Classical Pride returns to London this summer for a series of concerts celebrating LGBTQ+ artists across classical music. The festival runs from June 10 to June 14 across multiple venues, conceived and curated by 33-year-old conductor Oliver Zeffman.

Oliver Zeffman

Now in its fourth year, Classical Pride features a headline concert with Zeffman leading the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican. For the first time, Daniel Evans, Co-Artistic Director of the RSC, will present a Baroque Ball at Banqueting House in Whitehall on June 11. The evening reimagines the baroque balls of the courts of James I and Louis XIV, described as a sexy and unapologetically gay interpretation. Performances come from Sir Ian McKellen, Anthony Roth Costanzo and Nicky Spence, with choreography from Olivier Award-winning James Cousins. The ball celebrates LGBTQ+ composers of the era including Handel, Lully and Corelli, with period-inspired costume and decadence.

The headline concert at the Barbican on June 14 opens with Michael Tilson Thomas’s Agnegram, followed by the UK premiere of Henriëtte Bosmans’ Cello Concerto No. 2. Bosmans was a pioneering queer voice who survived the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands while composing and performing in secret. The soloist is Laura van der Heijden. Barber’s Adagio for Strings opens the second half, followed by his Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with tenor Freddie Ballentine. The concert concludes with Ravel’s Boléro.

Classical Pride is the first festival of its kind in the UK, conceived by Zeffman. Last year, Zeffman conducted the LA Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, taking the festival global for the first time.

More info HERE.