Aaron Copland _{Fanfare for the Common Man}

Jake Heggie _{New Work (world premiere)}

Saint-Saëns _{Piano Concerto No. 2}

Tchaikovsky _{Valse Sentimentale}

Cassandra Miller _Round

Szymanowski _{Symphony No. 3, Song of the Night (25’)}

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^{London Symphony Orchestra}

^{Oliver Zeffman conductor}

^{Nick Grimshaw presenter}

^{Pavel Kolesnikov piano}

^{Pumeza Matshikiza soprano}

^{Russel Thomas tenor}

^{LGBTQ+ Community Choir}

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The culmination of 2024’s Classical Pride, the London Symphony Orchestra and conductor Oliver Zeffman celebrate LGBTQ+ classical music in this diverse programme presented by Nick Grimshaw.

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Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man precedes a world premiere by US composer Jake Heggie and librettist Taylor Mac featuring soprano Pumeza Matshikiza, a luminous meditation on gratitude and bliss in finding love in a time without fear.

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Pavel Kolesnikov performs Saint-Saëns’ virtuosic and charming Piano Concerto No. 2 and an encore of Tchaikovsky’s Valse Sentimentale. This foreshadows Cassandra Miller’s Round, which takes Tchaikovksy’s theme as a starting point.

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Szymanowski’s Symphony No. 3, ‘Song of the Night’, with tenor soloist Russell Thomas and our LGBTQ+ Community Choir concludes the programme, a nocturnal vision of profound peace within the universe mingled with passion.

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

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Heard here in an arrangement by US composer Jessie Montgomery, Gay Guerrilla is the last in Eastman’s deliberately provocative ‘N***** Series’ of pieces from the late 1970s, Gay Guerrilla is an improvisatory, minimalist take on Martin Luther’s 16th-century hymn ‘A Mighty Fortress Is Our God’, recast as a manifesto about being a gay, black man. As Eastman wrote, ‘What I am trying to achieve is to be what I am to the fullest – Black to the fullest, a musician to the fullest, and a homosexual to the fullest. It is important that I learn how to be, by that I mean accept everything about me.’

LGBTQ+ students from the Royal Academy of Music, Royal College of Music, Guildhall School of Music & Drama and Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance give a series of concerts of LGBTQ+ music that has personal meaning for them. Taking place in the mediaeval parish church that sits at the heart of the Barbican Centre, these concerts will run from 2pm - 5.30pm. Full programme, including some specially commissioned works, to be announced soon.

Henry Purcell Thou knowest Lord the secrets of our hearts

‍Samuel Barber The Coolin’

Pérotin Beata Viscera III

Imogen Holst The Cobbler

Imogen Holst Sweet Country

Benjamin Britten The Ballad of Green Broom

Copland Help Us O Lord

Waller-Bridge New commission

Britten Time (Choral Dance 1 - Gloriana)

Britten Concord (Choral Dance 2 - Gloriana)

Morley Hard by a Crystal Fountain

Monteverdi Che dar più vi poss’io (5th Book of Madrigals)

Monteverdi Io mi son giovinetta (4th Book of Madrigals)

Imogen Holst A Hymne to Christ

Bernstein Somewhere (West Side Story)

Britten Hymn to the Virgin

Purcell Dido’s Lament (arr. Nicholas Chalmers)

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The programme includes the world premiere of a new commission by Isobel Waller-Bridge (Fleabag, Emma, Munich: The Edge of War), with text to be written by a refugee relocated by one of Classical Pride’s charity partners, Rainbow Railroad. Founded in 2013, The Fourth Choir have curated the programme which also includes texts read by radio legend Petroc Trelawney, and features music by Britten’s contemporaries Imogen Holst and Michael Tippett.

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Hailed as the ‘Drag Race of the classical world’, Classical Drag blends the high camp, virtuosity and gender-fluid casting of opera with a series of dazzling drag performances.

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Framed as a competition (because we LOVE a good drag battle!) join stars of the London drag scene Snow White Trash, Barbs, Beau Jangles, Freddie Love and Vinegar Strokes as they go head-to-head in this outlandish contest.

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Backed by an orchestra of LGBTQ+ musicians and allies, conducted by Oliver Zeffman, and presided over by a star-studded judging panel (featuring Ru Paul’s Drag Race royalty Monét X Change and Thorgy Thor, plus queer operatic tenor megastar Nicky Spence) Classical Drag is set to be a hilarious, colourful, divatastic affair!

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Expect big numbers from operas like Carmen, La bohème and Tosca. Prepare for a drag queen Philip Glass tribute, a “Violin For Your Life” and an exciting interval runway featuring rising stars of the capital’s raucous queer performance scene, hosted by living London legend Jonny Woo. Category is - a night at the opera!