San Diego Men's Chorus
Encyclopedia
San Diego Men's Chorus provided entertainment for San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...

 since 1985. A former member of the Gay & Lesbian Association of Choruses GALA Choruses
GALA Choruses
The Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses is an international association of LGBT choruses founded in 1982. Its goal is to foster artistic and organizational development within its member choruses. The association includes almost 10,000 vocalists in over 100 associated choruses singing as...

, SDMC performed some of the finest choral literature from a variety of genres. The Chorus offered numerous 'outreach performances' each season, and supported local LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...

 organizations and HIV/AIDS organizations in the San Diego area.

The San Diego Men's Chorus was a non-profit, tax-exempt organization under the Section 501(c)(3) of the US Internal Revenue Code.

The Chorus was served by several Artistic Directors throughout its history, concluding, in its final years, with the direction of Jerry R. Foust, who had served previously as the Assistant Director for more than 18 months before assuming the Artistic Director position in January 2006.

History

San Diego Men's Chorus was founded in May 1985 by a small group of committed singers who felt a need to provide San Diego with a quality presentation of men's choral music. Membership was open by audition, and, on September 9, 1985, a total of 55 men were in attendance at the first weekly rehearsal.

SDMC was assisted by members of the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles
Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles
- About :The Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles has been a notable part of the Southern California performing arts community for over twenty-eight years...

, which, in August of that year, staged a fundraiser
Fundraiser
A fundraiser is an event or campaign whose primary purpose is to raise money for a cause. See also: fundraising. A fundraiser can also be an individual or company whose primary job is to raise money for a specific charity or non-profit organization...

 concert at the Casa del Prado Theater in Balboa Park, San Diego, California. Thus, the new chorus in San Diego was able to begin with US$1,500 already in the coffers.

SDMC has had many noteworthy achievements in its twenty plus year history:
  • Performed numerous formal concerts in such venues as Shrine Auditorium
    Shrine Auditorium
    The Shrine Auditorium is a landmark large-event venue, in Los Angeles, California, USA. It is also the headquarters of the Al Malaikah Temple, a division of the Shriners.-History:...

     and Wiltern Theatre
    Wiltern Theatre
    The Wiltern Theatre and adjacent 12-story Pellissier Building are Art Deco architectural landmarks located on the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue in Los Angeles, California. The entire complex is commonly referred to as the Wiltern Center...

     in Los Angeles, the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center
    Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center
    The Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center is a concert hall located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas . Ranked one of the world's greatest orchestra halls, it was designed by architect I.M. Pei and acoustician Russell Johnson's Artec Consultants, Inc...

     in Dallas, Denver's Buell Hall, and the University of Washington
    University of Washington
    University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...

    , Seattle. Local venues include San Dlego's Copley Symphony Hall, Spreckels Theatre, Mandeville Auditorium at UCSD, Mandell Weiss Theatre (La Jolla Playhouse), The Grand Ballroom of the Cafe del Rey Moro in Balboa Park, Bahia Hotel and several area churches including the First Unitarian Universalist and University Christian Churches).

  • Collaborated in artistic efforts with San Diego Opera
    San Diego Opera
    The San Diego Opera Association is a professional opera company located in the city of San Diego, California and is a member of OPERA America. It was founded in 1950 to present productions by San Francisco Opera in the San Diego area...

    , Pacific Chamber Orchestra, Three's Company Dancers, and San Diego Symphony
    San Diego Symphony
    The San Diego Symphony is an American symphony orchestra, based in San Diego, California. On 6 December 1910, it gave its first concert as the San Diego Civic Orchestra.Currently, the Symphony performs over 100 concerts each season...

    .

  • Performed jointly with other gay and lesbian arts groups, including: San Diego Women's Chorus, Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles
    Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles
    - About :The Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles has been a notable part of the Southern California performing arts community for over twenty-eight years...

    , Turtle Creek Chorale
    Turtle Creek Chorale
    The Turtle Creek Chorale is an American men's chorus located in Dallas, Texas. With 38 CDs and two commercially produced, feature-length motion picture documentaries in public distribution, it is the most recorded men's chorus in the world....

    , Portland Lesbian Choir, South Coast Chorale from Orange County
    Orange County, California
    Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...

    , Desert Voices from Tucson, Long Beach Men's Chorus, Orlando Gay and Lesbian Chorus, San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus
    San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus
    The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus is the world's first openly gay chorus, one of its largest and the group most often credited with creating the LGBT choral movement....

    , and America's Finest City Freedom Band.

  • Received artistic grants from the National Endowment for the Arts
    National Endowment for the Arts
    The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...

    , Combined Arts and Educational Council (COMBO), City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, and the State of California.

  • Performed in Heartstrings: An Event in Three Acts in 1990 and Heartstrings: The AIDS Memorial Quilt and You in 1992 (excerpts from the 1992 performance were shown on national television in the summer of that same year).

  • Received Carol Channing
    Carol Channing
    Carol Elaine Channing is an American singer, actress, and comedienne. She is the recipient of three Tony Awards , a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination...

    's Diamond Award in 1995 for our involvement in DIFFA and fundraising for AIDS Charities.

  • Significant events in the late 1990s include singing at the White House during the holiday season, singing and dancing at the Super Bowl
    Super Bowl
    The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...

     pre-game show, and singing at San Diego Padres
    San Diego Padres
    The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times...

     games.

  • In the Summer of 2004, the Chorus made its international debut by performing at the GALA Choruses
    GALA Choruses
    The Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses is an international association of LGBT choruses founded in 1982. Its goal is to foster artistic and organizational development within its member choruses. The association includes almost 10,000 vocalists in over 100 associated choruses singing as...

     international choral festival in Montreal
    Montreal
    Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

    , Canada
    Canada
    Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

     in front of thousands of spectators from around the world.

  • In the fall of 2005, the Chorus moved into a new permanent performance home, the refurbished 730-seat Birch North Park Theatre. The Chorus operated from an office suite on the second floor of the 1930s building for several years.

  • In April 2006, the Chorus presented 20/20 Reflections, a celebration of music from its two-decade past. And in October 2006, the Chorus became the first gay chorus to be featured as mainstage entertainment on a major oceanliner when it presented "On the Good Ship..." on the Diamond Princess
    Diamond Princess (ship)
    Diamond Princess is a large cruise ship owned and operated by Princess Cruises. She began operation in March 2004 and primarily cruises in Alaska during the summer and the Asia in the winter. She is a Grand Class ship and subclassed as a Gem Class ship...

    operated by Princess Cruises
    Princess Cruises
    Princess Cruises is a British-American owned cruise line, based in Santa Clarita, California in the United States. Previously a subsidiary of P&O Princess Cruises PLC, the company is now one of ten cruise ship brands operated by Carnival Corporation & PLC and accounts for approximately 19% share...

    for a manifest 2,600 of passengers.

  • In April 2008, the Chorus was the first choral ensemble to perform in the newly-renovated Balboa Theatre, operated by the San Diego Civic Theatre, and restored to its 1924 glory after a $20+ million-dollar renovation. The Chorus welcomed American Idol and Broadway star Frenchie Davis for this inaugural performance.

  • The Chorus has performed with such luminaries as Carol Channing, Barry Manilow, Nichelle Nichols, and the Grammy-nominated Westwind Brass.

Giving Back

Throughout its history, the San Diego Men's Chorus has made donations of concerts, concert tickets, and money to organizations such as San Diego AIDS Foundation, Auntie Helen's Fluff-n-Fold, Mama's Kitchen, Special Delivery, Human Rights National Committee, Creative Response, San Diego American Indian Health Center, San Diego Hospice, Being Alive-San Diego, Fraternity House, and Positively Speaking. The annual Pride benefit concert performed along with other San Diego area gay & lesbian musical organizations was an enduring tradition for many years.

In June 2007, the Chorus teamed up with the San Diego Chorus of Sweet Adelines International to present "Sing for the Cure," a song cycle chronicling the struggle and survival of breast cancer survivors. The performance included an all-volunteer orchestra and featured celebrity narrator Nichelle Nichols, star of the original "Star Trek." The performance was a benefit for the local chapter of Komen for the Cure.

The Chorus initiated a "Youth & Arts" program in Fall 2007, and hosted San Diego County high school students for free music workshops and a preview of its holiday concert, with the assistance of major contributor Qualcomm. The workshops were presented in conjunction with Westwind Brass.

The End of a Legacy

In January 2010, The San Diego Men's Chorus formally merged with The Gay Men's Chorus of San Diego, forming a new performing arts entity titled the San Diego Gay Men's Chorus. Each of the two 'legacy' choruses participated under their separate names in a joint holiday concert at San Diego's Balboa Theatre in December 2009. Subsequently, they have been performing as a combined unit under the new name, with artistic direction by Gary Holt, and a combined total of about a hundred and twenty voices, making it one of the ten largest vocal ensembles in the GALA Choruses organization.

External links

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