2002 - Another Year of Change

Afterglow, a Castro Cabaret, Cafe du Nord, February 22 & 23. This cabaret was an opportunity for the chorus to showcase for the community some of the individual talents that make up the world's oldest (and finest) lesbian/gay choral ensemble. Our special guests were Opus Q, which our director, J. R. Foust, also conducts. The show started of course with "Cabaret." There was music from Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim and "Beauty School Dropout" from Grease. The full chorus ended the show with "My Funny Valentine" and "A Handful of Keys."

The Promise of Living, St. Francis Lutheran Church, March 23 & 24. This concert featured music by some of our country's most prolific composers - Copland, Bernstein, Barber, Waller and Sondheim. Again our guests in this concert was Opus Q. This was challenging and educational for the chorus to learn this important music from these great composers. Also St. Francis Lutheran was our rehearsal space and would be for the next several years.

The 24th Annual Pride Concert: You're a Grand Old Flag, Everett Middle School, June 28. This Pride concert was the first time we shared production with the SFGMC. It was also the first time that the concert was an official event of San Francisco GLBT Pride. Our emcees for the evening were Sharon Gless and Sir Ian McKellen. This concert was also a reunion of sorts - the two choruses and the San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band, started in 1978, 1979 and 1980 as the brainchildren of Jon Sims. His vision was to bring something from the gay community to the mainstream, promoting tolerance and awareness of LGBT life. The music performed was by John Williams, Aaron Copland, Rodgers and Hart, George M. Cohan. This was also the first time that we sang "Harriet Tubman." This was the final performance with J. R. Foust as he stepped down as director.

Full Moon Full of Love, Cafe du Nord, September 21. This cabaret was our first show under the direction of our new Artistic Director, and former accompanist, Stephanie Lynne Smith. Our new accompanist was Vincent Peterson. Joining us for this cabaret were the Emperor Berlin, Empress Sheba!, Empress Chablis, and Coley Grundman. This was a fundraiser with the money going to our Australia contingent who will be singing at the Gay Games in Sydney, Australia.

Bay Area LGBT Choral Festival and Singin' for Our Supper, MCC, October 5. This festival was co-hosted by SFGMC and LGCSF. This was a wonderful day long event that brought together participants from the following choral organizations: Golden Gate Men's Chorus, Lesbian and Gay Chorus of Santa Cruz, LGCSF, Let's Do It!, Oakland East Bay Gay Men's Chorus, Opus Q, Sacramento Men's Chorus, Sacramento Women's Chorus, MCC of San Francisco Morning Choir and their Worship & Praise Choir, Silicon Valley Gay Men's Chorus, Rainbow Women's Chorus (San Jose), SFGMC, Transcendence Gospel Choir, VOICES: Bay Area Lesbian Choral Ensemble, Voices for Diversity, Silicon Valley's Community Pride Chorus. We all had a great time getting to know all these wonderful singers and learning many things that would be helpful to all the choruses and their singers. The day ended with a concert, Singin' for Our Supper, featuring all the singers and a Festival Chorus, who sang "The Promise of the Future" by Gustav Holst, and "Watch Me Shine" by Richard Link. "Watch Me Shine" was composed for the 2002 Gay Games and will be sung by members of Bay Area choruses at the Games in November, 2002, in honor of the 20th Anniversary of the Gay Games.

Fall Concert 2002, St. Francis Lutheran Church, October 18 & 19. This was our first full concert under the artistic direction of Stephanie Lynne Smith. This concert was short and sweet as we only sang eight songs which ended with a song that was our trademark, "Somewhere" from West Side Story. Again the chorus is on a new journey with a new director and we all look forward to what she will bring to us. I was on the Artistic Advisory Committee at this time so it was a great chance to work with Stephanie.

Home for the Holidays, Castro Theatre, December 24. This was the 13th annual version of this show and our second time as guests of SFGMC at their annual gift to the community. It is always a good thing when the two choruses can sing and perform together. This was lots of fun and of course the audiences loved everything about the show.