In 2002-03, we happily celebrated our 20th Anniversary of singing boldly. In addition to our well-received concert offerings, we had a tremendous year, including the December 1st, 2003 world premiere of Quilt Panels (for my love, for my grief, for my letting go) by Robert Maggio, which the LGCW co-commissioned with D.C.’s Different Drummers. Quilt Panels, a 40-minute work for band and chorus inspired by The AIDS Memorial Quilt, was a 2 ½ year project which culminated with the world premiere at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland. The voices of the Jubilee Singers of All Souls Unitarian Church joined with the LGCW and other community members for the performance. We presented excerpts of Quilt Panels (with piano and flute) at the 20th Anniversary Concert.
Other community events of out 20th Anniversary Year were:
- Collaboration with the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange in two performances of “Near/Far/In/Out,” a multimedia dance project about the lives of glbt people,
- Singing on the stage at the March for Women’s Lives on April 25th,
- Performances at the annual Remembrance of Martin Luther King, Jr. and at the 5th Annual Arts Corner, Capital Pride Festival – both sponsored by the GLBT Arts Consortium, and
- Performance for the GLBT Caucus of the National Education Association.
In a collaboration with the Heritage Signature Chorale, Washington Men’s Camerata, and the Washington Women’s Chorus, the LGCW participated in "I, too, sing America," a celebration of Langston Hughes Centenary, at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, October 6, 2003. The LGCW’s performance under the direction of Dr. Ysaye Maria Barnwell garnered praise for its "focused intensity." (THE WASHINGTON POST, 10/8/2002.)
Other recent achievements include: performances of such masterworks as: "The Unicorn, The Gorgon, and The Manticore" by Gian Carlo Menotti, Persichetti's "Celebrations" in collaboration with the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington Choir and D.C.'s Different Drummers Concert Band, and Robert Convery's cantata, "Songs of Children," based on the writings of children from the Holocaust. In June 2000, the LGCW performed at the Smithsonian Folk Life Festival, proudly representing metropolitan D.C.'s choral tradition, and the GLBT community. The LGCW was a 2001 Finalist for the Mayor's Arts Award for Excellence in an Artistic Discipline - Music. In 1998, the Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington named the LGCW "Organization of the Year."