SF Gay Men's Chorus

The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus was founded in 1978 and is generally recognised as the first openly gay chorus in the United States, having made its earliest public appearance on the steps of San Francisco City Hall following the assassination of Harvey Milk. The ensemble tours and records, and in 1981 undertook a national tour that helped prompt the formation of similar choruses in other cities. Its repertoire mixes standard choral writing with musical theatre, pop arrangements and commissioned work, and the group has long paired performance with advocacy, particularly around the AIDS epidemic, which claimed a large number of its early members.