ARTEMIS SINGERS

	Artemis Singers was the first women’s singing ensemble in the U.S. to explicitly label herself a lesbian feminist chorus, and she is dedicated to performing music written or arranged by women and thus highlighting historical, political, and personal events and experiences common to women. Artemis Singers’ initial meeting took place in June 1979, and the chorus was was formally introduced December 1980 at the second annual Chicago Gay/Lesbian Community Band and Windy City Gay Chorus concert, “Don We Now . . . II.” By 1982, Artemis Singers had earned the Paul R. Goldman Award from the early homophile group ONE of Chicago for outstanding contributions in the field of performing arts in Chicago. Also in 1982, Artemis Singers performed at the first gathering of gay and lesbian choruses, at Lincoln Center in New York City, out of which grew today’s international Gay and Lesbian Association (GALA) of Choruses. Alongside all the men’s and mixed ensembles there, Artemis was the only lesbian chorus to perform, and the other groups were so supportive that Artemis received a standing ovation even before she began to sing. Artemis has long participated in Sister Singers Network, a nationwide cooperative web of feminist choirs, singers, and musicians. In 1984, Artemis Singers participated in the first National Women’s Choral Festival. In 1986 Artemis Singers hosted the third festival here in Chicago, which included women’s choruses from Minneapolis, Kansas City, Lansing, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Madison. And in 2010, Artemis Singers will host the tenth Sister Singers Network festival in Chicago. Through the years, Artemis Singers has been a mainstay in Chicago’s lesbian feminist cultural life, performing for groups such as Kinheart, Jane Addams Bookstore, and Mountain Moving Coffeehouse and for events such as Illinois NOW’s state conference and the historic Judy Chicago Dinner Party installation. In 2003 the chorus did a benefit concert of Diane Benjamin's Breast Cancer Oratario "Where I Live" for the Lesbian Community Cancer Project. The chorus produced her first-ever recording for public sale, a 2-volume 25th-anniversary CD set, in 2005, and was inducted into the City of Chicago's Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in 2008.
	www.artemissingers.org