![]() ![]() The National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights drew between 75,000 and 125,000 gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, transgender people, and straight allies to demand equal civil rights and urge the passage of protective civil rights legislation. This remarkable compilation by GMCLA Alumni Russ Bickers highlights the group’s participation at the first March on Washington on October 14, 1979. The Chorus membership donates over 60,000 volunteer hours annually to make GMCLA’s mission of musical excellence and community partnership a reality. Hailed by the Los Angeles Times as “one of the last important links to a glorious tradition in music,” GMCLA has more than doubled in size to over 300 members, added professional and artistic staff, toured nationally and internationally, released fifteen CD’s, commissioned more than 300 new works and arrangements and appeared frequently on national television. Tad received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ohio Wesleyan University and a Master of Science from Washington State University. ![]() Previously, Tad was a Board Member at Houston Symphony and also held positi ons at Apache Corporation, ConocoPhillips, BP. As a result, GMCLA has a deep history of service within the LGBT community, singing at countless memorials, making and commissioning music that helps the community to mourn, to celebrate, to dream, and to prepare for victory.įor over 40 years, the Chorus has built an international reputation for musical excellence while remaining deeply rooted in service to the Los Angeles community. Tad Smith is a PhD at Petrophysical Solutions based in Houston, Texas. Through the height of the AIDS crisis, the Chorus lost over 150 members. And the road to today has not always been easy. While public understanding of gay life has evolved much since 1979, there is still fierce resistance to lasting change by opponents to LGBT equality. and the first national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) concert at the Washington Memorial. Within three months of that rehearsal, founding director Harold Kjellberg led the group through its first major event: the March on Washington, D.C. To their great surprise, 99 men appeared and a chorus was born. They had posted flyers around the neighborhood announcing the formation of a new gay chorus and this night was to be its first rehearsal. A small group of men opened the doors to a room at the Plummer Park Community Center in Los Angeles (now West Hollywood), waiting and wondering if anybody would show up. ![]()
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