When the COVID-19 shutdown separated singers from their rehearsal room and audiences from live concerts in 2020, the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus brought its music and community online through SFGMC TV.
A virtual chorus for frontline workers
Released on April 9, 2020, “Truly Brave” was the chorus’s first virtual performance. More than 150 members recorded from home for a musical thank-you to first responders and healthcare workers facing the pandemic.
The arrangement by Mac Huff combines “True Colors,” written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, with “Brave,” written by Sara Bareilles and Jack Antonoff. Vinney LeRay and Fletcher are the featured soloists. The video brings individual home recordings together into a shared chorus, making visible the connections that continued during isolation.
More than a concert archive
As reported by the San Francisco Bay Times in May 2020, SFGMC TV also offered archived performances, stories from inside the chorus, and an “Out in the Community” series. “Behind the Curtain,” hosted by Tim Seelig and Chris Verdugo, connected viewers with guests including Laura Benanti, Billy Porter, Britney Coleman, Andrew Lippa, Adam Rippon, and Chasten Buttigieg.
The channel gave audiences another way to meet the people behind the music while in-person gatherings were on hold. “Truly Brave” remains a record of that moment: a chorus singing apart, yet reaching listeners together.
