![Black Tulip Chorale conductor Robert Strumpf leads a rehearsal. The choir welcomes participants of any gender expression. [10/31/19]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/9058962/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6000x3695+0+152/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fkwmu%2Ffiles%2F201910%2F103119_JDG_CPBlackTulip_03.JPG)
![Dan Kelly is a member of Black Tulip Chorale. "There's just moments where everybody is completely in synch and the room rings with this tone. You have to not start crying, 'cause you have to keep working," he says. [10/31/19]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/e0171de/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5844x3599+0+198/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fkwmu%2Ffiles%2F201910%2F103119_JDG_CPBlackTulip_04.jpg)
![Greyson Coggins (left) and Lindsay Short describe the choir as an extended family. [10/31/19]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/d8cbed8/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6000x3695+0+152/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fkwmu%2Ffiles%2F201910%2F103119_CPBlackTulip_05.JPG)
distinguishes itself from other choirs by actively welcoming members who present any gender expression. This is in contrast to ensembles that bill themselves as men鈥檚 or women鈥檚 choirs. It鈥檚 also unusual for an artform that tends to hold fast to established gender roles.
![Robert Stumpf leads Black Tulip Chorale in a rehearsal for its Nov. 16 performance. [10/31/19]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/8ba3725/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3997x6000+0+0/resize/840x1260!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fkwmu%2Ffiles%2F201910%2F103119_JDG_CPBlackTulip_01_0.JPG)
鈥淚鈥檝e gone to a couple of choral festivals where the criteria literally lists, if you鈥檙e female you must sing soprano or alto. You are not allowed to sing tenor,鈥� said Robert Stumpf, Black Tulip Chorale鈥檚 conductor. 鈥淪lamming the door in someone鈥檚 face out of some old, ancient, preconceived notion isn鈥檛 going to do anybody any good. It鈥檚 just not how we operate.鈥�
This episode of 鈥淐ut & Paste鈥� includes an in-studio interview with , a behind-the-scenes visit to a rehearsal and reflections from three of the group鈥檚 members.
Black Tulip Chorale鈥檚 (鈥淥ur Song: 500 years of Lgbtqia2+鈥�) celebrates the group鈥檚 inclusive nature. Composers represented on the program range from Tchaikovksy to Duke Ellington collaborator Billy Strayhorn to Melissa Etheridge. The St. Louis Wind Symphony and Grammy Award winner Christine Brewer will join Black Tulip Chorale for select numbers.
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![In a photo taken in June, writer Paul Thiel is seen exiting a Ford Model A, prepared for rain. [7/15/19]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/e16c4db/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3537x2340+311+0/resize/260x172!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fkwmu%2Ffiles%2F201907%2F071519_JDG_CandPThiel_01.jpg)
