Leonard held a special place in his heart for the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus —the first chorus in the world with "gay" in its name.
Formed in the fall of 1978 by LGBT music pioneer Jon Sims, they unexpectedly gave their first public performance that November 27th on the steps of San Francisco's City Hall the night of the assassinations of gay city supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone, singing Mendelssohn's Thou, Lord, Our Refuge. In the three decades since, their achievements are too many to count, and they are beloved not just in San Francisco but across the globe. That romance began in 1981 when the Chorus took their unprecedented musical message of pride and liberation on a history-making national tour, inspiring audiences in Lincoln, Nebraska, Seattle, Dallas, Minneapolis, Detroit, Boston, New York City, and in Washington DC's Kennedy Center, with impromptu performances at the Jefferson Memorial and the US Capitol building (pictured above). Leonard contributed $6000 of his Air Force settlement to help fund the tour, and was one of the thousands attending their glorious welcome home concert at San Francisco's Davies Symphony Hall.
The tour directly led to the creation of gay choruses in several other cities, and, today, there are some 200 groups, composed of some 10,000 singers, that are members of the umbrella group GALA, the Gay & Lesbian Association of Choruses which produces a huge festival of music every four years. In 2007, Ken McPherson, Leonard's close friend and ally in several of his political actions, including challenging AIDSphobic Northwest Airlines and the Never Forget Foundation, helped create and starred in U.S.S.Metaphor, a delightful satirical send-up of Don't Ask-Don't Tell set to the music of Gilbert & Sullivan's HMS Pinafore. Dedicated to Leonard's memory, the DVD of the original performance can be purchased by clicking on the photo below.
Though he never sang with the group, Leonard has also been honored by being listed in the Chorus's Fifth Section, composed of the names of some 250 members who have passed, mostly from AIDS, and listed in their concert programs and on AIDS quilt panels. In addition, members of the Chorus performed three songs at the dedication of a plaque in his memory which can be seen next to the entrance of the apartment building where he once lived at the corner of 18th & Castro Streets in San Francisco. Under the direction of the enormously talented Dr. Kathleen McGuire, they've begun their 4th exciting decade, "lovers ... bringing gift of song."
"Dr. Kathleen McGuire"
These are their latest CDs. Most Chorus recordings can be purchased online as entire CDs or individual tracks at SFGMC.org or Amazon.
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To listen to songs above click on pause symbol in player below
