LGBT Sanctuary Project Fundraiser with Melanie DeMore and Friends

Join us for the annual fundraiser of the LGBT Sanctuary Project  (OLAS)!  OLAS was founded in 2014 as a response to the personal and collective needs of LGBT immigrants from Latin America who are seeking asylum in the United States due to experiences of violence and discrimination in their countries of origin.  Performers include Melanie DeMore, Laura Fannon, and Rossy Sandoval.  Raffle and silent auction.  Drinks and light snacks provided.  For more information about our program, visit: www.olas-sanctuary.org

Melanie DeMore is an accomplished folk singer, songwriter, composer, choral conductor and teacher.  She was a founding member of the Grammy nominated vocal ensemble Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir.  She has shared the stage with some of the world’s most notable musicians and political activists from Gloria Steinem, Odetta, Pete Seeger, and Judy Collins to Ed Asner, Holly Near, Ronnie Gilbert, and Ani Di Franco. She has been credited with launching and inspiring the careers of many of her students over the years, including Skyblaze/Sony recording artist Goapele.

Laura Fannon took a DNA test recently and was not surprised to find that she has music in her genes!  Well, not really.  But her mother was both a singer and a hopeless romantic, so she was probably the only three-year-old who could sing torch songs from the 1940s with pathos and passion absurdly inappropriate for her years.  Later, as her mother, younger sister, and she sang while doing the dinner dishes, she began to hear harmonies.  And decades later, singing with members of the Threshold Choir, she began to understand the magic of singing in community with a listening heart.  These days she also writes songs, from the silly to the holy.

Rossy Sandoval is an up-and-coming singer/songwriter from Guadalajara, Mexico who now resides in the Bay Area.  She is happily married and is proud to be a part of the LGBT community.  Her passion is singing and writing songs, which she does with all of her heart and soul.