On Friday night, a member of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus died onstage during intermission.
39-year-old Ryan Nunez was participating in a production of “Paradise Found” at San Francisco’s Herbst Theatre when he collapsed on one of the risers and died suddenly, SF Gate reports.
On April 1, this message was posted to SFGMC’s Facebook page:
Dear Chorus Family.
It is with broken hearts that we share this news. We have suffered one of the most profound tragedies and losses one can imagine. Our beloved Ryan Nunez passed away on stage during intermission at our concert last night. Ryan was not only a singer, but was the Administrative Coordinator on the SFGMC staff. He was our voice to the world. Filled with humor and huge hugs for all – he just took care of everyone. He was 39.
We have two more concerts to do today….Paradise Found. Please send thoughts to Ryan’s biological family – and also to his SFGMC brothers who will sing today in his honor. No one loved SFGMC more than Ryan. It literally changed his life – as knowing him has changed all of ours.
Make very sure you tell those around you how much you love them.
Paramedics and chorus members performed CPR for an hour before Nunez was pronounced dead.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
“I have not experienced such shock or soul-shattering grief as that. Ever,” said Tim Seelig, the artistic director and conductor of the chorus.
Related: Kathy Griffin, the SF Gay Men’s Chorus and a tour through Trump’s America
1EqualityUSA
Cum dederit dilectis suis
somnum;
Ecce haereditas Domini, filii:
Merces, fructus ventris.
When he has given sleep
to those he loves,
Behold, children are an inheritance
of the Lord,
A reward, the fruit of the womb.
Vivaldi: Nisi Dominus, RV 608 – IV. Cum dederit – Andreas Scholl
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bxp74hB-4Zw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIEIDYrPeAg
hanfrina
… So sorry to learn this. As a former T1 in our Bflo. Gay Men’s Chorus, here in Bflo./Niagara for 10-yrs., am sending my condolences. Celebrate his life-&-contributions to your Chorus!
Curtispsf
Why of course Ryan was a BIG man. He had to be in order to provide an anchor for his HUGE heart. Ryan wrote frequently how singing with SFGMC brought him joy and how it erased his sense of being an invisible man in the gay community. He was always ready with a joke a YAAAS Queen and he could throw shade better than Joan Crawford and Bette Davis on the set of “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane”, but the shade he threw was not unkind and was often at times self deprecating. He lit up every room he entered with his contagious smile and wit. His last post on FB the day before he died, mentioned how happy he was being a part of the family that is SFGMC. The only consolation is that he died on stage doing something he loved and surrounded by his chorus brothers. Ryan, we will carry on because that’s what we do, but the world is a darker place without your presence. I will miss you, Ryan. More than you can imagine.
Rob91316
If his time was up, at least he went out doing something he loved and was passionate about. We should all be so lucky!