Shortly after the election of President Trump, the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus was looking to do something in response, something that could build bridges and foster understanding. So when the idea came up for the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus to tour America’s South, Tim Seelig knew it was a good idea. But he also knew it meant confronting his past.
Seelig, the chorus’ artistic director and conductor, was raised in the Baptist Church. The Texas native’s father was the vice president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Seelig himself was a teacher and associate minister of music at the First Baptist Church of Houston until 1986, when he came out as gay and was summarily fired.