Voices from our Chorus
Fred Rogers Reflects on His OaklandGMC Journey
By June Kamerling
I had the huge pleasure of chatting with chorus member Fred Rogers, who has had an extremely vibrant and colorful life, as you will soon see.
First question I asked Fred: “How did you find OaklandGMC?”
“I had been observing the chorus online for years when I moved to the East Bay. I always thought ‘That’s something I’d like to do’, but never made that move.”
“My sister said, ‘You’re the only one in the family who can carry a tune. Why are you not singing?’ And I asked myself that same question. Sadly, my sister was succumbing to Alzheimer's, and most of my time was taken up as her caregiver. I needed a break from taking care of her…. This would be the right time.”
“I responded to an online ‘we have auditions tonight’ invitation. That’s how I joined. That same month, my sister passed away. She never got to come to a concert, but her spirit got me in the door. That was 2016. Billy Sauerland was just starting as our director then. It was also the year of GALA in Denver.”
“So, I joined the chorus in February, and by July, I was in Denver singing at GALA. I had not sung since freshman year of college at Boston University.”
“It has been a great time and learning experience. I have a great ear, and with the rehearsal tracks I can easily learn the music”.
Excitedly, I said, “Fred, tell me about your colorful background.”
“That is probably the most interesting part of my existence. There are so many parallels between that time and this time of my life. I took the bold move of opening a bar/restaurant on 18th and Castro in San Francisco.”
“I was the proprietor of “Elephant Walk” opening in November 1974. I was 27! It was an eye-opening experience. I had the business for 11 years. All were welcome. We were intentionally inclusive. We had local families, gay and straight patrons, and employees. It was a welcoming meeting place for the local community.”
“That was a time of great chaos and upheaval, as well as a bringing together of the gay community in the Castro. We had the Harvey Milk assassination, the Dan White verdict, which brought about riots and police brutality, the Briggs initiative, Anita Bryant in Florida, lots of homophobia, and the AIDS epidemic…so many things we fought back then are rearing their ugly heads now.”
“One of my employees was one of the first AIDS victims in the 80’s. I didn’t own the building where Elephant Walk was located. The AIDS epidemic put a damper on my business. The writing on the wall was saying it was time to close my business, after 11 years”.
J- “What did you do after you sold the bar?”
“My partner, at the time, opened his own marketing consulting firm in our house, and I became office manager. I did interviews for him about chip manufacturing–which I knew nothing about. I was his gopher, rushing marketing materials around San Francisco. It was interesting, but I was in the house all the time…I was not used to that. I felt cut off from the world.”
“I went back to hotel management. I was born to be in customer service. Before I knew it, we moved to Atlanta, and we were there for 8 years. It was a culture shock, to say the least. I’m originally from Philadelphia. Interestingly, Steve Smith [fellow Baritone] and I grew up 10 miles from each other, and we’d never met till OaklandGMC”.
J-“What happened when you came back from Atlanta?”
“I sold my house in SF. Neil, my partner at the time, and I decided to resettle in the East Bay. It was way more affordable, had less traffic, and better proximity to my sister in Oakland Hills. Then it took another 20 years to join the chorus.”Lawrence Turner was my buddy and mentor as well as President of the OaklandGMC Board of Directors (called Oakland East Bay Gay Men’s Chorus at that time). I remember him saying, ‘Don’t be nervous, it’s a love bubble’ as we walked out onto the big stage in Denver at 2016 GALA.”
J-”How have you seen the chorus change over the years?”
“I asked Denis Whitaker, ‘What can I do to be involved?’ He laughed…‘Would you be interested in running for the board?’ So I found myself very quickly head of production and on the board.”
“I was retired at the time, so I had time to learn the ropes. I’ve seen it grow so beautifully organizationally. The board is so much more cohesive. We’re following a strategic plan. We have a part-time Executive Director. We’re financially able to do all of that. We’re in a much better space….in a period of like 8 years. Now that I’ve stepped down from the board and production committee, I’m finding other things I can do using my past experience.” (Note: Since the completion of this interview, Fred has rejoined the Board of Directors.)
J-”What direction would you like to see us take from here?”
“I think our outreach is so important. We tend to stay in our comfort zone, but I think we need to broaden our outreach in the community. It’s great we have our Executive Director, John Stevens, with us now to help us grow and reach out further. I’d like to see us branch out and go to the North Bay, Santa Rosa, not just stay in the immediate Bay area. I see us as a growing community. We have such a loyal fan base. I see the same names in ticket sales season after season.”
J-”Anything else you want to tell me?”
“I’m astounded by the musicality of many of my peers. I wish I could go back in time and practice my music lessons. In a future life, I’d love to be a jazz singer. I love all the oldies…the female jazz singers, Ella, Sara, Peggy Lee, etcetera, and Old Frank….I love that music. We sang with a big band once….It was so much fun.”
J-”Do you want to see more diversity in the kind of music we sing?”
“Yes, sure, but that’s totally up to the Artistic Director. We’re on stable ground to be growing. It’s about the unit…the group.”
J-“One last question…What is your music background?”
“Just singing in chorus and acting/drama club. I don’t play any instruments. I wish I could sit down at the piano, but….not this life? My sister majored in modern dance at Sarah Lawrence. Mother was an amateur painter and a tap dancer. Dad was an engineer. My ‘Auntie Mame’ was our musical accompanist at family gatherings on
our upright piano.”
J- For a full account of Elephant Walk and it’s community click on the link below.
