The world-famous San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus have gathered to give their first, in-person performance since before the start of the pandemic last year.
Members of the chorus who have been vaccinated came together on Saturday in the Mission Basilica parking lot to perform for Harvey Milk Day.
They streamed the performance live to Facebook and YouTube and also placed a minute-long video to their new TikTok profile, which quickly went viral. It’s received over 175k likes and six thousand comments.
@sfgaymenschorusThe San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus sings together again for the first time in over a year on Harvey Milk Day. ##harveymilk ##lgbtq ##music ##gay ##singing
The Chorus was formed in 1978 and was the world’s first openly gay choir. Its membership was devastated by the arrival of AIDS in the 1980s. However, it rebuilt itself and survived.
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The poignant significance of the choir coming together for the first time since the arrival of the Covid pandemic last year was felt by many. Others responded to the chorus’ beautiful rendition of a traditional Irish blessing.
“Tears are running down my face. This is so moving,” said one commentator.
“Bless you men, my brothers. Tears streaming down my face,” said another.
“We are grateful to still be standing and still be singing,” said the choir in a caption on the TikTok video.
Related: Harvey Milk Day and San Francisco’s monuments to an LGBTQ icon
May 22 is Harvey Milk Day. Organized by the Harvey Milk Foundation, and officially marked by the city of San Francisco since 2009, the day commemorates the birthday of the famed gay rights activist and lawmaker, who was assassinated November 27, 1978.
“I can’t imagine any better way to commemorate Harvey’s legacy this year than to be able to come together and sing. After what we have been through the last 15 months … it’s a celebration on so many levels,” a Chorus spokesperson told NBC.
You can watch the whole YouTube live video below.
Related: SF Gay Men’s Chorus gives first virtual performance and it’s beautiful
aaerobear
CHORUS, let me say it again CHORUS
dwick
I had an ex who sang with them and I made the mistake of calling them a choir. He quickly corrected me LOL
Georgeiv2
I am just taking a late breakfast here in France but had to take the time to say how wonderful it was to hear these men sing so beautifully My thanks to them and to you for posting .
JonnyOzark
Why has the video of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus been made private and where do I get permission to view it?