Founded in 1979
Our organization has a rich history: the founding of two choruses and half a dozen vocal ensembles, bringing a voice to the AIDS epidemic, touring nationally and internationally, singing for marriage equality, recording sixteen CDs, debuting and commissioning dozens of original works, welcoming countless guest artists, and opening the hearts and minds of the communities in which we live, work, and visit.
September 1979
First rehearsal held for Seattle Men’s Chorus
Spring 1980
First official SMC concert, Museum of History and Industry (pictured)
First Small Ensemble, Gentlemen’s Harmony League, debuts
December 1980
First performance at Meany Theater, which becomes SMC’s regular concert venue
May 1981
Dennis Coleman becomes SMC’s third conductor
September 1981
SMC’s first appearance at Bumbershoot
December 1981
First official SMC holiday concert, Don We Now
February 1982
First out-of-town performance (Portland, Oregon), a joint concert with Portland Gay Men’s Chorus
March 1982
Small ensemble, Philandros, debuts, with Dennis as conductor
June 1982
Small ensemble, Emerald City Volunteers, debuts, with Dennis as conductor
September 1982
First West Coast Gay/Lesbian Choral Festival in conjunction with 1st Gay Games, San Francisco
June 1983
First SMC member dies of AIDS
July 1983
GALA Choruses is incorporated with SMC as a founding member organization
September 1983
First National Festival of GALA Choruses: Come Out And Sing Together (C.O.A.S.T.), New York City
March 1984
First guest composer/artist, Ned Rorem
December 1984
SMC performs with guest artist Marni Nixon
June 1985
SMC premieres The Cricket Sings, commissioned from Conrad Susa
December 1985
SMC performs their first commission, “Praise Thy Saving Power” by Samuel Adler, co-commissioned with other GALA choruses in 1984
March 1986
Lou Harrison commission (and premiere) with Mark Morris Dance Group
March 1987
SMC performs with Grammy Award-winning guest artist, Diane Schuur
Fall 1987
First issue of Chorus Quarterly, an organizational news publication
December 1987
First corporate sponsor, Hawaiian Airlines
SMC premieres “My Christmas,” a commission from Gian Carlo Menotti
First televised edition of an SMC holiday concert, airing on KTZZ
March 1989
SMC performs with guest artist, famed Opera singer Tatiana Troyanos
July 1989
3rd Festival of GALA Choruses held in Seattle
1990
First full-time admin staff hired
March 1990
First CD and cassette is released, Over the Rainbow
SMC concert tour to Dallas and Boston
Spring concert, Radio Craze, is taped for broadcast by local PBS station KCTS
July 1990
SMC participates in the massed choir performing at the Opening Ceremony for the Goodwill Games at Husky Stadium, conducted by Dennis Coleman
September 1990
Radio Craze airs nationally on PBS, with one out of every six households in Western Washington and British Columbia tuning in
March 1991
SMC premieres “Of Rage and Remembrance,” a choral setting of the third movement of John Corigliano’s First Symphony
July 1992
SMC opens for Natalie Cole
January 1993
SMC performs with guest artist Bobby McFerrin, 10-time Grammy winner
March 1993
SMC premieres “Why?,” by David Diamond, commissioned with four other GALA choruses
June 1993
SMC’s Swellegant Elegance with Harvey Fierstein (also taped for broadcast by local PBS station KCTS)
September 1993
Swellegant Elegance airs nationally on PBS
June 1994
SMC performs with poet and civil rights activist Dr. Maya Angelou
SMC travels to NYC for Stonewall 25 and performs at Carnegie Hall
June 1995
SMC with guest artist Ann Hampton Callaway
June 1996
SMC with guest artist Michael Feinstein
Summer 1998
First international tour to Barcelona, Amsterdam, and London
September 1998
SMC participates in the inauguration of Benaroya Hall and becomes one of its principal tenants
March 1999
SMC commissions and premieres “Michael’s letter to Mama” with Armistead Maupin, based on the text from his groundbreaking series, Tales of the City
October 1999
First outreach concert, Boise, Idaho
Spring 2000
The Chorus debuts the annual free concert for children
June 2000
SMC with guest artist, Tony and Emmy-winner Nell Carter
SMC with guest artist, Emmy-winner Megan Mullally
Summer 2000
Dennis Coleman is honored with the GALA Choruses Legacy Award
Spring 2001
SMC performs at Governor Gary Locke’s Inaugural Ball
May 2001
SMC with guest artist Rosemary Clooney
June 2001
SMC with guest artist Kristin Chenoweth in Sing for the Cure, a song-cycle in celebration of survivors of breast cancer. SMC is joined by 100 women vocalists from the community.
September 2001
SMC performs for American Airlines and United Airlines in a memorial service for the 9/11 victims
May 2002
GALA Choruses Western Regional Chorus Festival in Seattle
September 2002
First rehearsal of the newly formed Seattle Women’s Chorus
December 2002
Seattle Women’s Chorus makes its debut with a performance during the SMC holiday concert, Snowglobe
February 2003
SMC’s Auz Z tour to New Zealand and Australia
April 2003
Seattle Women’s Chorus holds their first solo concert, Genesis
April 2004
SWC shares the stage in Seattle and Portland with Aurora Chorus
June 2004
Out on Broadway, a tribute to gay creators of musical theatre, co-commissioned from Terrence McNally with NYCGMC
July 2004
SWC makes their GALA debut at the festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada
September 2004
Sensible Shoes, an ensemble of SWC, is formed
2005
SWC releases first CD, Winternight Journeys
March 2005
Debut of small SMC ensemble, Ædonis
April 2005
SWC performs with guest artist Lesley Gore, in It’s Our Party
May 2005
Joint venture with The 5th Avenue Theatre, a concert version of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes with guest artists, Lucy Lawless and Tony-winner, Faith Prince
July 2006
SMC & SWC take their first joint tour, This Land is Our Land, to the Rocky Mountain states
December 2006
SWC performs with guest artists Lisa Koch and Peggy Platt, who will become long-time collaborators
December 2007
SMC performs with Grammy and Tony-winner Jennifer Holliday
March 2009
SMC performs with guest artist Debbie Reynolds
June 2010
First joint concert of SMC and SWC, Glitter and Be Gay
September 2010
Dennis Coleman receives the Mayor’s Arts Award
February 2011
SWC with guest artist Kathy Najimy
October 2011
SWC with guest artist, country music sensation, Chely Wright
June 2011
The Pride Foundation establishes a choral conducting scholarship, funded by Chorus members and donors, in Dennis’ name to honor his 30th anniversary as SMC conductor
September and October 2012
SMC and SWC tour Voices United for Marriage, a free concert, to five cities in Washington, in support of referendum 74 to legalize same sex marriage in the state. The first two same-sex marriages were performed on stage at Benaroya Hall.
April 2013
SMC with guest artist, Emmy-winner Leslie Jordan
February 2014
SWC performs their original musical, We Can Do It, commissioned from Associate Artistic Director, Eric Lane Barnes
June 2015
SWC and SMC perform at the federal courthouse in Seattle, celebrating the Supreme Court’s ruling that legalized marriage equality nationwide
February 2016
SWC releases its second CD, How Sweet the Sound
April 2016
Captain Smartypants and Sensible Shoes perform with Broadway star Patti LuPone at the Edmonds Center for the Arts
June 2016
SMC and SWC sing at a candle light vigil memorializing the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando
July 2016
SWC performs We Can Do It at the GALA Festival in Denver, streamed live online internationally
August 2016
Dennis Coleman retires after 35 years with the Choruses. August 8, 2016 is declared “Dennis Coleman Day” by the Seattle City Council and Mayor Ed Murray
September 2016
Paul Caldwell begins his tenure as Artistic Director
April 2017
Singers from the Washington Middle School Chorus perform at McCaw Hall with SMC and SWC, the culmination of the company’s first educational engagement program
May 2017
SMC makes it debut with Seattle Symphony in Broadway Rocks!
June 2018
SWC and SMC perform the National Anthem at Safeco Field for the Mariners’ Pride Night
December 2018
The Supertonics, our first mixed-voice ensemble with singers from both choruses, makes it debut
October 2019
SMC and SWC perform at ECHOES: A Tribute Concert Benefiting the AIDS Memorial Pathway
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