SAN FRANCISCO GAY MEN’S CHORUS DR. TIMOTHY SEELIG, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR PARA DIS E FOUND HERBST THEATRE THURSDAY, MARCH 30 - 8PM FRIDAY, MARCH 31 - 8PM SATURDAY, APRIL 1 - 2:30 + 8PM PROGRAMS | 2017.03 Inspire For over 38years SFGMC has inspired audiences with extraordinary musical experiences. Their amazing shows are always a joyful celebration! When I work with my clients I strive to make their real estate experiences truly joyful. Let me inspire you to make your dreams of buying or selling your home an extraordinaryreality. Steve Gallagher 415-­‐250-­‐3779 www.sfsteve.com 2355 Market Street San Francisco CA 94114 DR. TIMOTHY SEELIG, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR PARADISE FOUND SEASON 39 PRESENTED BY THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2017 • 8PM FRIDAY, MARCH 31, 2017 • 8PM SATURDAY, APRIL 1, 2017 • 2:30PM + 8PM HERBST THEATRE ) EXCLUDED HOLIDAYS & Stay 2 nights & Get the 3rd(WEEKENDS night complimentary LET OUR FIREPLACE LIGHT YOUR FIRE The “INN” Place 707-433-0300 | Healdsburg, CA 707-938-9200 | Sonoma, CA drycreekinn.com sonomavalleyinn.com Whether you plan to escape to an outdoor adventure in Sonoma Valley or want to revel in the farm-to-fork cuisine and wine tasting that makes up downtown Healdsburg, let our hotels be the place you come to relax. Featuring in-room fireplaces, private patios or balconies, saunas, steam rooms, spas and complimentary breakfast, we have redefined affordable luxury in Sonoma Wine Country. Be You. Here. HAPPY EVERYTHING! Dear friends and family, 526 Castro Street Welcome to Paradise Found! San Francisco, CA 94114 Your search is over. Tonight, you are in the beautifully renovated 415.865.3650 Herbst Theatre, with friends, family or complete strangers sitting 415.865.3655 • fax beside you, and surrounded by mighty handsome men singing [email protected] stunningly beautiful music. What could be better? For the next two hours, we ask that you join us as we discover new ways to describe that elusive thing we call paradise. BOARD OF It could be heaven, or a journey out of hell (the world premiere of DIRECTORS James Eakin’s breathtaking new work “Paradiso”). It might be finding Steve Huffines a green oasis in the midst of a bustling city (another spectacular chair world premiere, Ola Gjeilo’s “Sanctuary”). Then there’s the paradise Skip Schneider we find in the people we love, in the grandeur of the world around treasurer us, and in music. You’ll hear “Way Up There” by Tena Clark, written for NASA’s Centennial of Flight, and then we’ll enchant you with Sal Baglieri secretary a band of ukuleles as we sing “Over the Rainbow,” in the style of Israel Kamakawiwo’ole. Glenn DeSandre chorus president There is most definitely a slice of heaven to be found as we whisk you away to the South Seas. We have traditional Hawaiian chants, a Mike Bernard delightful medley from Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific, and Cammy Blackstone the wildly talented group of hula dancers Na Lei Hulu I Ka Wekiu, Steve Burton led by Director/Kumu Hula Patrick Makuakāne. Eric Chau Finally, the evening ends with our own call to open our hearts and Peter Drake homes and create a paradise for others. Regardless of the troubled Dave Earl times in which we live, we rise above to create beauty, engender André Farris acceptance and spread love (“God Help the Outcasts” and “Dance Sean Livingston with the Storm”). Gregory Marks Paul Saccone Tonight, we bring you a night full of delightful, entertaining and John Ybarra gorgeous music – with a few signature antics thrown in along the way. We’re so happy you’re here with us — sit back, relax, and enjoy the journey as we find our way to paradise. CHORUS Yours, LEADERSHIP TEAM Glenn DeSandre membership president Kevin Koerner Dr. Timothy Seelig membership vice president artistic director Michael Tate performance advisory PS. Make your plans now for our wild and crazy Pride month concert committee chair The Gay Kitchen Sink on June 16 and 17 at the Nourse Theater! Rylan Carpena Raymond Mark Gonzales Gregory J. Gorman Alejandro Magyaroff Tom Paulino Brian E. Weart 2017.03 • BAYSTAGES.COM | 3 v2-BeachBlanketBabylon_FullPage_033017.pdf 1 3/14/17 9:49 AM C M Y CM MY CY CMY K SPONSORS SFGMC STAFF Dr. Timothy Seelig artistic director Christopher Verdugo SEASON 39 PRESENTED BY executive director Demetri Rizos director of development Peter Zimmerman associate director of marketing Wil Wright production manager Lynden Bair artistic coordinator Ryan Nunez interim administrative SEASON PARTNERS coordinator Tony McIntosh merchandise coordinator ENSEMBLE MUSIC DIRECTORS Eric J. Carlson The Lollipop Guild Carl Pantle Vocal Minority Sanford Smith SWAG Mitch Galli ADDITIONAL SPONSORS HomoPhonics sfgmc @sfgmc sfgmc sfgmcvideo 2017.03 • BAYSTAGES.COM | 5 NaLeiHulu.org LEADERSHIP BIOGRAPHIES TIM SEELIG is a conductor, singer, teacher and motivational speaker. In addition to serving as artistic director of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus, he continues a busy guest conducting schedule throughout the US and across the globe. He is conductor emeritus of the Turtle Creek Chorale, which he conducted for twenty years and he co- founded The Women’s Chorus of Dallas and taught on the faculty at Southern Methodist University for fourteen years. Dr. Seelig holds four degrees, including the Doctor of Musical Arts and the Diploma from the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. He has authored seven books and DVDs on choral technique. Recordings have been on the Billboard Top Ten and iTunes Top Ten classical charts. The PBS documentary about the TCC received the national Emmy Award for best documentary. Dr. Seelig has conducted regularly at Carnegie Hall for the last twenty- image: chris turner five years, as well as at Lincoln Center and the Southbank Centre in London. His groups have commissioned choral works for a variety of DR. TIMOTHY SEELIG amazing organizations including amfAR (The American Foundation for artistic director AIDS Research), the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation featuring Dr. Maya Angelou, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital featuring Marlo Thomas. Recent commissions with the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus include “Tyler’s Suite” for the Tyler Clementi Foundation and I Am Harvey Milk by Andrew Lippa and #twitterlieder. Dr. Seelig’s first career was as a singer. He made his European operatic debut at the Staatsoper in St. Gallen, Switzerland and solo recital debut at Carnegie Hall. He appeared as soloist in world premieres of composers including John Corigliano, Conrad Susa and Peter Schickele (P.D.Q. Bach). Interesting facts include conducting the Guinness Book of World Record's Longest Choral Concert and carrying the Olympic torch in 1996 as a community Hero. He has not run since. He is married to Dan England and is the proud grandfather of the amazing Clara Skye and Eden Mae. CHRISTOPHER VERDUGO had his first introduction to the gay choral movement at the age of eighteen when he joined the Gay Men’s Chorus of South Florida. Three years later, he became artistic director of Paragon Productions, choreographing, directing and producing CHRISTOPHER VERDUGO theatrical productions for cruise lines and hotels throughout the executive director world. In 1999, he combined his event production background with his fundraising skills, working with the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, Miami Beach’s Winter Party Music Festival, Communion Foundation and sat on the board of directors of the South Beach Gay Men’s Chorus. Upon moving to Los Angeles in 2003, he was selected as one of two choreographers for the Miss Universe Pageant. Soon after, he left his artistic roots to focus on LGBT and social justice issues working with various LGBT nonprofits including the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Equality California, the Human Rights Campaign and GLAAD. He also produced Queer Lounge at Sundance. In 2006, he joined the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles as a singer and five years later was named executive director and chief executive officer. Under Verdugo, the Chorus built an international reputation for musical excellence and doubled its operating budget. It experienced massive expansion that included television and film appearances including the Academy Awards, expanded local education programs in Los Angeles high schools, as well as the launched a nationwide tour - It Gets Better - to combat LGBT teen bullying and suicide in rural American towns. He moved to San Francisco in September to assume the role of executive director of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus. 2017.03 • BAYSTAGES.COM | 7 ARTISTIC BIOGRAPHIES CARL PANTLE is a vocal coach, accompanist, and singer who frequently works with San Francisco Opera, West Bay Opera, Opera San Jose and the Bay Area Summer Opera Theatre Institute. He is also an alumnus of the prestigious Merola Program at the San Francisco Opera Center. Carl studied voice and choral conducting at Brigham Young University and soon after returned to the Bay Area to pursue vocal coaching and accompanying at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Carl has appeared as a vocalist with SFGMC on numerous occasions and appeared at Lincoln Center as accompanist for Dr. Seelig in The Wisdom of Old Turtle in 2011. Carl has collaborated with some of the finest talents Broadway has to offer, including Daniel Reichard, Keala Settle, Julia Murney, Alysha Umphress and Laura Benanti. image: devlin shand LYNDEN BAIR recently celebrated twenty years as a resident of San CARL PANTLE Francisco, the last seven of which he has been with SFGMC. Originally principal accompanist ensemble director, vocal minority from a small town in Northern Utah, Lynden attended the University of Northern Colorado where he majored in musical theatre and studied acting, piano and voice. He has worked professionally as an actor, singer, pianist, vocal coach and dog walker.