Monét X Change is best known as the first double-crown winner from RuPaul’s DragRace, having won Miss Congeniality on Season 10, and becoming the first queen of color inducted into the Hall of Fame after winning All-Stars 4. She is a leader within her industry of drag performance, and among the few true multi-hyphenates within the drag sphere having produced and co-written a chart-topping debut EP, Unapologetically, made appearances on film and on television in Lovecraft Country, The World of Madame X, and The View, and even hosted her own talk show, TheXchange Rate, as part of the Build Network stable of programming produced by Yahoo!, garnering over 11 million views during its run.

Monét returned last spring to RuPaul’s Drag Race for All Stars 7, where she competed with previous winners for one more chance at that shimmering crown and the title of “Queen of Queens.” She also currently channels her socio-political humor as the cohost of two podcasts, Sibling Rivalry with Bob the Drag Queen, as well as co-hosting Ebony and Irony with the legendary Lady Bunny. Monét is also working diligently to complete her first complete studio album, co-writing the project with a team including three-time Grammy nominee Eritza Laues. She makes her San Francisco Symphony debut with this performance.

(11/2022)

For more than three decades, Sister Roma has been one of the most outspoken and highly visible members of San Francisco’s Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. From fighting on the front lines in the war against HIV/AIDS to taking on social media giant Facebook as the creator of the #MyNameIs movement, Roma has dedicated more than half her life to community service, activism, and fundraising. She is a proud accomplice to the trans and QBIPOC communities and an advocate for LGBTQ refuge and asylum. Rising to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Roma partnered with the San Francisco Department of Public Health, Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, and the mayor’s COVI response team to create the Sisters’ #PracticeSafeSix mask campaign to raise awareness and promote health and wellness citywide.

But don’t get it twisted, this Sister is no Saint! Her colorful wit and sharp tongue have made Roma one of San Francisco’s favorite entertainers and emcees, landing her front and center on the main stages of SF Pride, Folsom Street Fair, and Easter in the Park, where she emcees the infamous Hunky Jesus Contest. A frequent guest on television and radio, Roma is blessed to travel the globe as an LGBTQ ambassador and event host, striving to uphold her Sisterly vows to expiate stigmatic guilt and promulgate universal joy.

Jimmie Herrod is a musician from Tacoma, Washington. After finishing a bachelors in music composition and performance from Cornish College of the Arts, Mr. Herrod moved to Portland, where he received a master’s in music in jazz studies from Portland State University. During his time living on the West Coast, Mr. Herrod has also acted in a number of musicals in both Washington and Oregon. In 2017 he performed with electronic music duo Odesza on Seattle KEXP and provided background vocals for their appearance on Jimmy Kimmel. That same fall he was introduced to Thomas Lauderdale, founding member of Pink Martini, and began touring with the group. Mr. Herrod has traveled with Pink Martini across the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. In October 2019, Pink Martini featured him on a five-track EP Tomorrow. In 2021 Mr. Herrod was a contestant on America’s Got Talent where he was the recipient of Sofia Vergara’s Golden Buzzer, later ending in the top 10 acts of the season.

(11/2022)

Artistically fluid performer Nikola Printz is a second-year Adler Fellow with San Francisco Opera, where their assignments this season include New Ofglen in The Handmaid’s Tale, Mercédès in Carmen, and Carmen in Carmen Encounter. Prinz participated in the Merola Opera Program in 2021 and 2022, made their mainstage debut in Strauss’s Die Frau ohne Schatten, and also performed as Musetta in the company’s production of Bohème Out of the Box.

This past season, they returned to Opera San José for Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia and Festival Opera for their acclaimed portrayal of Carmen, and sang the role of Billie Jean King in Opera Parallèle’s production of Birds and Balls. Recent career highlights include the title roles of Carmen and Dido and Aeneas with Opera San José, L’Italiana in Algeri with Opera Memphis, The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein with Pocket Opera, Freschi’s Ermelinda with Ars Minerva, Orfeo ed Eurydice with West Edge Opera, and The Rape of Lucretia with Green Mountain Opera Festival. They made their San Francisco Symphony debut in December 2022, and last July stepped in on short notice to sing Manuel de Falla’s The Three-Cornered Hat with the Orchestra.

Printz first established themself onstage in jazz and cabaret venues and is well-versed in genre bending crossover styles, creating the role of Velma Louise Cole in Boxcar Theater’s immersive Speakeasy SF. An accomplished aerialist, Printz has also developed and performed on spinning trapezes in both grand concert halls and smoky cabaret clubs.

Marga Gomez was voted 2022 “Best Of The Bay Comedian” by readers of 48 Hills/Bay Guardian. She has been a guest on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast and has appeared on Comedy Central’s Out There, LOGO’s One Night Stand Up, and HBO’s Comic Relief with Robin Williams, who called her “Amazing . . . a lesbian Lenny Bruce.” She is the winner of a GLAAD Media Award for theater and her acting credits include Fefu And Her Friends at American Conservatory Theater, The Vagina Monologues with Rita Moreno and Vicki Lawrence at Theater On The Square, HBO’s Tracey Takes On. . ., and Netflix’s Sense8.

(11/2022)

Founded in 1978, the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus sparked a nationwide LGBTQ choral movement after its first public performance at a vigil on the steps of City Hall following the assassinations of Sueprvisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone. Since then, SFGMC has been embedded in the fabric of San Francisco. It has soothed souls in pain, lifted spirits in triumph, and has remained a steadfast beacon of hope.
Under the leadership of Chris Verdugo and Jacob Stensberg, SFGMC has established a heightened level of performance standards bringing renewed audience and choral industry acclaim. Recent touring schedules, recordings, and outreach programs have broadened its impact and reputation in the communitywhile maintaining its signature blend of humor, personality, and groundbreaking performances. In 2019 SFGMC acquired a historic facility that has become its permanent home for rehearsals and offices. The building also serves as the Chan National Queer Arts Center, the first-ever community space for LGBTQ artists and arts organizations.