Our Present

We are a young organization, having been in full operation for less than a year.

We have had two major concerts: one in December 2021, and another in May 2022, each with over 200 folks in the audience, and around 20 singers on stage.

As we look forward to our future concerts, we welcome anyone who can sing in the Tenor, Baritone or Bass vocal range. There is no audition for entrance into the ensemble.  Each singer will be asked to sing for part placement in small groups and to determine range and timbre.

The repertoire of the SBGMC is diverse, representing a wide array of music from around the world and composers of a variety of backgrounds and cultures.  The foundation of choral singing technique is taught through music that challenges, communicates deeply with audiences, and creates a foundation of community in the ensemble.  Styles include traditional music from the Western canon, jazz, popular, Musical Theatre, and genres from around the world.

Our Origin Story

The story of the Santa Barbara Gay Men’s Chorus starts in November 2020. Nicole Lamartine, the Sorensen Director of Choral Music at the University of California, Santa Barbara, asked a student in one of her classes, Sami Alsaloom, if there was a tenor/bass chorus for the LGBTQIA community in Santa Barbara. Sami replied, that there had been, but that it has ceased operations. Nicole and Sami approached several members of this former chorus, including Michael Broyles-Shaw, Phill Conrad, and Bob Nieder, who began planning for forming a new organization.

At the time, the Covid-19 pandemic was still raging, and vaccines were not yet available, so it was clear that it would be some time before a chorus could safely gather to rehearse. So throughout the Winter and Spring of 2021, the group began planning and outreach. They envisioned a group where Dr. Lamartine would be the first Artistic Director, but with structures in place to ensure that the group would be able to continue continue indefinitely, even if circumstances required changes to the leadership changes over time (both the artistic leadership, and the organizational leadership.) 

The founders chose the name "Santa Barbara Gay Men's Chorus" because they envisioned a group that would be part of the long tradition of choruses for gay men including, for example, the  San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus, the New York City Gay Men's Chorus, and the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles.   The social aspect of a chorus for gay men is a part of our mission.

Having said that, they proposed that membership be open to all that support the LGBTQ community: it should not necessary to identify as "gay" or as a "man" to be a member.  The musical repertoire would be from that written for tenor and bass voices (TTBB)—anyone able to sing one of those voice parts would be welcome to participate.

As vaccines became available in early 2021, the leadership began to look forward to the possibility of a few one-off rehearsals to recruit members and gauge interest. The first took place on Saturday May 15, 2021, and the home of Bob Nieder and Phill Conrad in Goleta, and drew about 15 singers. The second took place on Sunday June 6, at the home of Ben Oni-Cortes in Montecito, drawing about the same number.

With these successes, the board proceeded with plans to publish a web site, incorporate as a 501(c)3, and schedule a full rehearsal season and a first concert. We contacted the First United Methodist Church in Santa Barbara, who had hosted the prior Tenor/Bass chorus, and they welcomed us to rehearse and perform there.