New Exhibition Highlights 35 Years of Activism Through Music
Founded in 1978 as the first openly gay choral group in the world, the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus has performed for tens of thousands of music lovers in the Bay Area and across the United States.
Its rousing songs have accompanied and interpreted the journey of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community through the past 35 years. The little-known history of this enduring musical institution is the subject of a new exhibition opening September 14 at The GLBT History Museum.
“The San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus: Celebrating 35 Years of Activism Through Song” will foreground the musical advocacy of the group. Drawing on comprehensive archives that the chorus donated to the GLBT Historical Society, the exhibition will feature posters, artifacts, photographs, video and sound to portray the contributions of the chorus at key moments in contemporary GLBT history, from the memorial march following the assassinations of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk in 1978 to public celebrations of marriage equality this year.
“The chorus isn’t just about making music,” notes lead curator Tom Burtch. “Our performances have always been about making social change, too. Our singing has supported our community in its calls for equality, its hours of grief, its expressions of love and its celebrations of triumph. The exhibition doesn’t just tell the story of the chorus; it also highlights the remarkable history of more than three decades of the movement for GLBT equality.”
Burtch and assistant curator Fred Baumer are archives and museum volunteers at the GLBT Historical Society and are longtime members of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus. The exhibition will include a touch-screen display created by multimedia producer John Raines.
An opening reception will be held Thursday, September 19, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. The exhibit runs through Jan. 15, 2014.The museum is open Monday through Saturday 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.; Sunday, noon – 5:00 p.m. Admission is $5.00 (regular); $3.00 (California students); free for GLBT Historical Society members. For more information, visit www.glbthistorymuseum.org.