This fall, the Parlor Room Collective is hosting workshops to make the music world more accessible to a broader range of people.

One of them, a program called Uplifting Queer Voices, aims to help local LGBTQ and BIPOC musicians get performance opportunities, build industry-specific business skills, and find community in the Pioneer Valley. It soft-launched in the spring with its first Queer Open Mic, now a monthly event, but officially kicked off in late August.

Upcoming classes and events include a masterclass for trans and nonbinary vocalists; a class on sound mixing for women and trans/non-binary people who want to learn about sound engineering, a male-dominated industry; a class on music licensing; a class on marketing basics for queer and trans artists; and the aforementioned Queer Open Mic.

The events vary by cost, but eligible participants can email scholarships@parlorroom.org for financial aid.

Leo Harrison, a musician and co-creator of Uplifting Queer Voices, said in an email, “As a black trans man who grew up in the area, I have always seen gaps in programming and access to the music industry for people like myself. Being part of a historically marginalized community creates unique barriers to access for many things, and especially the music industry. Whether someone is a musician, audience member, or industry professional, it can be difficult to get a foot in the door. Even if you do manage to get involved, it is rare to see another person who looks like you succeeding.”

Though Uplifting Queer Voices has only announced its fall/winter programming as of this writing, Harrison expects that a number of the existing workshop series (and the Queer Open Mics) will continue in the spring, and he hopes to collaborate with local organizations for other events in the future.

Harrison said that even the soft-launched Queer Open Mic already brought together connections in the community: two musicians who met there now perform together regularly, and a few participants from Connecticut traveled up just for the event. Those participants, he said, “shared that it can be difficult to find community events that they feel welcome at, and that it’s impactful to see so many people expressing themselves without fear.”

“Access to music is a human right, and so is community,” Harrison said.

Also part of the Parlor Room Collective’s programming this fall is a workshop for those on the other side of the stage: namely, photographers.

As part of a partnership with the local nonprofit Human Scale Art Space, the Parlor Room Collective will host a stage photography workshop at the Iron Horse on Saturday, Nov. 2, from 12:45 to 3 p.m. There’s a $25 suggested donation for non-members, but it’s free for members.

Participants in the workshop will learn about the ins and outs of performing arts photography — including “stage events” and “your kids’ school plays,” not just rock concerts, according to the event description — like how to work with theater lighting, stage effects like strobes and fog, moving figures, and more, no matter the camera.

It’ll be taught by concert photographer John Elder Robison, who’s also known for writing the book “Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger’s,” and photographer Rick Colson, the director of Human Scale Art Space.

In an email, Colson said, “As a not-for-profit, our mission is to provide arts education to the community (basically the Pioneer Valley) in many different forms. Because we have a relationship with the Parlor Room Collective, and because there are so many quality performance events – concerts, plays, story slams, and others in our towns – enhancing people’s ability to capture them seems like a logical and worthwhile connection.”

For more information on all of the events listed above, visit parlorroom.org/musicians-workshop-events.

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Carolyn Brown can be reached at cbrown@gazettenet.com.