SF Gay Men’s Chorus CEO Verdugo to depart in 2026

The San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus, a nationally known choral group, will need to start looking for its next chief executive officer soon. Christopher Verdugo, a gay man who holds that position, announced Tuesday that he will step down at the end of the chorus’ 2025-26 season next June.

When he departs, Verdugo will have led the nation’s first and oldest openly gay chorus for 10 years. In a phone interview September 22, he said it was time for him to step down.

“I want the organization to move forward with fresh blood,” he said.

Verdugo said that he came to the realization during a three-month sabbatical at the beginning of 2024. He was also mourning the death of his mom, who passed away in 2020 of cancer at the onset of the COVID pandemic.

“I took time to grieve and reflect,” Verdugo said of his sabbatical.

The chorus’ board is expected to soon launch a nationwide search for Verdugo’s successor at the nonprofit, with a goal of ensuring a seamless transition and continuity of vision, according to a news release.

Since his appointment in 2016, Verdugo has guided the chorus through a period of extraordinary growth and resilience, the release stated. He oversaw milestone performances, groundbreaking tours, and an expansion of the chorus’ mission-driven programs that continue to resonate with communities locally and nationwide.

Verdugo, 53, said that he does not have his next opportunity lined up. He plans to spend time with his family – his father is ill – on the East Coast and then use the skill set and knowledge he’s learned to work in consulting.

 
Achievements
Verdugo’s leadership is distinguished by several achievements, including the official opening in 2023 of the chorus’ now permanent home, and the nation’s first community space dedicated to LGBTQ+ artists, the Chan National Queer Arts Center. The Chan is located at 170 Valencia Street, along with the chorus’ offices and rehearsal space. The chorus purchased the building for $9.6 million in 2019 and spent three years renovating it, thanks to a $15 million capital campaign, as the B.A.R. previously reported.

Verdugo said getting The Chan completed was a long process.

“The challenges go directly back to the pandemic,” Verdugo said, adding that the chorus had to cease operations and vacate the building once COVID hit. It also had to stop fundraising, he said. When the organization was able to return, he said it was met with a 30% increase in construction costs.

“The pandemic caused a huge burden on the schedule” for the center’s completion, Verdugo added.

Since its opening, The Chan is doing well, Verdugo said. Programming for the 2025-26 season is expected to be announced in early October. While he didn’t want to go into details, Verdugo did say that The Chan expects to have “several Broadway notables” for cabaret shows in the space.

Programming for the chorus is also expected to be announced next month. It is presenting a benefit concert to fight cancer at The Chan on October 30 with guest narrator and featured soloist Britney Coleman, a Broadway star of shows “Tootsie” and “Sunset Boulevard.”

Other highlights of Verdugo’s tenure include executing the “Lavender Pen Tour” with the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus across the Deep South in 2017. The award-winning documentary, “Gay Chorus Deep South,” amplified this impact worldwide, positioning the chorus as a national voice for equality.

The 2016 election of Republican Donald Trump to his first term as president, just nine weeks after Verdugo started as executive director (he was elevated to CEO in 2022), had a significant effect on the organization and its volunteer singers, he said.

“That changed the trajectory of our work,” Verdugo said, adding that the chorus has been able to uplift the local community as well as communities around the country through its tours.

Trump, of course, was elected to a second term last November and took office in January. He and his administration have worked to erode diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts of businesses, universities, the humanities, and federal agencies. A number of executive orders Trump has signed have attacked the transgender community, immigrants, and others.

“These things that test us, we rose above,” Verdugo said.

Fundraising
Verdugo has been successful at increasing the chorus’ budget, which is now $4.6 million.

“When I first started it was just under $1 million,” he said. “In those nine years it’s grown almost five-fold.”

The release noted that Crescendo, the chorus’ annual benefit, raised $1.4 million this year, the most successful gala in the group’s history.

“We have strong volunteer board members and singers,” he said, adding that he’s grateful to board Chair Tom Paulino.

Paulino, a gay man who had been former mayor London Breed’s liaison to the Board of Supervisors and now works in operations at San Francisco International Airport, stated that the board is grateful for Verdugo’s service.

“Chris Verdugo is a transformational and visionary leader who represents the very best of SFGMC’s mission and core values,” Paulino stated. “We look forward to celebrating Chris’ accomplishments over the next year.”

Jacob (Jake) Stensberg, a gay man who’s the chorus’ artistic director and conductor, added, “It has been an honor to serve alongside Chris over the past three years. Chris has been a true partner, champion, and friend, and while I will certainly miss his day-to-day presence, the impact of his work will continue to shape and influence our future.”

Verdugo, the choral group’s first CEO, also thanked the chorus’ foundation and corporate partners, along with other donors.

The release stated that his journey in the gay choral movement began when he was 18 when he joined the Gay Men’s Chorus of South Florida. Three years later, he became the artistic director of Paragon Productions, where he choreographed, directed, and produced theatrical productions for cruise lines and hotels worldwide.

In 1999, he leveraged his expertise in event production and fundraising while working with the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis and Miami Beach’s Winter Party Music Festival. He also served on the board of the South Beach Gay Men’s Chorus.

Verdugo relocated to Los Angeles in 2003 and shifted his focus to LGBTQ and social justice issues, collaborating with various nonprofits, including the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (now the National LGBTQ Task Force), Equality California, the Human Rights Campaign, and GLAAD. He produced the Queer Lounge at Sundance for four years. In 2006, he joined the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles as a singer, and five years later, he was named executive director.

Under his leadership, the LA chorus built an international reputation for musical excellence, doubled its budget, and expanded educational programs in Los Angeles high schools. It also launched a national music tour titled, “It Gets Better.”

The San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus was founded in 1978. It sparked a nationwide LGBTQ choral movement with its first public performance at a candlelight vigil on the steps of San Francisco City Hall following the assassinations of gay supervisor Harvey Milk and mayor George Moscone.

Verdugo said that it’s time for a new leader as the chorus approaches its 50th anniversary in 2028.

“I’m a firm believer that nothing happens without a village,” Verdugo said, “and the village needs someone to lead it.”