The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus (SFGMC) is the world's first openly gay chorus, one of the world's largest male chorusesAlthough the Seattle Men's Chorus and the Turtle Creek Chorale are both choruses of gay men and are of comparable size, the word "gay" is included in neither organization's title. and the group most often credited with creating the LGBT choral movement.
The chorus was founded by gay music pioneer Jon Reed Sims. The group does not require that members identify as gay, bisexual, or male. The eligibility requirements for SFGMC are to be at least 18 years of age, to be able to sing in the Tenor 1, Tenor 2, Baritone or Bass range, and to pass the audition process defined by the Artistic Director. With a membership of over 250, the SFGMC presents a wide range of music and performs for many different kinds of audiences.
Background 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, openly gay candidate for San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk began traveling around the United States to present what came to be known as the Hope Speech.Shilts, Randy, The Mayor of Castro Street. 1982 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 Bryant'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. The chorus held its first rehearsal on October 30, 1978.
However, the first public performance of the SFGMC took place exactly four weeks later, on November 27, at an impromptu memorial at San Francisco City Hall for Milk and Mayor George Moscone, who had been assassinated earlier that day by former Supervisor Dan White. The SFGMC performed "Thou, Lord, hast been our refuge" ("Herr Gott, du bist unsre Zuflucht") by Mendelssohn at the event, which was attended by at least 25,000–40,000 mourners who had marched to City Hall from the Castro district, which was represented by Milk in the Board of Supervisors.
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 December 20, 1978, at Everett Middle School, where the 115-voice chorus presented an eclectic program to a capacity crowd.
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.
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.The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus Tours America 1981 liner notes, 1981, lists quotations from Robert Commanday, San Francisco Chronicle, Allan Ulrich, San Francisco Examiner, and Heuwell Tircuit, San Francisco Chronicle. That success allowed the chorus to reach out to a wider audience with a 1981 national tour and a companion LP 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.Rhynsburger, Mark. "On the Road with the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus." The Advocate, Issue 324, page 27, August 20, 1981. 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."Chorus Bill Paid," Bay Area Reporter, January 21, 1982
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, D.C., Boston Gay Men's Chorus, Vancouver Men's Chorus in Canada, 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 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.
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.According to a founding member of the SFGMC. The SFGMC's 1986 commission, Invocation and Dance by David Conte, was one of the earliest pieces to deal with AIDS, and is now considered a standard of American TTBB choral literature.A web search reveals that the piece has been performed at numerous state and national conventions of the American Choral Directors Association. 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.In a letter commemorating the work's 10th anniversary, Assemblyman Mark Leno wrote: "NakedMan continues to be one of the most important choral pieces ever found in the history of gay men's choral music." Concert program, San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus, April 17, 2006. "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.One such example: Dr. Stan Hill, SFGMC's conductor from 1989 to 2000, was a driving force behind many commissions.Hill is well known in GALA Choruses circles as being a passionate advocate for commissioning new LGBT works. For instance, Hill led the SFGMC's commissioning of NakedMan and its two sequels: Exile (also with the SFGMC) and Metamorphosis (with Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus). Hill often presents clinics and workshops at GALA Choruses conferences on the topic of commissioning new works. 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, Libby Larsen, and Steve Schalchlin.
Recent commissions In 2011, Stephen Schwartz created Testimony, a choral work using lyrics taken from submissions to Dan Savage's It Gets Better Project. The Chorus premiered Testimony in March 2012, and it has now been performed by several other gay men's choruses.
Also in 2011, the Chorus announced plans to commission a major new work based on the life and legacy of Harvey Milk. The work, entitled I Am Harvey Milk and with music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa, premiered at Nourse Theatre on June 26, 2013—the same day on which the US Supreme Court ruled that Section 4 of DOMA and California Proposition 8 were both unconstitutional. Its Broadway premiere occurred on October 6, 2014.
In its 37th season, the Chorus premiered "New Year's Carol," with music by Ola Gjeilo and words by Charles Anthony Silvestri, and also performed the Bay Area premiere of Jake Heggie's For a Look or a Touch opera.
In March 2014, the Chorus performed the world premiere of Tyler's Suite, dedicated to the memory of Tyler Clementi, a young gay man who died by suicide in 2010 after experiencing bullying. Co-commissioned with several other gay choruses, it features movements composed by Stephen Schwartz, John Corigliano, Jake Heggie, and Ann Hampton Callaway, all set to poetry by Pamela Stewart. Callaway joined the Chorus on stage as a soloist.
In April 2015, the Chorus presented the world premiere of #twitterlieder, a 15-song cycle with music by James Eakin, set to lyrics by Charles Anthony Silvestri. Each song is a 140-character tweet.
AIDS From the mid-1980s 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.Interview with Dr. Stan Hill in the documentary film, Why We Sing (June, 2006). Members and former members who died of AIDS and other causes became known as the chorus's "Fifth Section".The following article lists the names of chorus members of the Fifth Section. Note that other chorus members have died since publication:
In addition to commissioning and performing AIDS-related music,"Gay and lesbian choruses have performed many opposite works since early in the crisis, including reinterpretations of older songs. New cantatas written for them include Hidden Legacies by Roger Bourland and John Hall (1992) and Naked Man by Robert Seeley (1996)." 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 prison 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.For more information about these activities, see:
Spirit of the Season event programs, Special Olympics, 2003 – 2005; "Inside News," HEPP (HIV & Hepatitis Education Prison Project) Report, December 2003 Vol. 6, Issue 12, Page 9