Mary Cantrell has been with the group for all of its 25 years, Alyras for one year, the conductor Stephanie Smith and Sonelius Kendrick Smith of the National G/L choruses Inc

The Lesbian/Gay Chorus of San Francisco celebrated their silver anniversary at Brava Theatre on May 7, where the stage was properly decorated in silver Mylar fringed curtains across the proscenium arch and six huge fabric streamers flowing ceiling to floor to form a rainbow. This was a very special concert, not only because it was their 25th anniversary, but also because it was being recorded for a CD to be released during Pride month. Sonelius Kendrick-Smith, a member of the Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses and of the New York Gay Men’s Chorus, presented Artistic Director Stephanie Smith and the Chorus with an engraved crystal bowl from Tiffany’s. Assemblyman Mark Leno bestowed the Chorus with a framed certificate of recognition.

LGCSF opened with “O Fortuna” from Carmina Burana, an opera that is near and dear to this former chorister’s heart, having sung the piece quite a few times. This version was rather different than any I’ve heard, in which there was no orchestra, no drums, just a keyboard (by principal accompanist Ben Prince, who one will catch on Fridays playing the grand piano at Martuni’s). Yet it was one of the best renditions I have been privileged to hear. The number was perfectly staccatoed where appropriate and smooth as glass elsewhere. The decrescendos rising to furious crescendos and gently falling back to decrescendos were especially enchanting.

“Sing We and Chant It” was a kind of old English a cappella canticle with plenty of the fah-lah-lahs as we are familiar with in “Deck the Halls” and those Shakespearian madrigals. The American folk song, “Shenandoah,” was rendered with the beautiful, watery, flowing voices of the river it speaks of. “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to be Free” had a slave camp-song spiritual feel to it and was made all the more dramatic by alto soloist Elisa Shore, singing “I wish I could share all the love in my heart.” “Everything Possible,” with tenor soloist Mary Cantrell, was the lullaby that should be sung to every child growing up in a world that has become so negative and judgmental. The gay-positive lyrics—giving the baby permission to be what he or she wants to be, gay or straight, strong women or sensitive men, marrying whatever gender he or she is attracted to, or living happily single—oddly enough were written by a straight man to his son, making the piece all the more meaningful. What is most important, the song went, is “the love you leave behind when you’re gone.”

“Erev Shel Shoshanim” was as an ancient Jewish love song, translating from “Song of Songs” in the Old Testament: “Evening of roses/ Let us go out to the grove/ Myrrh, fragrant spices, and incense/ Are a threshold for your feet.” The soloist on “It Ain’t Necessarily So” from Porgy and Bess was, as they say on the TV reality show American Idol, a little pitchy and a bit stiff. One needs to relax and have fun with this Biblical put-down (“Take what it says with a grain of salt”). But as soon as the chorus joined in, he seemed to warm up just fine. Especially when the rest of the singers chimed in with the whimsical nonsense scat part. Soloists Sean Conner and Wendy Tobias lent a nice touch to “Groundless Ground” from Sing for the Cure. It was the perfect battle cry to rally against AIDS: all about stepping out in faith that this pandemic will end one day and “We will more than try/ We’re gonna live!” In the same vein was “Something Inside So Strong,” about the courage we must arouse way down deep within ourselves to fight our daily struggles. The strong soprano voice of Laura Liscar reminded me of the original Flirtations’ a cappella version. We have heard this rousing inspirational tune sung without music at many a queer activist rally by the stalwart LGCSF.

And finishing out that set of three motivational numbers, “Land of the Free” from All Rights Reserved served as yet another stirring, encouraging anthem for activism, thanks to the robust solos by Nick Venegoni and Lisa Rodke, and the editing by SF Gay Men’s Chorus Artistic Director Kathleen McGuire, who fully intends to marry for a third time (God willing and the Supreme Court allows) her lovely spouse, LGCSF Conductor Stephanie Smith. One day, after many a march for human rights, “We will never give up and the challenge will be to live in the home of the brave and the land of the free.” The first act closed with “The Long Day Closes” as night falls and we sleep a restful, dreamless sleep after closing the book of a long day’s toil.

The second act gave the Chorus a chance to get silly and funny and a tad dirty (which is what I expect and nothing less from our clever chorus kids). They opened with “Turn the World Around,” a jazzy Jamaican style piece with words and music by Harry Belafonte. The chorus broke out into party mode—whooping, screaming, and shaking their moneymakers. Then it came time to divide the tenors & basses from the sopranos & altos, courtesy of two hilarious songs by David Maddux. The first group musically complained that they could not find Mr. Right, so they would have to settle for “Mr. Right Now”: “Call it luck/ Call it fate/ But I can’t get a date/ and it’s driving me madly hormonal.” They threw in plenty of bumps and grinds, and ended by truckin’ on down the line with high-kickin’. The second group offered help in the “Lesbian Second Date Moving Service,” donning their official movers’ caps and picking up colorful boxes, presumably filled with stuff to be moved into potential new live-in lesbo lovers’ houses. The help, however, did NOT include lesbian break-up moving-out service. The workers did some fancy choreography with the boxes, eventually turning them around to reveal them spelling out “C-A-L-L 1-8-0-0 M-O-V-E N-O-W.” Big congrats go to “choralographers” Kirk Johnson and CeCe Cannavo. I must say I have never before heard the dirty version of that ordinarily insipid “I Want to be Happy” tune from the musical, No No Nannette; but I was laughingly, lecherously, salaciously satiated while watching the various groups singing and acting out their desires for hot, muscular males and really butch or really femme fatale females—complete with lots of wicked gestures and body gyrations. Naughty Nannette!

Here’s where I stand with “Here’s Where I Stand”: the solo was a little rough—sometimes flat, sometimes sharp, but with lots of heart. Here’s my suggestion: if at all possible, it might be worth the extra time and cost to dub some of the solos into the CD, in a studio where the soloists will not be as nervous, will have plenty of takes to choose from, and turn out a truly polished performance that I know they are capable of. Not all the solos; just the occasionally off-pitch ones. I’m just sayin’.

Woven Together by Barry Thorson and Richard Link was an impressive cantata in four movements. The first movement was “The Call,” in which the community is called together. The second, in minor tones, was “Song of Remembrance,” where chorister Shane Kroll read the names of the 46 angels—those LGCSF singers who have passed on—as has been done at Names Project Quilt ceremonies, while each current member held up a photo of the deceased when his or her name was called. To say it was moving is a huge understatement. The third movement, “All Wound Up,” was a lively response to the second, where everyone got in gear to do something about the dreadful disease that is taking away our people. And the final movement, “Woven Together,” portrayed how we as a diverse community are all part of an intricate and delicate tapestry. Kudos to soloist Sharon Gong. The evening ended par excellence with LGCSF alumni joining the singers on stage to do the LGCSF signature song, “Somewhere” from West Side Story. There is indeed, as the song goes, a place for them!