San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band
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The San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band (SFLGFB) is a community concert and marching band based in San Francisco, California's lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/intersex (GLBTI) community. Although a majority of its members are GLBTI, many are heterosexual and join to support GLBTI community and to partake in a high-quality community concert band.
The current guest artistic director/conductor Mr. Bradley Connlain is and the current drum major is Mr. Kim Boyd. Past artistic directors includ Jadine Louie, Nancy Corporan, Wayne Love and Jon Sims.
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[edit] History
The SFLGFB was founded in 1978 as the "San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Marching Band and Twirling Corp" by Jon Reed Sims. Sims was a musician and performer from Kansas, and wanted to form the band as a response to Anita Bryant's anti-gay campaign in the late 1970's. Upon its founding, it became the first openly-gay musical group in the world, and in successive years Sims created the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus, the Lesbian and Gay Chorus of San Francisco, Lambda Pro Musica orchestra (now defunct), and encouraged the formation of the Big Apple Corps GLBT band in New York by Nancy Corporon and The Great American Yankee Freedom Band of Los Angeles by Wayne Love.[1]
[edit] Venues
The SFLGFB has performed in many parades and venues, both GLBTI andnon-GLBTI since its inception. Included in this roster are the San Francisco Chinese New Year's Parade, Senior's Connection on New Years Day, GLBTI pride Parades all over California and the United States, San Francisco St. Patrick's Day Parade, Redwood City 4th of July Parade, Clarendon Elementary School's Gay Awareness Day, SF AIDS Walk, and many more.
[edit] Legal status
As a legal 501(c)3 non-profit, the SFLGFB is dedicated to providing music and entertainment for any non-profit organization that requests their services and does not conflict with the mission of the SFLGFB.
[edit] Awards
For its dedication to community service, the SFLGFB was formally announced to be "The Official Band of San Francisco" on its 25th anniversary.[2]
[edit] Dance-Along-Nutcracker
The SFLGFB's biggest fundraiser and most famous event is the annual "Dance-Along Nutcracker", usually held the first weekend in December. Organized around a theme, the audience is encouraged to dance during Tchaikovsky's different Nutcracker movements. In between, professional entertainers such as Carolyn Carvajal, Trauma Flinstone and Cheer San Francisco perform to the audience. The event is family-friendly and has been called "(a) gem of the holiday season." The Dance-Along Nutcracker has been featured in the San Francisco Chronicle, Wall Street Journal, NBC and HGTV.[3]
