The Chorus - Follow Up Film from Singing Positive - 10 Years Later - San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus

Gary Fallardo, in this film, is the man whose first tenor seat I occupied a week after his death. The SFGMC later gave out a yearly award in his honor for Most Professional Talent in the ensemble. I was the first to be chosen, and proud that Gary's talents had been remembered and celebrated. I wish, he, like me, could have survived. Gary, as well as many, many others are now part of what is affectionately referred to as:

The Fifth Section

From the mid -1980s through the late 1990s, the chorus focused heavily on AIDS because of the huge impact the disease was having on its members and the broader LGBT community.

As AIDS took its toll, chorus members used concerts as a way to bring a sense of urgency to the public. The group's music became more somber and began including AIDS requiems. The chorus also became a place for members to talk openly about HIV and AIDS. Men shared tips on how to get into clinical drug trials and serenaded friends through their last breaths. For men who were fighting for their lives, often alone and estranged from parents who had turned their backs on gay children, the chorus became family.  — Meredith May

Hill describes the era as "the worst of times," explaining that he spent every Wednesday and Sunday visiting members in hospitals. Members and former members who died of AIDS and other causes became known as the chorus’s "Fifth Section."