2006 - Love Bites, Pride, Gay Games VII, Oakland Pride, The Best is Yet to Come, Turn the World Around

LGCSF presents Group Therapy, 2006

Love Bites . . . and Leaves a Mark, February 10 & 11, Rainbow Room, LGBT Center. This was our third annual Love Bites anti-Valentine's Day cabaret. We were 41 strong at this time and began the show with "Down With Love" and then came a variety of songs spotlighting our talented soloists, duos, trios and quartets. The first half ended with "Stacy's Mom" which went on to be a favorite of the chorus. Yay, Jen and Laura, you rocked. The second half opened with a naughty version of "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" and more good solos, etc., and we ended with "These Boots are Made for Walking." Lots of fun again for us and our audiences. Also we got a glowing review by Sister Dana Van Iquity in the Bay Times.

28th Annual Pride Concert: We Are What We Are, June 23, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theatre. Again we gathered with our friends in the SFGMC and the Freedom Band along with Candye Kane, the debut of the GLAM Youth Chorus, and the Golden Gate Men's Chorus in two shows of great Pride music. GLAM was the first gay youth chorus in California so this was a historical night for them and all of us. We welcomed our new accompanist and assistant artistic director, Michael A. Schuler. We sang "Ray's Rockhouse," "Free Your Mind," and "Ella's Song" with Deb Cohler as soloist with Laura Liscar, Elisa Shore and Lisa Vogt. The finale which included all choruses was "I Am What I Am." This was a wonderful way to start Pride weekend and to share our music with our audience.

LGCSF director Stephanie Smith at the 2006 Gay Games

Athletes at the 2006 Gay Games

Gay Games VII, July, Chicago. Members of the chorus traveled to Chicago for two things. First, we sang as part of a mass chorus at the Opening Ceremony of the Gay Games as we watched the parade of athletes representing their countries make their way into Soldier Field. Our director Stephanie Smith was honored to be the conductor of this mass choir. We had rehearsals for three days prior to our performance and the mass chorus also sang an evening concert at the Grant Park bandshell for a very receptive audience. Also as part of the Gay Games Cultural Week the chorus took Group Therapy on the road and performed three shows at the Raven Theatre which is located on the north side of Chicago. This was a lot of work for us but also a lot of fun as we bonded to perform this show again, in a new city and a new venue, which incidentally worked very well for us. There were athletes from the various teams who came to see us. One of the nights after the show, we went to a bear and biker bar a couple blocks from the theatre and we took over the back bar area and Laura was flirting with all of the big and beefy men there and we all had a great time.

Out Loud: 7th Annual Oakland Invitational Pride Concert, August 27, Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church, Oakland. Again we were guests of the Oakland East Bay Gay Men's Chorus in their Pride concert. Also on this evening's program were Colla Voce, Out on a Clef, GLAM Youth Choir, and Otto Voci. Again this was a time of these LGBTQI musical organizations to come together to share their music and show the world where we all stand and we all had a great time rehearsing together before the concert and putting on our best faces for the performance. Thanks Michael Carlson.

The Best is Yet to Come: Jadine Louie Farewell Concert, September 16, Everett Middle School. This concert was presented by the San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band to honor the leadership of their musical director, Jadine Louie, as she stepped down after 10 years. Our chorus, along with SFGMC, were special guests. SFGMC started off with their traditional "Irish Blessing" for Jadine. We began the second half with a traditional Kenyan song, "Kwaheri." Under Jadine's leadership, the Band performed in more than 40 community concerts, 10 Pride concerts and hundreds of parades, civic and community events. The Band has twice been named the Official Band of the City of San Francisco by the Board of Supervisors during her tenure. We love you, Jadine.

Turn the World Around, November 3 & 4, St. Aidan's Episcopal Church. From the program, Stephanie wrote "The LGCSF is happy to present songs of hope, Joy and Laughter from all over planet Earth. We believe that through the language of music, we are all Together in Harmony. Enjoy!" And indeed we sang music, among others, from Quebec in French, a set of Chinese folk songs and the traditional Kenyan "Kwaheri." We also sang the Second Movement from Chichester Psalms by Leonard Bernstein in Hebrew. We also traveled to Lake Titicaca and spoke a Geographical Fugue. This was challenging music for us and we stretched our musical muscles and after all the hard work it came together beautifully for us and our audience.

I was trying to remember if we sang with the SFGMC this year in their Home for the Holidays show. If anyone from that time remembers please let me know.