Pride Bands Alliance is pleased to award the 2024 Pillars of Pride to Gwen-Marie Lerch, Fran Long, and Melissa Terrell.
The Pride Bands Alliance Pillars of Pride Award recognizes members whose outstanding service has contributed to our growth and development. The core qualities of the award are support, growth, musicianship, fellowship, dedication, and innovation. Today, we have three honorees, each with a decades long history of service and leadership both in front of our bands and behind the scenes.
Gwen Marie-Lerch
DEDICATION: Gwen-Marie’s passion for community music and LGBTQ++ bands is evident in her service and dedication at all levels over many years. She has been a stalwart contributor to local bands and Pride Bands Alliance (including when it was LGBA) for over 25 years. She was a founding member of Band Together in St Louis, MO, which just celebrated its 27th anniversary, and she served as President of that band on several occasions. Gwen-Marie co-chaired two LGBA annual conferences with Band Together: “Meet Me in St Louis” in 2001, just days after 9-11, and “Silver in St Louis” the LBGA 25th Anniversary, in 2007. Gwen founded and continues to lead Encantada, the Band of Enchantment as its Artistic Director. Gwen served as LGBA Conference Percussion Section leader on several occasions and has conducted at LGBA and Pride Bands Alliance conferences. She served on the LGBA board for 8 (or maybe 10) years, as treasurer and board member at large. Among other contributions, during her time as board member, Gwen was a strong advocate for LGBA to provide more support and guidance to small and young bands. She was a member of the Pride Bands Alliance Oral history committee, which created a video for the 2022 “Sweet Home Chicago” conference.
Outside of her Pride Bands/Community band work, Gwen is a committed music educator, serving on local, regional and national music educator boards. In her work at New Mexico School for the Arts, Gwen was the faculty co-advisor for the schools Q (Queer) Straight Alliance (QSA). She has been President of Guitar New Mexico, an organization dedicated to the study and appreciation of guitar.
MUSICIANSHIP: Gwen-Marie has been a guitarist since the tender age of 4 and guitar is still her primary instrument. In terms of band instruments, Gwen plays percussion and saxophone and has played these instruments in Band Together and at LGBA/PBA bands events. Gwen takes pride in playing well herself and has an amazing ear (how can you tell that that instrument is 5 cents sharp?). There are no auditions for Encantada, and all who can read music are welcome. As a conductor, Gwen brings out the best in an ensemble made up of people of varying abilities and experience. She has encouraged Encantada members to expand their musical horizons and supports them as they learn to play new instruments.
FELLOWSHIP: Gwen’s regular attendance at Pride Bands Conference over many, many years speaks to her commitment to fellowship amongst LGBTQ++ musicians. As Encantada’s artistic director, she has invited musicians from Denver’s Mile High Freedom Band and Phoenix’ Desert Overture to play at Encantada events, and she has performed as guest artist and conductor at MHFB concerts. Gwen worked with the artistic directors from the Denver, Phoenix, Palm Springs and Los Angeles bands to organize an LGBA Regional conference, held in 2018(ish). She was a guest conductor for Band Together’s 20th anniversary concert. And when the world shut down for COVID, Gwen pushed Encantada to create a virtual band video and participate in the “Loud and Proud” virtual concert hosted by the San Francisco Lesbian and Gay Freedom Band.
INNOVATION: When she moved from St Louis to Albuquerque, Gwen’s LGBA and BandTogether friends all asked if there was an LGBA band in Albuquerque. When she said no, they replied, “Well, you’ll just have to start one.” Having just moved to New Mexico, Gwen had to be creative in getting Encantada off the ground. She did not have extensive contacts in the local community. However, she was a music student at the University, so she rounded up some fellow students and faculty, LGBTQ++ and allied, a member of the local women’s chorus who played clarinet, her wife’s co-worker who played trombone, and some supportive friends from Mile High Freedom Band and Desert Overture to play and march in the 2010 Albuquerque Pride Parade. And with that, Encantada was born. As they say, “If you build it, they will come,” and Encantada has grown steadily over the years.
In summary, Gwen-Marie Lerch has contributed consistently and in many ways to Pride Bands Alliance/LGBA as an organization, and to Pride Bands Alliance member bands over many years. She is truly a Pillar of Pride and clearly deserving of this award.
Fran Long
On behalf of GFBLA and LGBTQ+ musicians in Southern California, it is with great pride and pleasure that we nominate Fran Long for the Pride Bands Alliance’s 2023 Pillars of Pride award. Fran embodied all of the core qualities of the Pillars of Pride across her 39 years of service to GFBLA, PBA, other sister bands, and other LGBTQ+ music organizations. Fran supported these organizations by helping new bands get started and keeping bands alive when they were close to dissolving.
Without Fran’s dedication and support, GFBLA would not be around to celebrate its 45th anniversary this year. Fran joined GFBLA in 1984. In the mid 90s during the AIDS crisis, the band lost so many members that GFBLA leadership was discussing dissolving the band’s assets. It was at this time that Fran stepped in to provide GFBLA the financial support needed to keep the band alive. Highlighting her dedication to marching, during this time of struggle for GFBLA, Fran bought
all the uniforms and parts so the band could march proudly in upcoming parades. She would also be the first to fix people’s uniforms so that GFBLA always looked its best. Fran, along with her wife Alison, acted as GFBLA’s librarians for many years and personally housed the band’s music library. Fran bought much of the music, loaned and donated instruments, organized truck rentals and concert setups, and even fed the band before concerts and parades. In addition to her financial support and readiness to help, Fran served as board president from 2001 to 2008, and she resumed leadership from 2010 to 2013.
Beyond the borders of Los Angeles, Fran supported Gary Moline and the Desert Winds in Palm Springs during its beginning stages in the early 2000s. Fran drove from LA to Palm Springs every other week to participate in rehearsals and play any instrument that needed to be covered, from woodwinds to percussion. She organized musicians in LA to join Desert Winds for concerts and parades, even as both organizations struggled to survive. She provided instruments when needed and continued her support until Desert Winds finally found their stability.
In support of both GFBLA and the Desert Winds, Fran and Alison were the official conference producers for PBA’s 2005 Sunshine Summit. Fran’s generosity extended to all attendees of the event as she fed the conference guests during one of the breaks. This joint collaboration spearheaded by Fran solidified a long-time partnership between the two bands that continues today after more than 20 years across parade seasons and performances at Disneyland.
Outside of Southern California, Fran attended numerous PBA events, health permitting. She served as a continuous advocate of the PBA, returning to GFBLA after a conference to share her experiences and encouraging other members to attend the next. Her support and advocacy of PBA extended so far as to offer financial support to members who could not afford attending the conference, often covering airfare and lodging. In her continued service and advocacy of GFBLA, Fran served as GFBLA’s delegate at nearly all PBA Delegates meetings and served as GFBLA’s voice to the larger PBA community for a long time. Fran also supported the Federation of Gay Games, attending nearly all FGG events in North America.
As one of the first registered members for PBA and FGG events and producing a conference for PBA, Fran’s participation and dedication to LGBTQ+ musicianship at the national level is unquestionable. However, it is Fran’s contributions to GFBLA and our sister bands that preserve her legacy.
We mentioned that Fran would attend PBA conferences while her health allowed because she suffered for many years with Rheumatoid arthritis and other serious health issues. Fran was in constant pain and, though she may have seemed gruff to some, she was such a beautiful soul who battled through her pain to do many wonderful things in support of the LGBTQ+ music community.
On April 15, 2023, Fran succumbed to her health issues. The passing of our matriarch sent ripples throughout GFBLA and our sister bands, reuniting long-lost members at her celebration of life where musicians of all ages came to express their gratitude to Fran for fostering and building a welcoming and accepting community for everyone.
Fran embodied all of the core qualities to be a Pillar of Pride and a role model. She supported and grew multiple PBA bands, supported her fellow musicians, played any instrument to meet the needs of the band, and she was dedicated to music both locally and nationally. Though Fran never sought recognition across her four decades of unwavering and substantial support, her contribution, generosity, and sacrifice are forever etched into the history of GFBLA. Although this nomination comes posthumously, as she deserved this accolade and acknowledgement in life, we feel this is a fitting way to preserve her legacy in the national organization forever.
Melissa Terrell
As a longtime member and leader of Lakeside Pride Music Ensembles, one of the founding members of the Pride Bands Alliance, I’m finding it hard to properly conceptualize–let alone articulate–how important Melissa Terrell has been to both of these organizations. Melissa joined Lakeside Pride in 2005 and Pride Bands Alliance in 2006, and she has had dozens and dozens of indelible contributions to both of these communities over the decades, to the point that it would be a challenge to find someone among these thousands of members over the world who haven’t heard of her and don’t know of her work.
Upon joining Pride Bands Alliance, Melissa Terrell began her membership contributing to the success of a resonant, high-profile event: the Gay Games of 2006 in Chicago. There, she supported the organization by assisting with the writing and organizing of the drill for the opening ceremonies at the historic Soldier Field. Her marching and musicianship prowess have been repeatedly put to use since then: in 2009 as trumpet section for the marching band at the conference for the parade; in 2013 as assistant brass captain for President Obama’s second inaugural parade; in 2016 as drum major for the Palm Springs conference marching band; in 2023 as drum major for the Denver conference pep band. Perhaps most strikingly, she even traveled to London in 2012 to march and lead instruction in proper marching for the London Gay Symphonic Winds for World Pride. Her Pride Bands Alliance leadership has extended beyond artistic leadership to operational leadership as well, as a Member-at-Large on the board from 2014-2018 and as co-chair of the universally revered “Sweet Home Chicago” conference in 2022. Her tireless and generous shepherding of that weekend (and the many years that led up to it) resulted in a conference that many described as “the best conference they have ever attended,” and a strong indication that the COVID-19 pandemic was now mostly behind us and we could come together and make music again. Since 2006, she has attended 15 conferences herself, always actively and enthusiastically as many Lakeside Pride members as possible to join in the community. Indeed, this year we are bringing more than 20 members to Columbus, in part thanks to her dedicated efforts.
In Chicago, I can say without hyperbole that Melissa Terrell is Lakeside Pride Royalty. We have recently coined a term the “Lakeside Pride Effect” to share how quickly new members become part of the Lakeside Pride family and how quickly they feel compelled to spread their wings in our organization and contribute to its growth and maintenance. Melissa Terrell exemplifies this notion. Every single rehearsal and performance (whether she’s participating in it herself or not), she actively goes out of her way to introduce herself to new members, learn their stories, and support their inclusion in our fellowship. She particularly looks out for prospective members of color and female-identifying members, ensuring that we are actively combating the entrenched racial segregation in Chicago and patriarchal hegemony even present in a queer community organization like ours. Upon her appointment and then election to the Lakeside Pride Board of Directors, she has actively sought out leaders from these vulnerable communities to encourage them to speak up in meetings and let their voices be heard. In her time on the board, as a Member-at-Large, Vice Chair, and then Chair, this was always a priority of hers, and the fact that our leadership team is more diverse and inclusive than it has ever been is a testament to her efforts.
Melissa Terrell has also been a key driver behind the technological innovations that have contributed to Lakeside Pride’s unprecedented growth in the last decade. She and I worked together for hours at coffee shops to continually update our website to be more user-friendly and professional. I remember distinctly when she came over to my home once for a game night and then eagerly showed me how when one hovers over a button, it changes color to indicate it can be clicked. These details matter to Terrell. Without a degree in music or computer science, she has been such a natural pioneer for us across the board.
Yet beyond all of this innovation, Melissa also has an indefatigable respect and admiration for our community traditions and elderly community members. Every single year for over a decade, she has acted as primary intermediary between us and American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER), for whom we march through downtown Chicago every Memorial Day weekend. Before Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was revoked, both AVER and Lakeside Pride were permitted to march but were deliberately ignored by the announcers as we walked by. And the Band played on. Melissa Terrell, as our fearless drum major, always ensured we were proudly supporting our queer veterans and properly representing our community. She even plays taps for AVER every single year on Veteran’s Day.
When I was diagnosed as HIV+ in 2017, Melissa was one of the first people I came out to, at the Women’s March in Chicago. She spoke so passionately and positively about how much has changed with medical science over the last decade and reminded me that I am standing on the shoulders of those who came before me. Through her work at the Alphawood Foundation, she brought Art AIDS America to Chicago. This extensive art collection is a powerful, poignant tribute to those of us who are still here today and those of us whose lives were tragically cut short. She even gave me a personal tour of the collection, proudly pointing out the most controversial piece they were exhibiting: a beautiful red sketch of flowers being picked in their prime, painted with mixed HIV+ and HIV- blood. She encouraged me to persist and be present with my diagnosis and my health. Through her support, I am now Lakeside Pride’s first ever out HIV+ chair, an active member of its HIV+ affinity group, and a performer at the Chicago AIDS Memorial Garden on World AIDS Day.
Melissa Terrell’s contributions to our community can be summed up using her three rules for being in the Lakeside Pride Marching Band (which any of its members could easily recite if pressed):
1. Have fun! If you’re not having fun, we’re not doing this right!
2. If you can have fun and play the music well, you should totally do that!
3. If you can have fun, play the music well, and also be in step, you should absolutely do that!!!!!
But no one, with no exceptions, should ever shout out “left! left! left” to publicly shame another member to fix which step is marching on which beat. “First, it embarasses them, and second, it makes the hiccup even more noticeable than it ever would have been otherwise.” Melissa Terrell is an includer and a celebrater. She understands that Pride Bands Alliance is a conglomerate of community band organizations. Community before band. Always. For her tireless work within our community, in 2015, we were honored to award her with the Founders Award, the highest distinction a member of Lakeside Pride can earn to recognize their contributions to our community. Reflecting upon this award on our website, Melissa noted:
“I was just looking for a place to play my trumpet in 2005 when I found Lakeside Pride. I had no idea how much this organization would shape my life. The people I have met and the experiences I have had, made me who I am today. This organization saves my sanity over and over. Music is my therapy. Lakeside Pride is my home.”
Melissa Terrell is the Lakeside Pride Effect and is the reason we are able to continue to bloom and grow so proudly in Chicago. I nominate her with all my heart for the 2024 Pillars of Pride Award at the Heart of it All conference in Columbus, Ohio.
