Last night in front of approximately 2,400 concertgoers, Dr. Tim Seelig, Artistic Director of the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus (SFGMC), served as guest conductor at the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square concert at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California. Seelig stepped onto the conductor's podium to lead the Choir and Orchestra in the encore number, "This Land Is Your Land." The Choir traditionally invites a guest conductor who is well known to the community-from musicians and government officials to religious leaders and celebrities-at each of its concert stops.
In addition, 30 members of the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus participated in a special sound check prior to the concert. The sound check included a meet-and-greet with Dr. Mack Wilberg, Music Director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and members of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Sixteen members of SFGMC also had the opportunity to sing with the Choir as they rehearsed. Two other guest choirs from the San Francisco Bay Area-the San Jose Pop Up Choir and the Grand Chamber Group-also participated in the sound check. Seelig was presented with a commemorative conductor's baton from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir following the performance.
"As an openly gay conductor, I never imagined that I would have the opportunity to stand in front of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, much less conduct it," said Seelig. "During yesterday's rehearsal and throughout the performance, there was an immediate bond between the two choirs provided by the music. In this time when families are being torn apart at our borders, it is my hope that events such as this will remind us all not to do the same thing to our own families. For me, that is what conducting the Mormon Tabernacle Choir was about. We can all be better at reaching out and loving one another-even with our differences. This was a huge first step for that."
Mormon Tabernacle Choir President Ron Jarrett adds, "It was such an honor to have Dr. Seelig conduct the Choir. This was a beautiful moment for both of our organizations to be unified through music."
Seelig is a conductor, singer, teacher, and motivational speaker. In addition to being the Artistic Director of the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus, he maintains a busy guest-conducting schedule throughout the U.S. and across the globe. He is Conductor Emeritus of the Turtle Creek Chorale, which he conducted for 20 years, co-founded The Women's Chorus of Dallas, and taught on the faculty at Southern Methodist University for 14 years.
Dr. Seelig holds four degrees, including the Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of North Texas and the Diploma from the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. He has authored seven books and DVDs on choral technique. Recordings have won multiple awards and have been on Billboard Top Ten and iTunes Top Ten classical charts. The PBS documentary about the Turtle Creek Chorale received the national Emmy award for Best Documentary.
Dr. Seelig has conducted regularly at
Carnegie Hall for the last 25 years, as well as at the Lincoln Center and the
Southbank Centre in London. In addition to conducting and writing, he has commissioned choral works for a variety of amazing organizations. Some of those are amfAR (The American Foundation for AIDS Research), the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation featuring Dr.
Maya Angelou, and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital featuring
Marlo Thomas. Recent commissions with the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus include "Tyler's Suite" for the Tyler Clementi Foundation, "I Am Harvey Milk" and "Unbreakable" by Tony Award-nominated composer
Andrew Lippa, and "#twitterlieder: 15 Tweets in 3 Acts" by James Eakin.
This was the fourth stop of the world-renowned Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square's Classic Coast tour which started on June 18, 2018. The Choir will next perform in Rohnert Park, California before heading to Vancouver, Canada and Seattle, Washington.
For additional information on the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus, visit:
www.sfgmc.org.
Photo: Dr. Tim Seelig served as guest conductor at the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square concert at Shoreline Amphitheatre. Photo credit: Dave Earl
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