Well-Strung to Join San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus for 'HEARTTHROBS' During Pride Weekend

Today, in celebration of San Francisco Pride, San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus (SFGMC) and Dr. Timothy Seelig, Artistic Director, announced the program for the final concert of the 2015/2016 season - Heartthrobs: Biggest Boy Band Ever on June 24 - 25 at Nourse Theater (275 Hayes Street, San Francisco). Guest artists Well-Strung, the singing string quartet, join the Chorus for Heartthrobs. Performances are Friday, June 24 at 8 p.m. and Saturday, June 25 at 2:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. Tickets range in price from $20-60 and are available now on www.SFGMC.org or by calling City Box Office at (415) 392-4400.

Generally, boy bands range from three to five members, but this Pride Weekend, the Chorus will become the biggest boy band the world has ever seen when they bring over 250 singers to the Nourse Theater stage for this must-see show.

Heartthrobs: Biggest Boy Band Ever features infectious pop music from yesterday and today. The show's first act includes hits from every decade since the 1960s, ranging from The Beatles and The Beach Boys to Journey and Boyz II Men, and then continuing to Mumford & Sons, One Direction, Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars.

"Every one of us can track our own musical journey with the songs of a boy band or two - those guys were many of our teenage heartthrobs," writes SFGMC Artistic Director Dr. Timothy Seelig. "Lots of us even had their posters on our bedrooms walls! None of those groups, however, had 250 on stage, ready to steal your heart and make you swoon. That's just what SFGMC has planned for this Pride Weekend!"

Heartthrobs: Biggest Boy Band features guest artists Well-Strung, the singing string quartet. The group last performed with SFGMC in 2014 for the Dancers, Prancers & Vixens holiday show. Well-Strung's members - Edmund Bagnell (first violin), Christopher Marchant (second violin), Daniel Shevlin (cello) and Trevor Wadleigh (viola) - put a modern twist on universally recognized classical pieced while singing pop music hits from the likes of Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Kelly Clarkson and more. Conceived by Mark Cortale and Christopher Marchant, the foursome has quickly gained international attention. Their new CD, titled POPssical, debuted at #8 on Billboard's Classical Crossover chart. In the past year, they performed for both President Clinton and Secretary Clinton. They have also appeared on "The TODAY Show" and "Watch What Happens Live" on television.

"When we think of heartthrobs and boy bands, there is no group on the planet that better fits that bill than the jaw-droppingly handsome, breathtakingly talented group Well-Strung," writes Seelig. "They sing. They play. They pose... and all equally well! You won't want to miss their return to the SFGMC stage this June."

The second act of Heartthrobs: Biggest Boy Band Ever includes highlights from each of SFGMC's vocal ensembles: The Lollipop Guild, Vocal Minority, SWAG and HomoPhonics. Additionally, SFGMC will present a 25-minute set of music showcasing the Chorus' "best of the best," which they will also perform the following month in Denver, CO at the international GALA Festival 2016. The Festival is a quadrennial event that brings together over 175 LGBT choruses from North America and beyond for a week of music making and performances. Founded in 1978, the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus was the first organization of its kind and is credited with starting the LGBT choral movement. To cap off Heartthrobs, the Chorus will perform its GALA Festival set for its home audience - the first time Bay Area patrons will experience this set of show-stopping, gorgeous music.

For more information about Heartthrobs: Biggest Boy Band Ever, please visit www.sfgmc.org.

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