B. Lindsey Deaton
Creator, artistic director, public servant, and trans and LGBTQIA+ youth advocate B. Lindsey Deaton has made a name for herself in the music world. She’s one of the leading experts on the transgender singing voice and is widely recognized as a leader in building the global trans choral movement. She currently serves as a Commissioner for the City of West Hollywood Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission and is the founder and Artistic Director of the San Diego Queer Youth Chorus. Deaton is also Creator and Artistic Director of The TransDiaries, a theater project produced by the Hollywood chapter of the National Organization for Women. In 2015, she founded the Trans Chorus of Los Angeles, which quickly became the largest chorus of trans and non-binary people in the world. While she’s achieved prolific success, Deaton’s transition wasn’t easy. Before coming out, she worked as a music director at a number of Catholic churches. She lost her job after coming out. However, she doesn’t have any regrets. “In many ways, my ‘coming out’ created a life for me that I once thought impossible,” Deaton tells GO. “Being out has provided me an opportunity to amplify and center trans/non-binary/BIPOC folx voices, and to create the spaces, provide the resources and the time for their faces to be seen, and for their voices to be heard.” —IL
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