An exit interview with Dr. Stan Hill

This weekend the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus will be in Denver, Colorado for the GALA Chorus festival, which brings together more than 6,000 GLBT singers from across the country.

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Dr. Stan Hill, after conducting his final performance of the TCGMC in the Twin Cities

Photo by Paul Nixdorf

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The festival marks the last time Dr. Stan Hill will direct the chorus before he retires at the end of the month. Hill has led the TCGMC for twelve years. In a recent conversation he said he's retiring now because he wants to be closer to his family in California, but also because it's the right time for the chorus.

This is chorus is in a really good place - our season subscribers are up, our audience is great, the support from the community is absolutely amazing. And that was my whole goal - I want it to go on. I didn't spend this much time and work this hard to see the thing go belly up when I leave!

Click on the audio link below to listen as Dr. Hill looks back at his four decades as a choral director, how the GALA movement got started, and at how life for gay men has changed over his career. Particularly poignant was his recollection of his time as Artistic Director of the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus, and the number of singers that died of AIDS.