Dr Nik Krawchenko, Australasia Area Representative for PRISM Photo: Supplied / PRISM
PRISM stands for Panglobal Representatives for Inclusivity in Sacred Music.
And, of course, when light travels through a prism, it becomes a rainbow.
Dr Nik Krawchenko is a Hawkes Bay chorister who is also the Australasian representative of an organisation which advocates for a space in places of worship for members of the rainbow community.
He spoke with RNZ Concert's Bryan Crump about the role music can play in breaking down barriers that still exist between those who are LGBTQIA+ and our religious institutions.
Dr Krawchenko is a bass in the Waipu Cathedral Choir, Napier, and says singing is a deeply spiritual experience for him.
As a gay man, he's been fortunate to have always sung in church choirs where members of the Rainbow community were made welcome, but he knows that is not the case in all places of worship.
Dr Krawchenko says great sacred music can transcend differences of gender and sexuality, even if the institutions that much of that music was written for actively barred those differences in the past.
He'll be keeping the faith, and remaining true to who he is this Sunday.
