Named the "Official Band of the City of San Francisco" in honor of its 25th anniversary in 2003, the San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band is the first openly gay music organization ever, inspiring the formation of lesbian and gay bands, choruses and performing troupes around the world. Founded in 1978 by Jon Sims at the height of Anita Bryant's anti-gay crusade, the Band debuted marching ahead of Supervisor Harvey Milk's convertible in the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade. The Band has been making music to build understanding between gay and non-gay communities for 30 years.
The Band serves the Bay Area from Santa Clara to Contra Costa and Marin counties with 15-20 annual performances in support of civic and community services, low-income seniors, schools, safe places for LGBT youth, health services, and human rights organizations. Thanks largely to the support of individual donors, SFLGFB has presented community concerts featuring major wind band repertoire free of charge since 1993. Past program themes include women composers, social justice, hidden messages in music, catastrophes, and the beauty of the natural world. Its Dance-Along Nutcracker®, a Bay Area holiday tradition, takes place every December at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Forum.
Named the Most Absolutely Fabulous Contingent of the 2006 San Francisco LGBT Pride Parade and nominated for Absolutely Fabulous Music Contingent in 2009, the Band performs for hundreds of thousands at parades throughout the year, including San Francisco's Chinese New Year's Parade, the Corte Madera 4th of July Parade and at pride parades throughout the region, including Sacramento, Santa Cruz, Marin, Reno, Los Angeles and Fresno. Some of the Band's credits include performances at the filming of the new Gus Van Sant film Milk, the unveiling of the Harvey Milk Statue at City Hall, the Hayward Gay Prom, the Union Square Grand Reopening, the 9/11 memorial ceremony, the Jewish Community Center, Clarendon Elementary School's Gay Awareness Day, the 5th anniversary of the James C. Hormel Gay and Lesbian Cultural Center and the Lucasfilms company picnic at Skywalker Ranch. Members have performed at both Presidential Inaugurals of Bill Clinton and at Gay Games in Chicago as part of the Lesbian & Gay Bands Association's (LGBA) massed bands.
The San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, welcomes new members and invitations to perform. SFLGFB is proud of its diverse membership, living out the hope for a world where differences in gender, culture, sexual identity, age, faith, and class fail to divide us. The Band welcomes invitations to perform at community events and inquiries from wind and percussion players looking for musical challenges in a friendly group. It offers volunteer opportunities at events and is expanding its flag corps. For information, phone 415/255-1355. Mailing address: 584 Castro Street, PMB #841, San Francisco, CA 94114-2594. Website: www.sflgfb.org.
Jadine Louie, Artistic Director/Conductor
Jadine Louie watched the Band's first performance in the 1978 Pride parade perched in a tree near the main library. She was music director of two orchestras at the age of twenty-one, earned an engineering degree, and worked in the building trades before joining the Band. Dubbed both the "perfect deadpan" and "spiritual center" of the Dance-Along Nutcracker by the San Francisco Chronicle, Ms. Louie previously served as Artistic Director of SFLGFB from 1996 to 2006, and recently returned as artistic director this September. She is known among band members for her love of contemporary wind ensemble music and among audience members and students for her ability to make musical ideas accessible to all. For her work advocating community music, Ms. Louie was named the Bay Guardian's 2003 Best Justification for Music in the Schools, 2002 Honorary Grand Marshall of the SF Pride Celebration, and was honored by the State Assembly and San Francisco Board of Supervisors at the end of her tenure with the Band. She returned to guest conduct a piece at the 2008 Pride Concert celebrating the Band's 30th anniversary concert and served as guest conductor of the 2008 Dance-Along Nutcracker: Bah Humbug! Ms. Louie shared the podium conducting the massed band of the Lesbian Gay Band Association (LGBA) at Gay Games VII in Chicago and with composer Frank Ticheli at the 2005 LGBA conference in Palm Springs.
Robert Casillas has been actor, director, lyricist, playwright and producer in various productions around the San Francisco Bay Area. He originally began in theatre as an actor but decided to try his hand at writing plays. This led to him becoming a member of the Playwright's Center of San Francisco where he was able to develop his first full length play and his first musical, in addition to gaining the opportunity to direct the work of other Playwright's Center members.
His passion for theater has led him to become involved in production aspects at ArtRise (SSF), Hillbarn (Foster City), New Conservatory (SF), The Pear (Mtn View), Lucie Stern (Palo Alto), Actor's Ensemble of Berkeley, Broadway West Theater (Fremont) and Stage One (Newark). His work with the many companies mentioned has also involved him in the capacity of Director, Assistant Director, Production Assistant, or Stage Manager.
As a director Robert loves the challenge of creating something visually artistic that started with the work of the writer. He approaches the drama, the comedy and the musical with an eye for bringing forth a performance from the actors that will allow the actor to find something new in the experience. Additionally, he strives to give the audience a show that will be visually exciting and totally entertaining. Robert says that it is hearing the response of an appreciative audience and making new friends at each production that makes his work all worthwhile.
Carolyn Carvajal, Choreographer
Eleven-year Dance-Along Nutcracker veteran Carolyn Carvajal apprenticed with the Joffrey Ballet and began her professional career with the San Francisco Ballet. As a principal dancer with S.F. Dance Spectrum, she performed the works of Carlos Carvajal and associates with the Arthur Fiedler Pops Concerts and in numerous Bay Area dance showcases. For 12 years she toured extensively with Dances Through Time, expanding her knowledge to include social dancing of the past 500 years. Carolyn retired from the San Francisco Opera Ballet in 1998 after 29 years on the Opera House stage. Currently, she maintains a busy teaching and choreographing schedule with San Francisco Girls Chorus, North Coast Dance and Shan Yee Poon Ballet School.
Heidi Beeler, Script Writer
Blazing Nutcrackers! marks Heidi's fourth year writing the script for the Dance-Along Nutcracker. Working with a team of zany-brained musicians from the Band, Heidi previously scripted the 2006, 2007 and 2008 Dance-Along Nutcrackers - CLARA-FIED, RAT-IFIED and BAH HUMBUG! A proud member of the band since 1991, Heidi plays in the trumpet section, frequently appearing in over-sized head gear. She also performs with the Dixieland Dykes +3, The Fog Horns brass quintet and is a former member of City Swing and a freelance writer from the East Bay.
Leigh Crow, Clara
Internationally known as the King of Drag Kings, Elvis Herselvis, aka Artist Formerly known as Elvis Herselvis, as well as numerous other pseudonyms, Leigh Crow has been performing drag since '89. Leigh has hosted many SF Drag King Contests and now sings with The Mighty Slim Pickins and The Whoa Nellies.
Trauma Flintstone, Nutty
A self-proclaimed "Band hag" and recovering trombonist, Trauma Flintstone is a lipstick thespian who has appeared in more than 40 productions on both coasts, including New Conservatory Theater's Pageant, Christmas with the Crawfords, Club Inferno, When Pigs Fly and the opera Queer. He is best known for outrageous characters in productions such as: Gross Indulgence: The Trials of Liberace, The Andrews Sisters' Hollywood Canteen and Acid Housewife. Flintstone also appeared in the popular hits Dirty Little Show Tunes and Jungle Red. For his artist-in-residency with the Jon Sims Center for the Arts, he developed a remarkable evening of pre-Stonewall dramatic theatre, A Return to the Caffe Cino, which was selected to be presented by the San Francisco Queer Arts Festival. Also a composer, Trauma has collaborated on Burning Louise and other musical productions. One of the Band's favorite guest artists, he has performed with the group many times, including its 25th anniversary concert and numerous productions of the Dance-Along Nutcracker. Currently, he hosts the popular monthly variety show Bijou at Martuni's.
Corrine Levy, Dancer/Laughing Sal
Corrine is thrilled to be back for her 6th Dance-Along Nutcracker. When not performing in Murder Mysteries, she is a freelance floral designer. She enjoys yoga and salsa dancing and looks forward to joining the Palm Springs Follies someday in the more near than far future.
This year marks Kelly's third year with the Dance-Along Nutcracker dance company. Kelly has been in various college music and stage productions with Spotlight Players and toured for 13 months throughout North America and Europe with Up With People. He taught adult education for 10 years and most recently served developing diversity programs at the leadership level with Macy's West as well as sitting on the national corporate diversity team. His claim to fame is having performed a Mexican Hat-dance for Pope John Paul II in Saint Peter's Square. The question is whose hat was bigger?
City Swing, Gala Entertainers
City Swing has performed in San Francisco since 1985, bringing to life the sounds of Big Band jazz. One of the band's first gigs was the first Dance-Along Nutcracker that year at the Giftcenter Pavilion, and the group returned to perform for Dance-Alongs in 1986-88 and 1998. The band's repertoire includes the best charts from books of swing era greats like Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Stan Kenton and Glen Miller. Conducted by featured trumpet soloist Bradley Connlain, City Swing's credits include performances at Herbst Theater, the Palace of Fine Arts, the Beaux Arts Ball, the Galleria, the Fashion Center, Marines Memorial Club, the Miyako, the Meridien, the Presidio Officers' Club, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and countless ballrooms, street fairs, private parties and events held in and around the Bay Area.
City Swing started a new chapter in 2007 with jazz singer Joyce Grant. The great-great-niece of famed ragtime composer Scott Joplin, Grant has been singing jazz in Bay Area venues like the Plush Room and the Donatello Hotel for over 20 years. A mezzo-soprano with a voice like dark honey, Grant has a performance resume includes a wide range of venues including the Empire Plush Room and the Donatello Hotel in San Francisco, the Ledson Hotel in Sonoma, Cetrella in Half Moon Bay, the Liberty Hotel in Pittsburg, Slates in Walnut Creek, Joe's of Lafayette, the Woodminster Amphitheater, and the Zingari Ristorante in San Francisco.
