Photo Credit: Billy Green

Named the "Official Band of the City of San Francisco" in honor of its 25th anniversary in 2003, the San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band is the first openly gay music organization ever, inspiring the formation of lesbian and gay bands, choruses and performing troupes around the world. Founded in 1978 by Jon Sims at the height of Anita Bryant's anti-gay crusade, the Band debuted marching behind Supervisor Harvey Milk's convertible in the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade. The Band has been making music to build understanding between gay and non-gay communities for 32 years.

The Band serves the Bay Area from Santa Clara to Contra Costa and Marin counties with 15-20 annual performances in support of civic and community services, low-income seniors, schools, safe places for LGBT youth, health services, and human rights organizations. Thanks largely to the support of individual donors, SFLGFB has presented community concerts featuring major wind band repertoire free of charge since 1993. Past program themes include women composers, social justice, hidden messages in music, catastrophes, and the beauty of the natural world. This year marks the 25th anniversary of its Dance-Along Nutcracker®, a Bay Area holiday tradition that takes place every December.

Named the Most Absolutely Fabulous Contingent of the 2006 San Francisco LGBT Pride Parade and awarded for Absolutely Fabulous Music Contingent in 2009, the Band performs for hundreds of thousands at parades throughout the year, including San Francisco's Chinese New Year's Parade, the Corte Madera 4th of July Parade and at pride parades throughout the region, including Sacramento, Santa Cruz, Marin, Reno, Los Angeles and Fresno. Some of the Band's credits include performances at the filming of the new Gus Van Sant film Milk, the unveiling of the Harvey Milk Statue at City Hall, the Hayward Gay Prom, the Union Square Grand Reopening, the 9/11 memorial ceremony, the Jewish Community Center, Clarendon Elementary School's Gay Awareness Day, the 5th anniversary of the James C. Hormel Gay and Lesbian Cultural Center and the Lucasfilms company picnic at Skywalker Ranch. Members have performed in the Inaugural Parade of President Barrack Obama and at both Presidential Inaugurals of Bill Clinton and at Gay Games in Chicago as part of the Lesbian & Gay Bands Association's (LGBA) massed bands.

The San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, welcomes new members and invitations to perform. SFLGFB is proud of its diverse membership, living out the hope for a world where differences in gender, culture, sexual identity, age, faith, and class fail to divide us. The Band welcomes invitations to perform at community events and inquiries from wind and percussion players looking for musical challenges in a friendly group. It offers volunteer opportunities at events and is expanding its flag corps. For information, phone 415/255-1355. Mailing address: 584 Castro Street, PMB #841, San Francisco, CA 94114-2594. Website: www.sflgfb.org.

Jadine Louie watched the Band's first performance in the 1978 Pride parade perched in a tree near the main library. She was music director of two orchestras at the age of 21, earned an engineering degree, and worked in the building trades before joining the Band. Dubbed both the "perfect deadpan" and "spiritual center" of the Dance-Along Nutcracker by the San Francisco Chronicle, Ms. Louie previously served as Artistic Director of SFLGFB from 1996 to 2006, and returned as artistic director in 2009. She is known among band members for her love of contemporary wind ensemble music and among audience members and students for her ability to make musical ideas accessible to all. For her work advocating community music, Ms. Louie was named the Bay Guardian's 2003 Best Justification for Music in the Schools, 2002 Honorary Grand Marshall of the SF Pride Celebration, and was honored by the State Assembly and San Francisco Board of Supervisors at the end of her tenure with the Band. She returned to guest conduct a piece at the 2008 Pride Concert celebrating the Band's 30th anniversary concert and served as guest conductor of the 2008 Dance-Along Nutcracker: Bah Humbug! Ms. Louie shared the podium conducting the massed band of the Lesbian Gay Band Association (LGBA) at Gay Games VII in Chicago and with composer Frank Ticheli at the 2005 LGBA conference in Palm Springs.

Photo Credit: Jane Philomen-Cleland

Internationally known as the King of Drag Kings, Elvis Herselvis, aka Artist Formerly known as Elvis Herselvis, as well as numerous other pseudonyms, Leigh Crow has been performing drag since 1989. Leigh has hosted many SF Drag King Contests and now sings with The Mighty Slim Pickins and The Whoa Nellies. Leigh starred as Clara McCoy in the 2009 Dance-Along Nutcracker: Blazing Nutcrackers!
Websites: http://www.whoanellies.com/ http://mightyslimpickins.com/

Lia Metz excels "behind the table": primarily choreographing, directing, and stage managing at Bay Area theaters including Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Sierra Repertory Theatre, Theatre Rhinoceros, New Conservatory Theatre Center. Lia graduated from the Pacific Conservatory for the Performing Arts (PCPA) in 2002. A double Aubrey Award winner, Lia also still dabbles in performing whenever she gets a hankerin' for it. Her professional stage experience spans well over 15 years. A former member of the Board of Directors at Scripps Ranch Theatre, Lia is a proud member Theatre Bay Area. Lia is also a Dance Instructor with credits at Diablo Theatre Company and Applauz Theatre. Lia is an Equity Membership candidate who also loves to spend her Monday nights singing at Martunis Piano Bar.
Website: http://www.lia-metz.com/

Winners of the Bay Guardian "Best Burlesque Act in the Bay Area," four years in a row (2007-2010), The Twilight Vixen Revue was founded in 2005 by the talented trio of Penny Whistle, Daisy Delight and Cherry Lix. With a belief that in the age of overproduced MTV, there was still beauty in real girls, live production, old fashioned finery and theatrical choreography, they hit the stages and have traveled to entertain audiences throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Website: http://www.twilightvixen.com/

CHEER SF was founded in 1980 as the first all-volunteer, adult cheerleading team and became a non-profit in 1993. CHEER SF performs for at least one million people per year and many more watching on television. The team has performed internationally in: Canada, The Netherlands. Australia and Singapore. National performances include Oregon, Nevada, Texas, Illinois, Florida, New York and Washington DC.
Website: http://www.cheersf.org/

DJ christopher b spins at some of the city's hottest haunts, such as LOOKOUT, ENDUP, TRIGGER, LIME, Q BAR, RUBY SKYE, MEZZANINE, club eight, bubble lounge, 111minna, the stud, and armani cafe. His childhood hero is wonderwoman and he loves boarding and indie flix.
Website: http://www.djchristopherb.com/

© San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band & Dance-Along Nutcracker®
All rights reserved.

Questions?: (415) 255-1355 Option #4 / mediarelations@sflgfb.org
Snail mail: San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band, 584 Castro Street, PMB 841, San Francisco, CA 94114
Venue/Box office: Yerba Buena Center for the Arts / 701 Mission Street, San Francisco / (415) 978-ARTS(2787) / www.ybca.org

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