ABOUT

Soromundi, which means "sisters of the world," is the name of a far-off star. Our choir is non-audition and open to all women. Our mission is to come together in song to celebrate ourselves and our community as a visible expression of lesbian pride. We continually improve our musical abilities and appreciate every opportunity to share our joy of singing with our listeners. We strive for inclusion and accessibility at many levels; our choir is open to all women, every performance is wheelchair accessible and sign-language interpreted, and no one is turned away for lack of funds.

Membership Statement

Approved August 11th 2019

Soromundi Lesbian Chorus of Eugene

Chorus membership is open to anyone over 18 who identifies as a woman. We welcome members of all orientations, races, ethnicities, abilities, economic statuses, and religions. We embrace a broad definition for self-identified women which includes lesbian, straight, bisexual, cisgender, transgender, and intersex women, individuals with non-binary gender identities, and gender expansive individuals who find home within women's spaces. This can include gender non-conforming, agender, two-spirit, butch, femme, and many other identities. We intend this membership definition to be as inclusive as possible while honoring and reaffirming our history and identity as Soromundi Lesbian Chorus of Eugene.

1989 Karm Hagedorn convened Soromundi's first rehearsal in her living room
1990 Gave our first performance and brought the house down after only three songs at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Eugene service
1998 Toured to Bend, Klamath Falls, Ashland, and Roseburg
1999 Recorded a 10-year retrospective CD, Sentimental Journey
2001 Performed by invitation at the Gay and Lesbian Allied Choruses Leadership Conference Choral Spectacular in Portland
2002 Performed Adiemus: Songs of Sanctuary with orchestral accompaniment at the Hult Center
2003/04 Building Bridges outreach project (funded in part by the Equity Foundation) brought the Soromundi experience to women in Roseburg, Bend, and Newport
2004 Recorded our second CD, Circle Me Sisters
2007 Took a one-year singing sabbatical to restructure the board and all operations committees toward Soromundi sustainability
2009 Celebrated our 20th anniversary with special events all year long

2011 Performed the second Women in Transition benefit with 40 community members who participated in a day-long “Be a Mundi for a Day” workshop; Recorded our third CD, “Love, Rescue Me.”
2012 Increased the size of our board by three members, and created a community member board position. Partnered with North Eugene High School, our rehearsal venue sponsor, to make significant improvements to the school’s choir room.
2013 Toured the Northwest for five days taking two busses packed with Mundis to Portland, Tacoma, and Seattle. Engaged LGBTQQI youth organizations and performed with them in all cities.
2014 Participated in a season-long process offered by the UO School of Law to ensure a healthy organizational structure and long-term sustainability.
2015 Celebrated our 25th anniversary with our second performance of Karl Jenkins’ “Adiemus: Songs of Sanctuary,” this time in collaboration with the UO School of Music’s Orchestra Next, and dancers from Denbaya.
2016 Hosted Portland's GSA youth choir, Bridging Voices, and 15 local GSA youth, in an all-day singing, talking, laughing, not-a-dry-eye-in-the-house, learning-from-each-other kind of day. Sang together in our annual LCC concert in the evening. These young people are amazing!

Mission: Soromundi comes together in song to create a visible expression of lesbian pride. We strive for musical excellence and embrace our commonalities and differences. Through the power of music and inclusion we effect positive change in our community.