LGCSF History Corner: Pride Concert Program and Poster Art Part 2

Hello and greetings to all of my faithful readers out there. I continue to hope that you all are staying healthy and wearing your masks and washing your hands and staying at least six feet apart when you do go out. I missed you recently since my old Mac died and I ordered a new iMac which arrived last week so I am ready to go. This week I am continuing my series of Pride Concert Program and Poster Art. I have included four photos of the art from 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987.

On June 22, 1984 was the 6th Annual Gay Musical Celebration at the Nourse Auditorium. In these early years the Pride concert was produced by Golden Gate Performing Arts and Remy Martin Cognac. The program cover for this concert was nostalgic. It featured a photo of Clark Gable and Jeanette McDonald in the movie "San Francisco". Also there are photos of San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus, an old photo of a cable car and one of the "painted ladies" houses along Alamo Square. I noticed on the back of the program under "Art and Design" the name of Mark Woodworth and Terrific Graphics so I imagine they designed this program. The concert starred SFGMC with special guests S. F. Lesbian/Gay Chorus, the Dick Kramer Gay Men's Chorale and the Barbary Coast Cloggers. In this concert our Artistic Director was Matt O'Grady.

On June 28 and 29, 1985 was the 7th Annual Gay Musical Celebration at Mission High School Auditorium. This particular program was actually a free newspaper and on the front page is a picture of a few members of SFGMC. This was published by Golden Gate Performing Arts and the concert was produced again by GGPA and Remy Martin. The groups who performed on June 28 were Sistah Boom, SFGMC, San Francisco Lesbian Chorus, Dick Kramer Gay Men's Chorale, the Barbary Coast Cloggers, Men About Town, San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Marching Band and Liedermann Chorus of San Jose.

The groups performing on June 29 were SFGMC, San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Chorus, Temescal Gay Men's Chorus, Tap Troupe/Vocal Minority, Men About Town, City Swing, and the Redwood Empire Glee Club of Santa Rosa. This was quite a weekend to hear from many musical organizations which is what these Pride concerts were set up to be. In this concert our Interim AD was Beth Sanders who lived in Stockton and commuted every week to lead us in rehearsals and concerts.

On June 27 and 28, 1986 was the 8th Annual Gay Musical Celebration subtitled "A Little Guts & Lots of Glitter". This was held at the First Congregational church and was produced again by SFGMC and Remy Martin Cognac. I am not sure who designed the program book but it included lots of advertisements which I am sure paid for the programs. The performers on June 27 were the San Francisco Lesbian Chorus, Barbary Coast Cloggers, Men About Town, San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Marching Band, LGCSF, the Society of Gay and Lesbian Composers, and SFGMC. Our AD for this concert was Rodger Pettyjohn so yes we went through changes during these three years and we kept on singing.

The performers on June 28 were Liedermann Gay Men's Chorus of San Jose, Foggy City Dancers, a presentation honoring Remy Martin, Men About Town, City Swing and Vocal Minority, and SFGMC. Again over these two nights our audiences were entertained by the talented musical organizations of the Bay Area.

On June 26, 1987 was the 9th Annual Gay Musical Celebration held at First Congregational Church. This was the first Pride concert that LGCSF produced. This was our first Pride concert with our new AD, Pat Parr. In the welcome in the program our Business Manager, Mary Ann DePietro wrote, in part, "Each one of us here tonight, audience and performers alike, understands the power behind self expression. Our voices and instruments blending in harmony create an invisible language of universal perfection and truth." The performers in this concert were Dick Kramer Gay Men's Chorale, Menage which was our jazz and pop octet, the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Marching Band, SFGMC, their Chamber Singers and Men About Town, Vocal Minority and LGCSF closed out the night. Among the ads and patrons in the program were greetings from many City politicians, Sheriff Mike Hennessey, City Attorney Louise Renne, Hon. John Molinari, Assemblyman Art Agnos, and Hon. Willie L. Brown, Jr. There was also a review of the concert in the Advocate magazine.

Next week I will continue this journey through LGCSF Pride Concert program and poster art. Take care of yourself and those around you as we go through the rest of this year.

In love and harmony, Michael Lucero