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SPEAKER: The fluid boundaries of gender and gender identity have been in the news of late and the subject of much public debate. Now, One Voice Mixed Chorus is examining the issue in song. This weekend, it presents "Gender Unchecked" at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in St. Paul. And Marianne Combs has a report.

JANE RAMSEYER MILLER: OK, let's start from the top.

SPEAKER: Artistic director Jane Ramseyer Miller leads the One Voice Mixed Chorus through a rehearsal in the parish Hall of unity church Unitarian in St. Paul.

[CHOIR SINGING]

The chorus formed in 1988 in response to the AIDS epidemic, creating a place where gays and lesbians could focus on something positive and uplifting amidst the loss of loved ones. Ramseyer Miller says over the years, transgender and straight singers also joined.

JANE RAMSEYER MILLER: This is a really fun mix of people who are looking for community and looking for great music and love to sing. And that's who we are.

[CHOIR SINGING]

MARIANNE COMBS: One Voice Mixed Chorus now bills itself as the largest LGBT and allies chorus in the nation, with more than 125 singers and an additional 50 volunteers. For years, the chorus has explored issues surrounding gender. It's out in our schools program, works with student singers at local middle and high schools in an effort to combat bullying, build confidence, and empower youth. Chorus production manager Anne Hodson says, Saturday's gender unchecked concert was conceived in part from conversations with young singers.

ANNE HODSON: What's the first question we ask somebody when we find out if they're pregnant? Are you having a boy or are you having a girl? It's the very first thing we do. And once we know that information, we begin developing an identity for that child around our own preconceived notions of what gender means. And some of that's going to get tipped on its side, and some of it's going to be turned upside down in this concert.

MARIANNE COMBS: Hodson says the concert features classical songs by women who were forced by societal norms to publish under the names of men. It also includes more recent works such as "William's Doll."

["WILLIAM'S DOLL," PLAYING] Don't be a Sissy said his best friend Ed

Why should a boy want to play with a doll

Dolls are for girls said his cousin Fred.

ANNE HODSON: The boy in the song is five years old, and he wants a doll. But his parents don't feel that it's appropriate for a boy. And so the parents refuse to let him have a doll.

MARIANNE COMBS: For Anne Hodson, the song is particularly resonant.

ANNE HODSON: I wanted a doll too, and my parents did not want me to have a doll because I was born a boy and they felt that it's inappropriate for a little boy to have a doll.

MARIANNE COMBS: Woven throughout the concert are stories performed and read by singers and their young collaborators. One of them is 21-year-old Alex Renshaw, who will be reading poetry. Sitting at open book in Minneapolis, Renshaw looks male with a young beard and a curly head of Black hair. But Renshaw doesn't feel male and only maintains this look to avoid unwanted attention.

ALEX RENSHAW: It's been like hiding, like, literally hiding. It's like, this is what I feel like I have to do right now to be safe with where I'm at.

MARIANNE COMBS: Renshaw hopes someday soon to have the courage to embrace an identity that feels right. While cultural icons, like Laverne Cox and Caitlyn Jenner have been getting positive media attention, Renshaw says they're the exception because they're able to pass as beautiful women. Studies showing transgender people are more likely to suffer from sexual violence, homelessness, and depression both scare and anger Renshaw.

Back at rehearsal, Anne Hodson says stories like Renshaw's fuel the work of One Voice Mixed Chorus in schools.

ANNE HODSON: A lot of kids aren't getting the support. They're not getting the love that they need as they're growing up. And when we hear some of those stories, it's just heartbreaking.

MARIANNE COMBS: Hodson says, the chorus wants this weekend's performance of "Gender Unchecked" to both open up people's minds to non-traditional gender identities and show that for those who embrace such an identity, there's hope for a life of acceptance and love. Marianne Combs, Minnesota Public Radio News.