Tim Seelig

Tim Seelig (born January 10, 1951) is an American conductor, singer, and educator. He is the Artistic Director of the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus. In addition, he guest-conducts and presents workshops in the US and around the world. When Seelig joined the TCC in 1987, it was in financial trouble. Through his work, the chorale began making profit again by 1989 and had grown from the original 40 singers to 200.

In 1989, he co-founded the Women's Chorus of Dallas and conducted it off and on for the next twelve years. Seelig began teaching voice and vocal pedagogy at the Meadows School for the Arts at Southern Methodist University in 1996. In 1999, Seelig conducted the World's longest choral concert at the Lakewood Theatre in Dallas. The show lasted for twenty hours as celebration of the 20th anniversary of the chorale. It was also a homage to the people the chorale had lost to AIDS.

2003 - 2010 In 2005, the Turtle Creek Chorale was approached to do a follow-up documentary to the 1994 After Goodbye. Seelig agreed and they produced The Power of Harmony about gay marriage, adoption and other important GLBT topics of the time. Seelig's first book The Perfect Blend was published in March 2005 by the Shawnee Press. The book provided vocal technique for choral singers. It included 100 exercises, rehearsal and programming tips as well as tips for vocal health. The book was sold with a CD of the same title. A sequel to the book The Perfect Rehearsal was published by Shawnee Press in August 2007 followed by The Perfect Choral Workbook in November. The same year, The Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses (GALA) was looking to start a program for an Artistic Director-in-Residence. When he stepped down from Turtle Creek, he was invited by GALA to apply for the program. He applied and was named the first Artist Director-in-Residence of the association. The initial tenure for the program was one year, however, after the completion of the first year, Seelig stayed on for another year. During this time, he visited 40 choruses in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada.

Seelig made his fifth appearance at the Carnegie Hall at the Shawnee Press' 70th Anniversary in 2009. In May, he guest conducted the San Francisco's Gay Men's Chorus at the Davies Symphony Hall. He also conducted the North American GALA chorus at Southbank Centre in London performing Sing for a Cure – a choral symphony commissioned in coordination with the Susan Komen for the Cure featuring Maya Angelou. In Fall, Seelig served as the guest conductor of the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles and the Denver Gay Men's Chorus.

2011 - Present In 2010, Seelig learned that the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus was looking for a conductor. He applied for the job and was selected. He left his job at the Southern Methodist University and Hope for Peace and Justice and relocated to San Francisco. He started as the conductor of the SFGMC in January 2011.

As conductor of the SFGMC, he commissioned Steven Schwartz to compose a piece called Testimony inspired by the It Gets Better project. Testimony received positive reviews and The Huffington Post called it "the It Gets Better anthem." The same year, Seelig also contacted Andrew Lippa to write a five-minute piece about Harvey Milk. Excited by the project, Lippa proposed writing a complete sixty-minute show. Seelig commissioned the work and Lippa wrote I am Harvey Milk, which was premiered as part of the Harvey Milk concert in 2013 to commemorate the 35th Anniversary of SFGMC and Harvey Milk's assassination.

In 2012, Seelig discussed the idea of creating a suite for Tyler Clementi with Schwartz. The two worked together and commissioned eight composers to do eight movements of the story of Clementi. San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus premiered the suite in 2013.

Seelig was invited by the Turtle Creek Chorale to guest conduct and host the 35th anniversary concert of the chorale in 2015. In 2016, SFGMC performed Heartthrobs: Biggest Boy Band Ever directed and conducted by Seelig. The show featured pop music from the 70s and 80s to present day.

In 2016, Seelig presented a master class as part of the summer choral program at the Idyllwild Arts Summer Program.

In February 2020, Seelig conducted the Kansas Music Educators' Association All-State Mixed Choir.

LGBT dispute with Best Vacations Ever In 2013, Seelig and his partner Dan England were contacted by Best Vacations Ever with an offer of attending a time share seminar and getting a discounted vacation to Las Vegas. The couple decided to enroll for the seminar. According to Seelig, they were told later that the company cannot accept gay couples. Seelig posted about the dispute on his Facebook page, and it was then picked up by Towleroad and other media outlets. According to Seelig, the company responded by claiming that they allow gay couples in the seminar only if they are co-habitating and that the customer representatives Seelig spoke to misunderstood him. Seelig asked the Best Vacations Ever for a public apology, but there was no further response from the company.