Gay Chorus Deep South

In response to a wave of discriminatory anti-LGBTQ laws in the Southern United States and the divisive 2016 election, the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus embarks on a tour of the American Deep South to promote unity and healing.

Led by Gay Chorus Conductor Dr. Tim Seelig and joined by The Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, the tour brings a message of music, love, and acceptance to communities and individuals confronting intolerance. Over 300 singers travel from Mississippi to Tennessee through the Carolinas and over the bridge in Selma. They perform in churches (those that would allow them), community centers and concert halls in the hope of uniting us in a time of division and hostility.

As the journey progresses, Chorus members who had previously fled the South confront their own fear, pain, and prejudice on a journey towards reconciliation. Though he is a source of strength for the others, Seelig is also challenged by his personal prejudices as he experiences echoes of the events that created them. The conversations and connections that emerge from this experience offer a glimpse of a less divided America, where the things that separate us - faith, politics, sexual identity - are bridged by the soaring power of music, humanity--and a little drag.