Tuesday, 12 March 2024

It's back: Classical Pride returns to the Barbican with a five celebration of LGBTQ+ composers and artists

It's back: Classical Pride returns to the Barbican with a five celebration of LGBTQ+ composers and artists

After a debut last year, Classical Pride, artistic director Oliver Zeffman is back with a five-day festival from 3 to 7 July 2024, showcasing the breadth, diversity and depth of talent of LGBTQ+ composers and artists, past, present and future.

The centre piece of the festival is a concert at the Barbican Hall where Oliver Zeffman conducts the London Symphony Orchestra in programme featuring a new commission from Jake Heggie with soprano Pumeza Matshikiza, Cassandra Miller's Round, Szymanowski’s Symphony No. 3, ‘Song of the Night’, with tenor soloist Russell Thomas and LGBTQ+ Community Choir, Saint-Saens' Piano Concerto No. 2 with Pavel Kolesnikov and music by Tchaikovsky and Copland.

At Milton Court Concert Hall, the Fourth Choir, conductor Nicholas Chalmers will be focusing on the relationship between Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears in My Beloved Man featuring music by Britten, Barber, Imogen Holst, Barber and more.

There is a free performance of Julius Eastman’s Gay Guerilla, in the Barbican’s foyer performed by the Julius Eastman Ensemble assembled by Stephen Upshaw in an arrangement by US composer Jessie Montgomery.

A Proud Future features performers and composers from the LGBTQ+ student bodies of the Royal Academy of Music, Royal College of Music, Guildhall School of Music & Drama and Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in a series of concerts of LGBTQ+ music that has personal meaning for them. 

The festival opens with something a bit different, Classical Drag at Outernet in Soho, to showcase some of the biggest names in drag and classical music.

Classical Pride is non-profit with net proceeds donated to three important LGBTQ+ charities; Rainbow Railroad, Terrence Higgins Trust & GAY TIMES' Amplifund.

Full details from Classical Pride's website.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Popular Posts this month