choir is a REGISTERED CHARITY, which means that your donations through Canada Helps are eligible for a charitable tax receipt.

This is why we need you:

💕 We are a low barrier, non-auditioned choir, which is an accessible entry point into the music world since members are welcome to participate regardless of their ability to pay choir dues, or music experience. Our members come from varying backgrounds with respect to age, financial ability to pay, health status, and singing experience.

✈️ Travelling across the country from Newfoundland to Vancouver is particularly challenging and expensive. While members who are able are paying their own way, your contribution will help remove financial barriers and ensure no one is left behind. Every gift, big or small, goes a long way (hopefully, all the way to Vancouver)!

💸 Not able to donate right now?
Here is how you can help:

✅ Share this post!

✅ Ask your friends, families and workplaces to donate!

✅ Buy a ticket (or 2…or 5) to our concert on May 8th (details to come)!

✅ Buy some raffle tickets to win a Mernini raincoat (email julie@spectrumq***rchoir.com for more information)!

From the bottom of our hearts, we sincerely thank you for your support.

With gratitude (and a long-winded plea),

Spectrum Q***r Choir

03/03/2026

All smiles because we were invited to take part in Quorum conference this past weekend 🕊️🌈🎶

We love any excuse to sing, and we especially loved sharing our songs with incredible community members & organizations that are working so hard to improve people's lives 💖

Lastly, many thanks to all who stopped by our table for a chat, donation, or purchase of our merch. We really appreciate your support 🥰

01/28/2026

✨ Our GoFundMe is Live! ✨

Spectrum’s dream of traveling to the west coast to join 26 other 2SLGBTQIA+ choirs and 1000+ singers at the Unison Festival is just a few thousand dollars short!

We have been working really hard through fundraisers, grants, merch sales, gigs and performances and have reached the amount of $52,190.

With your support, we can reach the finish line and achieve our goal of $75,000. This will ensure that all choir members who want to attend will be able to do so, regardless of financial ability.

Please consider contributing or sharing this message to help us succeed. Thanks 💚

https://gofund.me/12c3f9fac

12/31/2025

Our cooking class is SOLD OUT!!. Thank you for the support and keep an eye out for future classes!!

12/20/2025

🎉 News Flash! 🎉

Spectrum Q***r Choir is thrilled to announce that we are now a registered charity!

Still deciding which charity to donate to before the end of the year? Ponder no more—pick Spectrum!

We’re fundraising to support our choir members to attend Unison 2026 Festival, a national choral festival for 2SLGBTQIA+ choirs. With your help, we can make this dream a reality.

We’re so close to our goal of $60,000—we’ve already raised $52,482!

💖 Donate today and help us cross the finish line.

https://spectrumq***rchoir.com/donate-now/

12/18/2025

SOLD OUT!!!!!

✨Join us in January for a virtual cooking class to help us reach our Unison Festival fundraising goal! Cook in Unison makes a wonderful gift idea, more details below✨

This event is hosted by Dominique, aka our accompanist Mado’s mum, who grew up in Thailand. This is her favourite dish.

We’ll be making Kao Soi, the beloved northern Thai/Lao noodle dish in red curry coconut broth. You can make enough for 2 or 4 (or more), and you can easily adapt to make a vegan/gluten free version.

Kao soi is a brothy, noodly flavour bomb (not too spicy) and has lots of veggies and the protein of your choice. We’ll also make a roasted mango-coconut topping for ice cream (using frozen mangoes) for dessert.

Giving this as a gift? We’ll include a list of ingredients or materials you could offer with it. If you live in St John’s or Toronto, we’ll tell you where to get them.

In January, participants will receive a shopping list. A few days before we meet, you’ll get a simple prep list so your workspace will look like a cooking show. You’ll also get a recipe after we’re done, so you can make it again. We’re keeping the group small so you can ask questions as we go.

------------------------------------------------

SPOTS ARE LIMITED TO 15 PARTICIPANTS. To secure a space:

1. Visit Spectrum's Canada Helps link: https://share.google/hFr5nBRHKvsGA8LvL

2. Enter your donation details (suggested $35), either General or Unison 2026 Fund is much appreciated.

3. In the message box, please write "Cooking", so we can distinguish your donation for this class.

4. If you are giving it as a gift, we will send you a virtual gift certificate to present to the recipient.

5. If we reach our limit of 15 Participants & you register after that point, your name will be added to a wait-list for a future Cook-Along Class.

Many thanks to Dominique and to everyone involved for supporting Spectrum, this will be spectacular!

11/24/2025

Wow! What a night! 🎤✨

Spectrum Q***r Choir would like to thank every single person who showed up and showed out for our Q***raoke Extravaganza fundraiser on Saturday!

After all our expenses were accounted for, we raised a grand total of $2245!! 💸

This money will go directly into our Unison 2026 fund to help get our choir to Vancouver in May! This brings our travel fund to just over $50,000 and, while we still have some money to raise to get all of our members across the country to Unison, we are well on our way thanks to our incredible community. ✈️

We couldn’t have done any of this without our amazing competitors, Adam, Alejandra, Amanda, Belle, Katie, Ryan, Shane, and our winner, Tucker!! 👑 Thank you to our guest judges and performers, Mochaccino Grande, MK Morris, and Uncle Curtis, our hosts for the night, Gill Aylward and Whoreville Pecs, and our incredible team of volunteers! 🌟

A special thank you to the Station Lounge for letting us use their space for free and to Mocha Dawn Under Productions for their extra donation! 🙌

Weren’t able to make it to this one? Don’t worry, this won’t be the last time we host a Q***raoke Extravaganza! Stay tuned to our social media for more details to come. 🪩

📸 Please tag us in all your photos and videos from Saturday, and see you at the next one! We promise, you won’t want to miss it!

Address

St. John's, Newfoundland And Labrador, NL

Website

https://spectrumqueerchoir.com/

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