During Westview Choir shows, Eden Shulman’s (10) shifting around the stage is hard to miss. While the rest of the singers stay in one place on the risers throughout the show, he moves around between songs.

“Sometimes it’s kind of tricky with where I’m standing because I’ll be singing with one section of the choir and then in the middle of the concert,  I’ll have to move to the other side because I’m singing with a different section of the choir,” Shulman said.

Shulman’s movements aren’t made on a whim—they’re intentional and purposeful, having to do with the different tonal roles they play in each number. In choir, the placement of each singer is determined by their vocal range, which is why traditionally the singers are rooted in one position. However, Shulman is an exception to this rule, thanks to a unique ability that traverses positioning: they can sing multiple parts. 

“My voice range is automatically in the tenor range, but I’m also able to sing soprano,” Shulman said. “So, in every choir that I’ve been in, I’ve been put in whatever part I’m needed in just to be more helpful.” 

Typically, singers stick to whichever voice part is within the range that they are biologically born with, which means that singing multiple parts is uncommon. Shulman does this, too, but their natural abilities are broader than most, and therefore so are their voice parts.

“It’s not difficult for me [to sing multiple parts], because my voice has always been lower than most women,” Shulman said. 

Alto and soprano, the higher ranges, are commonly associated with women and feminine voices, while tenor and bass are the lower ranges, associated with men. 

This gendered organization, though, can be damaging and invalidating to transgender or gender non-conforming people like Shulman, or even just people who sing parts not usually associated with their gender but who are lumped into a certain presentation they may not identify with.

In an effort to combat this boxing-in, many professional choir organizations in addition to Westview are moving away from using terms like “ladies” or “gentlemen” to refer to altos and sopranos or tenors and basses, respectively. The non-cisgender community has found that this has been beneficial.

“There’s a lot of people, like me, that sing parts that are not traditionally based on their gender,” Shulman said. “Considering that it’s a very old process and way of sectioning off things, I feel like it’s really good progress in trying to make choir more inclusive.”

This elimination of the terms “ladies” and “gentlemen” is especially important, because in choir competitions and festivals, some events are based solely on range, and therefore need names that accurately reflect that. Shulman is a member of Chamber Choir in addition to Concert Choir, so they could participate in these events. However, since Westview’s Chamber Choir is smaller this year, they’ve stuck to full group events which are not divided by range. 

Even in the full Concert Choir, there are only two tenors and one bass, so Shulman’s versatility is incredibly impactful.

Shulman incorporates their nonconformity into their vocal training, not just their music philosophy; they routinely push their voice to its limits in order to be able to hit lower tenor notes for certain songs. Additionally, they stick to training tenor parts as much as possible, in order to go as low as they can.

“I’ve extended my range by probably around half of an octave already, even though it’s easier to go higher than lower,” Shulman said. “So, [singing different parts] pretty much just all works out.”

Though it can get hectic, Shulman said they enjoy working with their counterparts because they provide a sense of community and are overall supportive of Shulman’s gender identity.

“I don’t really consider myself any certain gender,” Shulman said. “I’m gender non-conforming, and everyone in the choir is just so nice and accommodating. It’s a very inclusive space.”