SAN FRANCISCO GAY MEN’S CHORUS PRESENTS ANNUAL BENEFIT: CRESCENDO: VOICES RISING, AN EVENING OF MUSIC AND ACTION

Monday, August 17 at 7P.M.

First-ever virtual event to honor Trailblazers award recipient Billy porter and Vanguard award recipient Ariadne Getty.

Evening to also include performance and presentations by Alex Newell, Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, SFGMC, and more!

SAN FRANCISCO (July 28, 2020)—Today, San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus (SFGMC) announced that the Chorus’s annual benefit, Crescendo, will take place virtually Monday, August 17 at 7 p.m. COVID-19 and social justice protests around the world have inspired SFGMC to usher in a new era of its signature Crescendo gala with Crescendo: Voices Rising. Centered around the joy of musical performance, Crescendo: Voices Rising will harken back to the origins story of the Chorus, amplify the voices of those who continue to be misrepresented and vulnerable today, and renew the Chorus’s vow to continue to rise to the occasion and be a beacon of light and amplification for those marginalized voices for the future. Emmy, Tony and Grammy Award-winning actor, singer, director, composer, and playwright Billy Porter will be honored with the Trailblazer Award and Activist and philanthropist Ariadne Getty will be honored with the Vanguard Award. The evening will also feature special performances and presentations from multi-talented actor and GRAMMY® nominated recording artist Alex Newell, Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, SFGMC, and more. The virtual event is free to attend, with registration available now at www.sfgmc.org/crescendo.

“SFGMC has a legacy of equal parts art and activism, music and mission.” said SFGMC Artistic Director Dr. Timothy Seelig. “This year, SFGMC’s Crescendo: Voices Rising brings the elements together into one amazing virtual event. The evening will highlight diverse community voices and our shared march towards justice. We’ll sprinkle in our signature fun and joy you have come to expect from SFGMC.”

Adds SFGMC Executive Director Chris Verdugo: “As the protests around the murders of Ahmaud Aubery, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor continue to propel the world to action, the Chorus has yet another monumental opportunity to amplify the voices of the vulnerable and underrepresented and help heal an ever increasingly divided world. During these difficult times, we all have a responsibility to contribute what we can towards a more equitable, safe, and loving society. Join us on August 17 as we lift our voices in song and action.”

Billy Porter is an award-winning actor, singer, director, composer, and playwright. He most recently won the Emmy Award for Lead Actor for his appearance in FX’s Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated drama “Pose.” A Hollywood Walk of Fame inductee, Porter has numerous theatre credits, including the role of Lola in the Broadway musical “Kinky Boots,” which he originated in 2013 and for which he won the Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle awards, as well as the Grammy for best musical-theatre album. Recently, Porter appeared in the second season of CBS All Access’ “The Twilight Zone”, and “American Horror Story: Apocalypse”. He can next be seen in the third season of FX’s “Pose”, voicing Audrey II in Greg Berlanti’s remake of “Little Shop of Horrors,” as well as the highly anticipated “Cinderella” remake in 2021. Porter’s most recent single “Finally Ready” was released in June 2020; he also released his single “For What It’s Worth” in April to motivate potential votes. SFGMC is thrilled to honor Mr. Porter for his boldness in bringing issues of sexuality, race, and gender to the forefront through his work as an artist and activist.

Ariadne Getty, a leading proponent of LGBTQ equality in the US and around the world, is President and Executive Director of the Ariadne Getty Foundation, which champions LGBTQ causes on an international scale. Last year, Variety named her Philanthropist of the Year, due in part to her transformative work with GLAAD, as well as her fearless leadership advocating for LGBTQ rights at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, over the last three years. For the last six years, Ari has worked closely with the Los Angeles LGBT Center in their massive campus expansion to provide an important resource center for LGBTQ youth and critical affordable housing for LGBTQ senior citizens. She has been instrumental in the development of two key buildings—The Ariadne Getty Foundation Youth Academy—which opened in April 2019, and opening in November 2020 is The Ariadne Getty Foundation Senior Center. She is an ally in the truest sense and SFGMC is honored to recognize her.

Funds raised at this year’s gala will sustain SFGMC and support its youth outreach programs. The event will also include an announcement of SFGMC’s Season 43 programming.

Crescendo: Voices Rising partners include AT&T, Zendesk, United Airlines, and Chansell Capital Properties, Inc., Joe Czuberki, Mikkel Svane, The Ariadne Getty Foundation, and Rebecca + Cal Henderson.

About SFGMC
Founded in 1978, SFGMC sparked a nationwide LGBTQ choral movement after its first public performance at a vigil on the steps of City Hall following the assassinations of Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone. Since then SFGMC has been embedded in the fabric of San Francisco. It has soothed souls in pain, lifted spirits in triumph, and has remained a steadfast beacon of hope.

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Dr. Timothy Seelig, SFGMC has established a heightened level of performance standards bringing renewed audience and choral industry acclaim. Recent touring schedules, recordings, and outreach programs have broadened its impact and reputation in the community while maintaining its signature blend of humor, personality and ground-breaking performances. In 2019, SFGMC acquired a historic facility that has become its permanent home for rehearsals and offices. The building also serves as the first-ever National LGBTQ Center for the Arts, a community space for LGBTQ artists and arts organizations.

For more information on SFGMC, visit www.sfgmc.org
SFGMC Archive contact: [email protected]
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sfgmc
Twitter: www.twitter.com/sfgmc
Instagram: www.instagram.com/sfgmc
YouTube: www.youtube.com/sfgmcvideo

SAN FRANCISCO GAY MEN’S CHORUS LAUNCHES PUBLIC PHASE OF CAPITAL CAMPAIGN IN SUPPORT OF NATIONAL LGBTQ CENTER FOR THE ARTS

SAN FRANCISCO (January 16, 2020)—On the evening of Wednesday, January 15, San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus (SFGMC) launched the public phase of its capital campaign to support the National LGBTQ Center for the Arts with a reception featuring remarks from Mayor London Breed, California State Senator Scott Wiener, Honorary Chair Sharon Stone, SFGMC Artistic Director Dr. Timothy Seelig, Campaign Chair Edward Sell, and SFGMC Executive Director Chris Verdugo. The evening also featured performances from members of SFGMC, San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company, Opera Parallèle, San Francisco Philharmonic, and Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, docent-led tours of the building, and more.

The three-year, $15 million campaign will secure and refurbish the new building and create a long-term financial foundation for SFGMC with a permanent endowment. To date, more than $9 million has been raised, with leadership gifts of $5 million from founding Chorus member Terrence Chan, $1 million from the Chorus Board of Directors, and $1 million from Zendesk Founder and CEO Mikkel Svane, along with $250,000 from the city of San Francisco and $500,000 from the state of California. The remaining $6 million will be raised through the generous support of individuals, foundations and businesses. Naming opportunities for iconic spaces within the new building include the auditorium, production studio, main lobby, second and third floor lobbies, conference rooms, offices, dressing rooms, the roof, and the building itself.

“Creating a space for the National LGBTQ Center for the Arts and a foundation for the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus will help ensure these important organizations can operate for generations to come. This new space with help inspire greater advocacy through art, which, given the current political environment at the federal level, is more important than ever before,” said Mayor Breed. “I am glad the City was able to offer financial support for this space so that SFGMC has a permanent home here in San Francisco and can continue inspiring people across our city, country, and the world.”

 “As the Chorus has grown, our mission has evolved. Today the Chorus aspires to play a larger role, offering programming that serves the entire nation; our new home will be a laboratory for the creation and dissemination of LGBTQ arts programming. I am proud to lead this campaign as we look ahead to the needs of our community over the next 40 years,” said Sell. “There are few organizations like SFGMC with the history and power to unite and transform, and there has never been a more critical need for the uplifting sounds and unifying messages of SFGMC.”

 “We live in a city that has been on the cutting edge of the LGBTQ movement every step of the way. Forging new territory is in our DNA. It is with this courageous pioneer spirit that the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus moves into an amazing four-story building and creates the National LGBTQ Center for the Arts. This new Arts Center will allow us to reach new levels of outreach and effectiveness,” said Seelig. “In our transitory world, we all seek to find our tribe, community, and logical family. The search for home is even more challenging for members of the LGBTQ community. We intend to change that with our new building.”

 “The Arts Center will not only be SFGMC’s home, it will be home to countless artists and arts organizations nationwide who often find it a challenge to merely exist, much less have a physical space. We will be a home for art and activism,” said Verdugo. “As pioneers of the LGBTQ choral movement, we will inspire and challenge the next generation of leaders and creators to create art that not only keeps our stories alive but moves us all forward as one collective human community.”

SFGMC purchased the National LGBTQ Center for the Arts in April 2019. Located at 170 Valencia Street in the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District, the building is a four-floor historic property designed by architect Harold Stoner. It was completed in 1931 for the Independent Order of Foresters, a fraternal society that sought a space for convenings. From 1976 until 2018, the space was used as the city’s center for the Bahá’í faith. The interior has more than 23,000 square feet, including a spacious lobby, auditorium, stage, dressing rooms, office space, multiple conference rooms, kitchens, and storage. The core components of the space are ideal for SFGMC though there are significant renovations needed to modernize the building and adapt its use for a performing arts organization.

***Renderings of the renovations are available HERE***

Since its founding, the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus has been a leader in its field. With the National LGBTQ Center for the Arts, the Chorus is now planning to expand and enhance its leadership role by opening the building to composers, librettists, choreographers, and other performing artists as an incubator and workshop space for the creation of new works and collaborations; creating a new home for activists, artists, and arts leaders to meet, share experiences, and develop new projects to further enhance the LGBTQ arts field; hosting internships and trainings for LGBTQ arts managers; providing a venue for scholarly research of LGBTQ arts; collaborating with other gay choruses and community-based organizations to build RHYTHM (reaching youth through music) programs in their own communities; and creating media content that can be disseminated from the building’s recording and broadcast studio.

Additional details about SFGMC’s upcoming programming at the National LGBTQ Center for the Arts will be announced on January 21, 2020. For more information on the Capital Campaign, visit sfgmc.org/capital-campaign.

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About SFGMC

Founded in 1978, SFGMC sparked a nationwide LGBTQ choral movement after its first public performance at a vigil on the steps of City Hall following the assassinations of Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone. Since then SFGMC has been embedded in the fabric of San Francisco. It has soothed souls in pain, lifted spirits in triumph, and has remained a steadfast beacon of hope. 

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Dr. Timothy Seelig, SFGMC has established a heightened level of performance standards bringing renewed audience and choral industry acclaim. Recent touring schedules, recordings, and outreach programs have broadened its impact and reputation in the community while maintaining its signature blend of humor, personality and ground-breaking performances. In 2019, SFGMC acquired a historic facility that has become its permanent home for rehearsals and offices. The building also serves as the first-ever National LGBTQ Center for the Arts, a community space for LGBTQ artists and arts organizations.

For more information on SFGMC, visit www.sfgmc.org 

SFGMC Archive contact: [email protected] 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/sfgmc

Twitter: www.twitter.com/sfgmc

Instagram: www.instagram.com/sfgmc

YouTube: www.youtube.com/sfgmcvideo