In 1977, openly gay candidate for San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk began traveling around the United States to present what came to be known as the Hope Speech.

However, the first public performance of the SFGMC took place exactly four weeks later, on November 27, at an impromptu memorial at San Francisco City Hall for Milk and Mayor George Moscone, who had been assassinated earlier that day by former Supervisor Dan White.

[4] The SFGMC performed "Thou, Lord, hast been our refuge" ("Herr Gott, du bist unsre Zuflucht") by Mendelssohn at the event, which was attended by at least 25,000–40,000 mourners who had marched to City Hall from the Castro district, which was represented by Milk in the Board of Supervisors.

The two men co-directed SFGMC's first official concert, which took place on December 20, 1978, at Everett Middle School, where the 115-voice chorus presented an eclectic program to a capacity crowd.

During that tour, the chorus performed in nine cities: Dallas, Minneapolis (Orchestra Hall), Lincoln, Detroit, New York City, Boston, Washington D.C. (Kennedy Center), Seattle (Seattle Opera House), then returned to San Francisco for a triumphant performance at Davies Symphony Hall where San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein awarded SFGMC the key to the city—the first time that honor had been bestowed on a gay organization.

[12] LGBT singers in other parts of the world created similar organizations, including LEGATO, an association for lesbian and gay choirs and ensembles in Europe established in 1997, and SING OUT!

Because the SFGMC wanted to perform music relevant to its members and audience, the group commissioned many works, slowly building a new repertoire for men's choruses as well as for the LGBT community.

In 1979, SFGMC member Tad Dunlap composed what is possibly the first-ever gay-specific choral piece, "I Understood," with lyrics from one of Harvey Milk's inspirational speeches.

[13] The SFGMC's 1986 commission, Invocation and Dance by David Conte, was one of the earliest pieces to deal with AIDS, and is now considered a standard of American TTBB choral literature.

[14] NakedMan, a song suite by Philip Littell and Robert Seeley commissioned by the SFGMC in 1996, instantly became one of the most important works in gay choral literature and is still widely performed by LGBT choruses.

[17] In honor of its 30th anniversary in 2008, the chorus commissioned and performed new works by composers David Conte, Eric Lane Barnes, Ilyas Iliya, L. Peter Deutsch, Libby Larsen, and Steve Schalchlin.

[19] The work, entitled I Am Harvey Milk and with music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa, premiered at Nourse Theatre on June 26, 2013—the same day on which the US Supreme Court ruled that Section 4 of DOMA and California Proposition 8 were both unconstitutional.

Co-commissioned with several other gay choruses, it features movements composed by Stephen Schwartz, John Corigliano, Jake Heggie, and Ann Hampton Callaway, all set to poetry by Pamela Stewart.

In April 2015, the Chorus presented the world premiere of #twitterlieder, a 15-song cycle with music by James Eakin, set to lyrics by Charles Anthony Silvestri.

For men who were fighting for their lives, often alone and estranged from parents who had turned their backs on gay children, the chorus became family.Hill describes the era as "the worst of times", explaining that he spent every Wednesday and Sunday visiting members in hospitals.

[23] In addition to commissioning and performing AIDS-related music,[24] the chorus participated in and presented concerts and other events to raise awareness and funds for AIDS health service and research organizations.

Over the next few years, appearances included: Giving Back concerts, which raised funds for women in 2000, young people in 2002, and breast cancer and AIDS in 2002; the SFGMC's first by-invitation concerts for elementary and high school students in 2002 and 2003; a performance at Vacaville prison for World AIDS Day in 2003; programming to reach out to transgender, African American, and faith-based communities in 2004; participation in Special Olympics events (2003–2005); the addition of a Spanish-language ensemble in 2005; and sponsorship of an LGBT youth chorus in 2006.

[31] In 2018, SFGMC launched its RHYTHM (Reaching Youth Through Music) program, which sends chorus members on outreach visits to elementary, middle, and high schools throughout the Bay Area.

The SFGMC's board of directors is officially known as Golden Gate Performing Arts, Inc. A number of chorus members also participate voluntarily in smaller ensembles, each with fewer than 25 singers.

[49] In June 2007, eMusicUK's Getting Started in Classical Music webpage listed the CD San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus Tours America 1981 as one of 12 essential recordings considered Best of the Best.

SFGMC was heard around the world singing at San Francisco City Hall during the same-gender marriage ceremonies of February and March 2004, including for comedian and talk show host Rosie O'Donnell.

The Chorus has appeared and collaborated with numerous celebrities and arts organizations, including: San Francisco Symphony, Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Opera, Marin Opera, Opera By The Bay (Sausalito), San Francisco Ballet, The Women's Philharmonic, the Community Women's Orchestra, the Bay Area Rainbow Symphony, Holly Near, Deborah Voigt, Lisa Vroman, Carol Channing, Michael Feinstein, Florence Henderson, Nell Carter, Megan Mullally, Sir Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Kristin Chenoweth, Sharon Gless, BD Wong, Cris Williamson, Joan Rivers, Nichelle Nichols, Barbara Cook, Julie Newmar, Armistead Maupin, Jennifer Holliday, Stephen Schwartz, Deke Sharon, Mark Etheredge,[55] Beach Blanket Babylon, Matt Alber, Andrew Lippa, Laura Benanti, and Patti LuPone.

[57] In June 2019, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, sparking the start of the modern LGBTQ rights movement, Queerty named The SFGMC one of the Pride50 trailblazers “who actively ensure society remains moving towards equality, acceptance and dignity for all queer people.