2005 - Our 25th Anniversary

First before I get into 2005, I have a few more facts from 2004. That year San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom requested that the County Clerk issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. One of those couples who got married at that time were our Director, Stephanie Smith, and the Director of SFGMC, Dr. Kathleen McGuire. So the choruses were now related by marriage. On the back of the Oakland Pride program were pictures and bios of Michael Carlson, the Oakland Men's Chorus Director and our former Director and our current accompanist, Thaddeus Pinkston.

Love Still Bites, February 11 & 12, LGBT Center Rainbow Room. This was the second annual Love Bites cabaret and again gave our singers the chance to showcase their talents as soloists, duets and trios along with a few full chorus numbers. During this time we had a straight married couple in the chorus, Sean and Becky Quinlan, and they just fit in with what the chorus was and is about. This cabaret ended with the full chorus singing "Cell Block Tango" from the musical "Chicago," which we did with choreography - a hot number.

25th Anniversary Concert, May 7, Brava Theatre. Here are a few quotes from Stephanie in the program. "The Chorus was there for me when I came out to my parents. The Lesbian/Gay Chorus is not just a bunch of people rehearsing each week for the next concert. The Chorus is a family. The secret of the Chorus is not in the energy of its director or the shape of its finances. There is magic in the wonderful spirit of community that lives in the Chorus. The world I desperately want to exist DOES exist at each rehearsal and each performance. Every time the Chorus takes the stage, the differences between sexual identities vanish, and the music is all that matters." The music we sang for this 25th anniversary mattered to us and to our audience and this was a wonderful and magical night.

27th Annual Pride Concert, June 24, Grace Cathedral. This was yet again another wonderful night of music and sharing the stage with SFGMC, the LG Freedom Band and our special guest, the GLASS Youth Choir. It was a treat for all of us to be singing in Grace Cathedral again with our friends in the Men's Chorus and the Band. One of the songs we sang was "Big Boned Gal" by k. d. lang and Shane Kroll was the Big Boned Gal.

6th Annual Invitational Pride Concert, September, Lakeshore Baptist Church, Oakland. In this concert we were guests of the Oakland East Bay Gay Men's Chorus along with Out on a Clef and VOICES: Lesbian Choral Ensemble. This was another great collaborative concert with these wonderful musicians.

Group Therapy, November 3, 4 & 5, Rainbow Room, LGBT Center. This was the first full musical theatre adventure that the chorus performed. It was "A freshly twisted, wacky musical comedy for everyone," written by our own June Bonacich. Michael Mohammed was our stage director and choreographer. This was a whole new learning experience for all of us - to learn this music and each be a character for an entire show. As each of us got more comfortable with the character, the more natural we became in our performances - especially when P. Francis Tucker, played by Scott Turco, got spanked by several chickens. Wendy Tobias as Katie got her hair done during "The Hairdressers Polka." This was great fun for us and for our audiences.

Home for the Holidays, December 24, Castro Theatre. Again we were guests of SFGMC at their 9:00 pm show as part of this annual holiday gift to the community at the historic Castro Theatre. This is always a special night for everyone.