San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus
Encyclopedia
The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus (SFGMC) is the world's first openly gay chorus, one of its largest and the group most often credited with creating the LGBT
choral movement.
The chorus was founded by gay music pioneer Jon Reed Sims (1947–1984) and held its first rehearsal on Oct. 30, 1978. Its first public performance took place less than a month later, on Nov, 27, at an impromptu memorial at San Francisco City Hall
for Mayor George Moscone
and openly-gay Supervisor Harvey Milk
, who had been assassinated
earlier that day by former Supervisor Dan White
.
Sims, who specialized in conducting bands and orchestras, soon appointed Dick Kramer (1927–2007) as SFGMC conductor. The two men co-directed SFGMC’s first official concert, which took place on Dec. 20, 1978, at Everett Middle School, where 115-voice chorus presented an eclectic program to a capacity crowd. Today, with a membership of about 300 voices
, the SFGMC continues to present a wide range of music and perform for many different kinds of audiences.
's Save Our Children campaign. Sims responded by forming the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Marching Band and Twirling Corps
, the world's first openly gay and lesbian performing arts group, early in 1978 and the SFGMC later that year.
Despite the precedent set by the band, chorus members debated whether to use the word "gay" in its name:
Being an openly-gay organization presented certain challenges beyond the reluctance of some gay men to join because of the name. In 1981, the SFGMC lost a controversial court battle when Superior Court Judge Ira Brown ruled that the Jesuits at the University of San Francisco
could refuse to allow the chorus to sing at St. Ignatius Church. A civil suit several months later awarded damages to the SFGMC.
recording, The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus Tours America 1981. During that tour, the chorus performed in nine cities: Dallas, Minneapolis (Orchestra Hall
), Lincoln
, Detroit, New York City
, Boston, Washington D.C. (Kennedy Center), Seattle (Seattle Opera House), then returned to San Francisco for a triumphant performance at Davies Symphony Hall where San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein
awarded SFGMC the key to the city -- the first time that honor had been bestowed on a gay organization. Although the tour was a critical and artistic success, it left SFGMC with a debt of US$200,000, which was covered in part by the mortgages on the homes of three members. The final payment on the debt was made in 1991, just a few months short of the tour's tenth anniversary.
, and the Melbourne Gay and Lesbian Chorus
in Australia
. By 1982, choruses were performing in many cities across the US, Canada, Europe
(for instance, Stockholms Gaykör, Sweden
), and Australia (the Gay Liberation Quire in Sydney
), and a global LGBT choral movement had begun to take shape. SFGMC founding member Jay Davidson helped create the Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses
(GALA Choruses) and served as its first board president. LGBT singers in other parts of the world created similar organizations, including LEGATO, an association for lesbian and gay choirs and ensembles in Europe established in 1997, and SING OUT! - the Association of Lesbian and Gay Choirs in the UK and Ireland
. There are now more than 250 LGBT choruses worldwide.
, was one of the earliest pieces to deal with AIDS
, and is now considered a standard of American TTBB
choral literature. NakedMan, a song suite by Philip Littell and Robert Seeley commissioned by the SFGMC in 1996, instantly became one of the most important works in gay choral literature and is still widely performed by LGBT choruses. "Never Ever," the final movement of NakedMan, has found its way into the repertoire of high school and college choirs, especially as a graduation piece. Dr. Stan Hill, SFGMC's conductor from 1989 to 2000, was a driving force behind many commissions. In honor of its 30th anniversary in 2008, the chorus commissioned and performed new works by composers David Conte, Eric Lane Barnes, Ilyas Iliya, L. Peter Deutsch
, and Steve Schalchlin. In July 2011, the Chorus announced plans to commission a major new work based on the life and legacy of Harvey Milk
.
Hill describes the era as "the worst of times," explaining that he spent every Wednesday and Sunday visiting members in hospitals. Members and former members who died of AIDS and other causes became known as the chorus’s "Fifth Section."
In addition to commissioning and performing AIDS-related music, the chorus participated in and presented concerts and other events to raise awareness and funds for AIDS health service and research organizations.
Although SFGMC lost over 250 members to the disease,
the organization survived grew and continued to exhibit passion for its mission. In 1998, for example, the chorus made its first international appearances in Sydney, Australia.
for World AIDS Day
in 2003; programming to reach out to transgender
, African American
, and faith-based
communities in 2004; participation in Special Olympics
events (2003–2005); the addition of a Spanish
-language ensemble in 2005; and sponsorship of an LGBT youth chorus in 2006.
After a quarter-century of singing for gay rights, the SFGMC finally performed at St. Ignatius Church - this time without controversy - on Jan. 11, 2003, at a memorial for AIDS advocate and SFGMC alumnus, David Smith Fox (1952–2002). This was no minor event, with Nancy Pelosi
and other dignitaries among the 600 attendees.
In January 2010, in response to the passage of Proposition 8
, SFGMC launched its first California Freedom Tour with sold-out performances in Redding
and Chico
. To commemmorate Harvey Milk
's birthday in May, 2010, the chorus performed in Bakersfield
and Fresno
, and ended the 2010 tour with a trip to Vallejo
in July. SFGMC chose these cities because they are parts of California
that strongly supported Proposition 8. The second California Freedom Tour, with performances in Bakersfield, Fresno, Redding and Vallejo, took place in April–July 2011.
In Jan., 2011, Dr. Tim Seelig became SFGMC artistic director and immediately brought a surge in energy, size and musical excellence. The group now has about 300 singers, a record, due to an influx of new and returning members. Unprecedented numbers of fans are visiting SFGMC web pages and video and social media sites. And for the first time in several years, the chorus sold out Davies Symphony Hall for its April 2011 concert, Words, its first under Dr. Seelig.
A number of chorus members also participate voluntarily in smaller ensembles, each with fewer than 25 singers. These ensembles represent the chorus at outreach events, hold their own concerts, make recordings, and are featured regularly in concerts with the full chorus. Currently, there are two ensembles: The Lollipop Guild, founded in 1979, and best known for its a cappella
and Barbershop
singing; and Vocal Minority, founded in 2003, which specializes in vocal jazz
and show choir
repertoire. A larger, ad hoc group called the Ambassadors also represents the chorus at outreach performances.
According to data gathered by the SFGMC Alumni Assoc., more than 1,800 men have been chorus members since 1978. Two founding members still sing with the group, along with several others who went on the 1981 tour. Auditions for new SFGMC members are held semi-annually, in January and August. In order to be eligible for membership, singers must pass an audition, be at least 18 years old and self-identify as male. Identifying as gay is not a requirement, but members are expected to abide by the organization's mission.
— home of the San Francisco Symphony
; an Annual Pride Concert with other San Francisco LGBT organizations; plus a concert featuring the chorus's small ensembles and a cabaret featuring its soloists. In addition, one the most popular of San Francisco's annual holiday events, Home for the Holidays, has been presented by the SFGMC annually since 1990 on Christmas Eve
at the historic Castro Theatre
.
Through its SingOut Program, SFGMC also makes up to 50 community appearances each year, including ones that directly benefit local nonprofit and healthcare organizations. In recent years, SFGMC has helped to raise more than US$300,000 for organizations such as as the AIDS Foundation, AIDS Emergency Fund, STOP AIDS, Face to Face - Sonoma County AIDS Network, Stanislaus Community Assistance Project, Santa Cruz Assistance Project, Napa Solano Health Project, Lyon Martin Women's Health Services, Breast Cancer Fund, American Cancer Society, Special Olympics, Larkin Street Youth Services and Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center.
in 2003, and Absolutely Fabulous Awards for floats in the San Francisco Pride Parade, most recently in 2011. In 2009, the Chorus was voted "Best Of The Bay" by the San Francisco Bay Guardian in the category "Best Music Organization" in the "Readers Poll - Classics" section. The Chorus is featured in the award-winning documentary films Singing Positive in 1995 (with a sequel in 2009) and Why We Sing in 2006. SFGMC is featured in many recordings (see Discography below), including the 2005 and 2006 winners of the Out Music Awards for Outstanding New Recording: Chorus or Choir. In June 2007, eMusicUK's Getting Started in Classical Music webpage listed the CD San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus Tours America 1981 as one of 12 essential recordings considered Best of the Best. SFGMC was heard around the world singing at San Francisco City Hall during the same-gender marriage
ceremonies of February and March 2004, including for comedienne and talk show host Rosie O'Donnell
. In May, 2008, SFGMC performed "Oh, Happy Day" at the 37th Academy of Gospel Music Awards, becoming the first gay chorus to appear at this event. On May 4, 2009, SFGMC ensemble The Lollipop Guild performed at the Various Voices festival in London, marking the organization's debut in Europe.
SFGMC has performed in Australia, Canada and across the United States, in such venues as Carnegie Hall
in New York City, Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the Sydney Town Hall
, Jay Pritzker Pavilion
in Chicago and Salle Wilfried Pelletier in Montreal. The Chorus has appeared and collaborated with numerous celebrities and arts organizations, including: San Francisco Symphony
, Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Opera
, Marin Opera, Opera By The Bay (Sausalito), San Francisco Ballet
, The Women's Philharmonic
, the Community Women's Orchestra
, Deborah Voigt
, Lisa Vroman
, Carol Channing
, Michael Feinstein
, Florence Henderson
, Nell Carter
, Megan Mullally
, Sir Ian McKellen
, Alan Cumming
, Kristin Chenoweth
, Sharon Gless
, B.D. Wong
, Cris Williamson
, Joan Rivers
, Nichelle Nichols
, Barbara Cook, Julie Newmar
, Armistead Maupin
, and Jennifer Holliday
.
For more information, see catalogue at the SF Gay Men's Chorus official website.
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
choral movement.
The chorus was founded by gay music pioneer Jon Reed Sims (1947–1984) and held its first rehearsal on Oct. 30, 1978. Its first public performance took place less than a month later, on Nov, 27, at an impromptu memorial at San Francisco City Hall
San Francisco City Hall
San Francisco City Hall, re-opened in 1915, in its open space area in the city's Civic Center, is a Beaux-Arts monument to the City Beautiful movement that epitomized the high-minded American Renaissance of the 1880s to 1917. The structure's dome is the fifth largest in the world...
for Mayor George Moscone
George Moscone
George Richard Moscone was an American attorney and Democratic politician. He was the 37th mayor of San Francisco, California, US from January 1976 until his assassination in November 1978. Moscone served in the California State Senate from 1967 until becoming Mayor. In the Senate, he served as...
and openly-gay Supervisor Harvey Milk
Harvey Milk
Harvey Bernard Milk was an American politician who became the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors...
, who had been assassinated
Moscone-Milk assassinations
The Moscone–Milk assassinations were the killings of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, who were shot and killed in San Francisco City Hall by former Supervisor Dan White on November 27, 1978...
earlier that day by former Supervisor Dan White
Dan White
Daniel James "Dan" White was a San Francisco supervisor who assassinated San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, on Monday, November 27, 1978, at City Hall...
.
Sims, who specialized in conducting bands and orchestras, soon appointed Dick Kramer (1927–2007) as SFGMC conductor. The two men co-directed SFGMC’s first official concert, which took place on Dec. 20, 1978, at Everett Middle School, where 115-voice chorus presented an eclectic program to a capacity crowd. Today, with a membership of about 300 voices
Human voice
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...
, the SFGMC continues to present a wide range of music and perform for many different kinds of audiences.
Early challenges
The SFGMC came into existence during the Gay Rights Movement, which rose to national prominence after the Stonewall Riots in New York City in 1969. In 1977, Harvey Milk began traveling around the United States to present what came to be known as the Hope Speech. Speaking as an openly gay elected public official, he urged gay people to come out of the closet to oppose anti-gay efforts such as the Briggs Initiative and Anita BryantAnita Bryant
Anita Jane Bryant is an American singer, former Miss Oklahoma beauty pageant winner, and gay rights opponent. She scored four Top 40 hits in the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including "Paper Roses", which reached #5...
's Save Our Children campaign. Sims responded by forming the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Marching Band and Twirling Corps
San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band
The San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band is a community-based concert and marching band in San Francisco. It is the official band of San Francisco. Founded in 1978, it was the first gay-oriented musical organization in the world. The band promotes visibility and musical education for the Bay...
, the world's first openly gay and lesbian performing arts group, early in 1978 and the SFGMC later that year.
Despite the precedent set by the band, chorus members debated whether to use the word "gay" in its name:
Being an openly-gay organization presented certain challenges beyond the reluctance of some gay men to join because of the name. In 1981, the SFGMC lost a controversial court battle when Superior Court Judge Ira Brown ruled that the Jesuits at the University of San Francisco
University of San Francisco
The University of San Francisco , is a private, Jesuit/Catholic university located in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1855, USF was established as the first university in San Francisco. It is the second oldest institution for higher learning in California and the tenth-oldest university of...
could refuse to allow the chorus to sing at St. Ignatius Church. A civil suit several months later awarded damages to the SFGMC.
National tour
Musically, the chorus was an instant success. Kramer's commitment to musical excellence was rewarded with many reviews praising the group's ability. That success allowed the chorus to reach out to a wider audience with a 1981 national tour and a companion LPLP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
recording, The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus Tours America 1981. During that tour, the chorus performed in nine cities: Dallas, Minneapolis (Orchestra Hall
Orchestra Hall (Minneapolis)
Orchestra Hall, located at Nicollet Mall and 12th Street in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, is home to the Minnesota Orchestra. The Hall was built in 1974 and opened for the 1974 concert season...
), Lincoln
Lincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
, Detroit, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Boston, Washington D.C. (Kennedy Center), Seattle (Seattle Opera House), then returned to San Francisco for a triumphant performance at Davies Symphony Hall where San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein is the senior U.S. Senator from California. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served in the Senate since 1992. She also served as 38th Mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988....
awarded SFGMC the key to the city -- the first time that honor had been bestowed on a gay organization. Although the tour was a critical and artistic success, it left SFGMC with a debt of US$200,000, which was covered in part by the mortgages on the homes of three members. The final payment on the debt was made in 1991, just a few months short of the tour's tenth anniversary.
LGBT choral movement
The tour and recording helped spark the formation of many LGBT choruses in the United States and around the world, including the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington DC, Boston Gay Men's Chorus, Vancouver Men's Chorus in CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and the Melbourne Gay and Lesbian Chorus
Melbourne Gay and Lesbian Chorus
Melbourne Gay and Lesbian Chorus , the first gay and lesbian choral organisation in the Southern Hemisphere, was founded in Australia in 1990 by gay performer and activist, Lawrence McGuire . The chorus was first named ALSOUNDS, due in part to its affiliation with the ALSO Foundation...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. By 1982, choruses were performing in many cities across the US, Canada, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
(for instance, Stockholms Gaykör, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
), and Australia (the Gay Liberation Quire in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
), and a global LGBT choral movement had begun to take shape. SFGMC founding member Jay Davidson helped create the Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses
GALA Choruses
The Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses is an international association of LGBT choruses founded in 1982. Its goal is to foster artistic and organizational development within its member choruses. The association includes almost 10,000 vocalists in over 100 associated choruses singing as...
(GALA Choruses) and served as its first board president. LGBT singers in other parts of the world created similar organizations, including LEGATO, an association for lesbian and gay choirs and ensembles in Europe established in 1997, and SING OUT! - the Association of Lesbian and Gay Choirs in the UK and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. There are now more than 250 LGBT choruses worldwide.
New music
In the late 1970s, gay choral music was virtually nonexistent. Because the SFGMC wanted to perform music relevant to its members and audience, the group commissioned many works, slowly building a new repertoire for men’s choruses as well as for the LGBT community. In 1979, SFGMC member Tad Dunlap composed what is possibly the first-ever gay-specific choral piece, "I Understood," with lyrics from one of Harvey Milk's inspirational speeches. The SFGMC's 1986 commission, Invocation and Dance by David ConteDavid Conte
David Conte is an American composer. He has been a Professor of Composition at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music since 1985, and Composer-in-Residence with Thick Description since 1990....
, was one of the earliest pieces to deal with AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
, and is now considered a standard of American TTBB
TTBB
In musical choral notation, TTBB denotes a four-part men's chorus. Its configuration is Tenor 1, Tenor 2, Bass 1 , Bass 2....
choral literature. NakedMan, a song suite by Philip Littell and Robert Seeley commissioned by the SFGMC in 1996, instantly became one of the most important works in gay choral literature and is still widely performed by LGBT choruses. "Never Ever," the final movement of NakedMan, has found its way into the repertoire of high school and college choirs, especially as a graduation piece. Dr. Stan Hill, SFGMC's conductor from 1989 to 2000, was a driving force behind many commissions. In honor of its 30th anniversary in 2008, the chorus commissioned and performed new works by composers David Conte, Eric Lane Barnes, Ilyas Iliya, L. Peter Deutsch
L. Peter Deutsch
L Peter Deutsch or Peter Deutsch is the founder of Aladdin Enterprises and creator of Ghostscript, a free software PostScript and PDF interpreter....
, and Steve Schalchlin. In July 2011, the Chorus announced plans to commission a major new work based on the life and legacy of Harvey Milk
Harvey Milk
Harvey Bernard Milk was an American politician who became the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors...
.
AIDS
From the mid-1890s through the late 1990s, the chorus focused heavily on AIDS because of the huge impact the disease was having on its members and the broader LGBT community.Hill describes the era as "the worst of times," explaining that he spent every Wednesday and Sunday visiting members in hospitals. Members and former members who died of AIDS and other causes became known as the chorus’s "Fifth Section."
In addition to commissioning and performing AIDS-related music, the chorus participated in and presented concerts and other events to raise awareness and funds for AIDS health service and research organizations.
Although SFGMC lost over 250 members to the disease,
the organization survived grew and continued to exhibit passion for its mission. In 1998, for example, the chorus made its first international appearances in Sydney, Australia.
Community outreach
By the late 1990s, the chorus had survived the worst of the epidemic and was ready to resume a more active role as ambassador for the LGBT community. In 2000, with the appointment of conductor Dr. Kathleen McGuire, the SFGMC expanded its community outreach. Over the next few years, appearances included: Giving Back concerts, which raised funds for women in 2000, young people in 2002, and breast cancer and AIDS in 2002; the SFGMC's first by-invitation concerts for elementary and high school students in 2002 and 2003; a performance at Vacaville prisonCalifornia Medical Facility
California Medical Facility is a male-only state prison located in the city of Vacaville, Solano County, California. It is older than California State Prison, Solano, the other state prison in Vacaville.-Facilities:...
for World AIDS Day
World AIDS Day
World AIDS Day, observed December 1 every year, is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection. Government and health officials observe the day, often with speeches or forums on the AIDS topics. Since 1995, the President of the United States has made an...
in 2003; programming to reach out to transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
, African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
, and faith-based
Faith-based
The term faith-based is a neologism , mostly current in US English, to describe any organization or government idea or plan based on religious beliefs, specifically Christian beliefs....
communities in 2004; participation in Special Olympics
Special Olympics
Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions to more than 3.1 million athletes in 175 countries....
events (2003–2005); the addition of a Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
-language ensemble in 2005; and sponsorship of an LGBT youth chorus in 2006.
After a quarter-century of singing for gay rights, the SFGMC finally performed at St. Ignatius Church - this time without controversy - on Jan. 11, 2003, at a memorial for AIDS advocate and SFGMC alumnus, David Smith Fox (1952–2002). This was no minor event, with Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi is the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and served as the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011...
and other dignitaries among the 600 attendees.
In January 2010, in response to the passage of Proposition 8
California Proposition 8 (2008)
Proposition 8 was a ballot proposition and constitutional amendment passed in the November 2008 state elections...
, SFGMC launched its first California Freedom Tour with sold-out performances in Redding
Redding, California
Redding is a city in far-Northern California. It is the county seat of Shasta County, California, USA. With a population of 89,861, according to the 2010 Census...
and Chico
Chico, California
Chico is the most populous city in Butte County, California, United States. The population was 86,187 at the 2010 census, up from 59,954 at the time of the 2000 census...
. To commemmorate Harvey Milk
Harvey Milk
Harvey Bernard Milk was an American politician who became the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors...
's birthday in May, 2010, the chorus performed in Bakersfield
Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield is a city near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley in Kern County, California. It is roughly equidistant between Fresno and Los Angeles, to the north and south respectively....
and Fresno
Fresno, California
Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...
, and ended the 2010 tour with a trip to Vallejo
Vallejo, California
Vallejo is the largest city in Solano County, California, United States. The population was 115,942 at the 2010 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area on the northeastern shore of San Pablo Bay...
in July. SFGMC chose these cities because they are parts of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
that strongly supported Proposition 8. The second California Freedom Tour, with performances in Bakersfield, Fresno, Redding and Vallejo, took place in April–July 2011.
In Jan., 2011, Dr. Tim Seelig became SFGMC artistic director and immediately brought a surge in energy, size and musical excellence. The group now has about 300 singers, a record, due to an influx of new and returning members. Unprecedented numbers of fans are visiting SFGMC web pages and video and social media sites. And for the first time in several years, the chorus sold out Davies Symphony Hall for its April 2011 concert, Words, its first under Dr. Seelig.
Membership
The SFGMC is a non-profit community arts organization made up of singers and non-singers, board members, staff and alumni. The SFGMC's board of directors is officially known as Golden Gate Performing Arts, Inc.A number of chorus members also participate voluntarily in smaller ensembles, each with fewer than 25 singers. These ensembles represent the chorus at outreach events, hold their own concerts, make recordings, and are featured regularly in concerts with the full chorus. Currently, there are two ensembles: The Lollipop Guild, founded in 1979, and best known for its a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
and Barbershop
Barbershop music
Barbershop vocal harmony, as codified during the barbershop revival era , is a style of a cappella, or unaccompanied vocal music characterized by consonant four-part chords for every melody note in a predominantly homophonic texture...
singing; and Vocal Minority, founded in 2003, which specializes in vocal jazz
Vocal jazz
Jazz singing can be defined by the instrumental approach to the voice, where the singer can match the instruments in their stylistic approach to the lyrics, improvised or otherwise, or through scat singing; that is, the use of nonsensical meaningless non-morphemic syllables to imitate the sound of...
and show choir
Show choir
A show choir is a group of people who combine choral singing with dance movements, sometimes within the context of a specific idea or story.-History:...
repertoire. A larger, ad hoc group called the Ambassadors also represents the chorus at outreach performances.
According to data gathered by the SFGMC Alumni Assoc., more than 1,800 men have been chorus members since 1978. Two founding members still sing with the group, along with several others who went on the 1981 tour. Auditions for new SFGMC members are held semi-annually, in January and August. In order to be eligible for membership, singers must pass an audition, be at least 18 years old and self-identify as male. Identifying as gay is not a requirement, but members are expected to abide by the organization's mission.
Performances
SFGMC presents an annual subscription concert series that includes holiday concerts in December; a spring concert at Louise M. Davies Symphony HallLouise M. Davies Symphony Hall
Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall, the concert hall component of the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center, was built in 1980 at a cost of US$28 million to give the San Francisco Symphony a permanent home. The hall has a seating capacity of 2743 persons...
— home of the San Francisco Symphony
San Francisco Symphony
The San Francisco Symphony is an orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980, the orchestra has performed at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall. The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus are part of the organization...
; an Annual Pride Concert with other San Francisco LGBT organizations; plus a concert featuring the chorus's small ensembles and a cabaret featuring its soloists. In addition, one the most popular of San Francisco's annual holiday events, Home for the Holidays, has been presented by the SFGMC annually since 1990 on Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
at the historic Castro Theatre
Castro Theatre
The Castro Theatre is a popular San Francisco movie palace which became San Francisco Historic Landmark #100 in September 1976. Located at 429 Castro Street, in the Castro district, it was built in 1922 with a Spanish Colonial Baroque façade that pays homage—in its great arched central window...
.
Through its SingOut Program, SFGMC also makes up to 50 community appearances each year, including ones that directly benefit local nonprofit and healthcare organizations. In recent years, SFGMC has helped to raise more than US$300,000 for organizations such as as the AIDS Foundation, AIDS Emergency Fund, STOP AIDS, Face to Face - Sonoma County AIDS Network, Stanislaus Community Assistance Project, Santa Cruz Assistance Project, Napa Solano Health Project, Lyon Martin Women's Health Services, Breast Cancer Fund, American Cancer Society, Special Olympics, Larkin Street Youth Services and Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center.
Achievements
SFGMC has received many awards and honors, including several Cable Car Awards in the 1980s, official recognitions from San Francisco and California elected officials, the Circles of Hope Award from the Metropolitan Community FoundationMetropolitan Community Church
The Metropolitan Community Church or The Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches is an international Protestant Christian denomination...
in 2003, and Absolutely Fabulous Awards for floats in the San Francisco Pride Parade, most recently in 2011. In 2009, the Chorus was voted "Best Of The Bay" by the San Francisco Bay Guardian in the category "Best Music Organization" in the "Readers Poll - Classics" section. The Chorus is featured in the award-winning documentary films Singing Positive in 1995 (with a sequel in 2009) and Why We Sing in 2006. SFGMC is featured in many recordings (see Discography below), including the 2005 and 2006 winners of the Out Music Awards for Outstanding New Recording: Chorus or Choir. In June 2007, eMusicUK's Getting Started in Classical Music webpage listed the CD San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus Tours America 1981 as one of 12 essential recordings considered Best of the Best. SFGMC was heard around the world singing at San Francisco City Hall during the same-gender marriage
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
ceremonies of February and March 2004, including for comedienne and talk show host Rosie O'Donnell
Rosie O'Donnell
Roseann "Rosie" O'Donnell is an American stand-up comedian, actress, author and television personality. She has also been a magazine editor and continues to be a celebrity blogger, LGBT rights activist, television producer and collaborative partner in the LGBT family vacation company R Family...
. In May, 2008, SFGMC performed "Oh, Happy Day" at the 37th Academy of Gospel Music Awards, becoming the first gay chorus to appear at this event. On May 4, 2009, SFGMC ensemble The Lollipop Guild performed at the Various Voices festival in London, marking the organization's debut in Europe.
SFGMC has performed in Australia, Canada and across the United States, in such venues as Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
in New York City, Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the Sydney Town Hall
Sydney Town Hall
The Sydney Town Hall is a landmark sandstone building located in the heart of Sydney. It stands opposite the Queen Victoria Building and alongside St Andrew's Cathedral...
, Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Jay Pritzker Pavilion, also known as Pritzker Pavilion or Pritzker Music Pavilion, is a bandshell in Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is located on the south side of Randolph Street and east of the Chicago Landmark Historic Michigan...
in Chicago and Salle Wilfried Pelletier in Montreal. The Chorus has appeared and collaborated with numerous celebrities and arts organizations, including: San Francisco Symphony
San Francisco Symphony
The San Francisco Symphony is an orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980, the orchestra has performed at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall. The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus are part of the organization...
, Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera is an American opera company, based in San Francisco, California.It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola and is the second largest opera company in North America...
, Marin Opera, Opera By The Bay (Sausalito), San Francisco Ballet
San Francisco Ballet
The San Francisco Ballet is a ballet company, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco, under the direction of Helgi Tomasson. SFB is the first professional ballet company in the United States...
, The Women's Philharmonic
The Women's Philharmonic
The Women's Philharmonic was a San Francisco-based, professional orchestra founded by Miriam Abrams, Elizabeth Seja Min and Nan Washburn in 1981 and disbanded in 2004.-History:...
, the Community Women's Orchestra
Community Women's Orchestra
The Community Women's Orchestra , based in Oakland, California, was founded by conductor Nan Washburn in 1985 as a community adjunct to The Women's Philharmonic , a now-defunct, professional orchestra....
, Deborah Voigt
Deborah Voigt
Deborah Voigt is an American operatic soprano. Voigt regularly performs in opera houses and concert halls worldwide.- Early life and education :...
, Lisa Vroman
Lisa Vroman
Lisa Vroman is an American lyric soprano and stage actress. She graduated from South Jefferson Central School in New York State in 1975, the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam in 1979, and she did her graduate work at Carnegie Mellon University....
, Carol Channing
Carol Channing
Carol Elaine Channing is an American singer, actress, and comedienne. She is the recipient of three Tony Awards , a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination...
, Michael Feinstein
Michael Feinstein
Michael Jay Feinstein is an American singer, pianist, and music revivalist. He is an interpreter of, and an anthropologist and archivist for, the repertoire known as the Great American Songbook. In 1988 he won a Drama Desk Special Award for celebrating American musical theatre songs...
, Florence Henderson
Florence Henderson
Florence Agnes Henderson is an American actress and singer. She is perhaps best known for her role of Carol Brady on the ABC sitcom The Brady Bunch from 1969 to 1974...
, Nell Carter
Nell Carter
Nell Carter was an American singer, and film, stage, and television actress. She won a Tony Award for her performance in the Broadway musical Ain't Misbehavin, as well as an Emmy Award for her reprisal of the role on television...
, Megan Mullally
Megan Mullally
Megan Mullally is an American actress and singer.After working in the theatre in Chicago, Mullally moved to Los Angeles in 1985 and began to appear in supporting roles in film and television productions. She made her Broadway debut in Grease in 1994 and she has since appeared in several Broadway...
, Sir Ian McKellen
Ian McKellen
Sir Ian Murray McKellen, CH, CBE is an English actor. He has received a Tony Award, two Academy Award nominations, and five Emmy Award nominations. His work has spanned genres from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction...
, Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming, OBE is a Scottish stage, television and film actor, singer, writer, director, producer and author. His roles have included the Emcee in Cabaret, Boris Grishenko in GoldenEye, Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United, Mr. Elton in Emma, and Fegan Floop in the Spy Kids trilogy...
, Kristin Chenoweth
Kristin Chenoweth
Kristin Chenoweth is an American singer and actress, with credits in musical theatre, film and television. She is best known on Broadway for her performance as Sally Brown in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown , for which she won a Tony Award, and for originating the role of Glinda in the musical...
, Sharon Gless
Sharon Gless
Sharon Marguerite Gless is an American character actress of stage, film and television, who is best known for her roles as Maggie Philbin on Switch , as Sgt. Christine Cagney in the police procedural drama series Cagney & Lacey and as Debbie Novotny in the Showtime cable television series Queer...
, B.D. Wong
B.D. Wong
Bradley Darryl "BD" Wong is an American actor, best-known for his roles as Dr. George Huang on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, as Father Ray Mukada on HBO's Oz, Henry Wu in the movie Jurassic Park, and for his starring role as Song Liling in the Broadway production of M...
, Cris Williamson
Cris Williamson
Cris Williamson is an American feminist singer-songwriter, who achieved fame as a recording artist, and who was a pioneer as a visible lesbian political activist, during a time when few who were not connected to the Lesbian community were aware of Gay and Lesbian issues...
, Joan Rivers
Joan Rivers
Joan Rivers is an American comedian, television personality and actress. She is known for her brash manner; her loud, raspy voice with a heavy New York accent; and her numerous cosmetic surgeries...
, Nichelle Nichols
Nichelle Nichols
Nichelle Nichols is an American actress, singer and voice artist. She sang with Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton before turning to acting...
, Barbara Cook, Julie Newmar
Julie Newmar
Julie Newmar is an American actress, dancer and singer. Her most famous role is Catwoman in the Batman television series.-Early life:...
, Armistead Maupin
Armistead Maupin
Armistead Jones Maupin, Jr. is an American writer, best known for his Tales of the City series of novels, based in San Francisco.-Early life:...
, and Jennifer Holliday
Jennifer Holliday
Jennifer-Yvette Holliday is an African-American singer and Tony Award-winning actress. She started her career on Broadway in musicals such as Dreamgirls, and later became a successful recording artist...
.
Leadership: Artistic Directors and Conductors
- Jon Reed Sims (Oct. - Dec. 1978)
- Dick Kramer (Dec. 1978 - Jan. 1982)
- Robin Kay (guest conductor, Feb. - Mar. 1982)
- Robert Erickson, Dale Richard, Claude Zetty (interim conductors, 1982)
- Ernie Veniegas (1982–1985)
- Charles Baker, Dennis Coleman, Vance GeorgeVance GeorgeVance George is an American choral conductor from Nappanee, Indiana.A protege of Margaret Hillis, Vance George served as choral director of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus for 23 years ....
(guest conductors, 1985) - Greg Tallman (Aug. 1985 - June 1989)
- Dr. Stan Hill (July 1989 - July 2000)
- Joseph Jennings (guest conductor, Sept. - Dec. 1998)
- Dr. Kathleen McGuire (Aug. 2000 - Dec. 2010)
- Dr. Timothy Seelig (January 2011 – present; also served as guest conductor, Feb. - June 2009)
Discography
- Tours America '81 (LP 1981, CD 1992)
- How Fair This Place (1991)
- Brahms, Bernstein, & the Boys! (1993)
- Our Gay Apparel (September 1995, December 2003)
- NakedMan (July 1996)
- ExtrABBAganza! (April 1997)
- Q (1998)
- Our Boys Will Shine (1998)
- Misbehavin' with Nell Carter (May 1999)
- Sing Me to Heaven (July 2000)
- Exile (June 2000)
- Best of SFGMC (June 2001)
- I Dream of a Time (November 2001)
- SFGMC Does Queen (June 2002)
- Closer Than Ever, 25th Anniversary Concert (May 2004)
- Oh, Happy Day! (July 2004)
- Home for the Holidays - Live at the Castro Theatre (June 2005)
- Divas' Revenge: Opera & Broadway Our Way (November 2005)
- Cowboys, Boas and Bears! Oh, My! (June 2006)
- Why We Sing (DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
June 2007) - USS Metaphor (DVD, May 2008)
- Creating Harmony: 30th Season Highlights and New World Waking (double CD, Dec. 2008)
- A Few Licks (February 2009)
- Tune In, Turn Up, Sing Out (June 2009)
- California Freedom Tour 2010 (May 2010)
For more information, see catalogue at the SF Gay Men's Chorus official website.
See also
- Moscone-Milk assassinationsMoscone-Milk assassinationsThe Moscone–Milk assassinations were the killings of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, who were shot and killed in San Francisco City Hall by former Supervisor Dan White on November 27, 1978...
- San Francisco 2004 same-sex weddingsSan Francisco 2004 same-sex weddingsThe San Francisco 2004 same-sex weddings took place between February 12 and March 11, 2004. Newly-elected San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom gained international attention and attracted controversy when he issued a directive to the city-county clerk to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples...
- Timeline of AIDSTimeline of AIDSThis is a timeline of AIDS, including AIDS cases before 1980.-Pre-1980s:1930s*Researchers believe that sometime in the 1930s a form of simian immunodeficiency virus jumped to humans in central Africa...
Further reading
- Harmanci, Reyhan. A NOTE ON CHANGE: 'Why We Sing!' Documentary explores choral music's appeal and how it fosters community. San Francisco Chronicle, August 24, 2006
- Hilliard, Russell E. "The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus A Historical Perspective on the Role of a Chorus as a Social Service." Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services: Issues in Practice, Policy, and Research. The official journal of the Caucus of the LGBT Faculty & Students in Social Work. Volume: 14, October 29, 2002. Issue ISSN: 1053-8720. The Haworth Press, Inc.
External links
- San Francisco GLBT Neighborhood Guide, Gay & Lesbian News, MyCastro.com
- San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus official website
- San Francisco Gay Men's chorus historic timeline
- GALA Choruses, Inc. official website
- Kathleen McGuire biography
- SING OUT! official website
- LEGATO official website
- Australasian Gay & Lesbian Choirs' Newsletter
- Why We Sing official website