Some of history's greatest composers have been queer - a fact that many retellings overlook, but Orchestra Victoria are placing front and centre in Pride & Joy.
Orchestra Victoria’s Pride & Joy will be a celebration of queer composers across time and place, in partnership with Midsumma Festival and Melbourne Recital Centre, in what’s sure to be an illuminating night of cultural discovery.
The night will feature the works of household names – Deborah Cheetham AO, Aaron Copland, Caroline Shaw, Naima Fine Fine and Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky – performed by the exceptionally talented Orchestra Victoria.
Pride & Joy
- Orchestra Victoria’s celebration of history’s greatest queer composers
- Wednesday 25 January 2023 7.30pm
- Elisabeth Murdoch Hall, Melbourne Recital Centre
- Tickets available here
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It will be, first and foremost, a tribute to the unique and wildly variable voices of LGBTQIA+ composers throughout musical history. Yet it also promises to be a performance of incredible depth, that will range from the grand symphonies of Tchaikovsky – an oeuvre that boats many of classical music’s most popular performances – to the Pulitzer Prize-winning works of Caroline Shaw, one of the modern age’s most transcendent and successful composers.
Expect a journey through classical music’s modern history, with one eye firmly focused on the future, by some of the state’s finest musicians. Orchestra Victoria is the performance partner of The Australian Ballet, Opera Australia and Victorian Opera.
The performance forms part of Midsumma Festival 2023, which will light up Melbourne with its diverse mix of LGBTQIA+ artists, performers, and communities from January 21 to February 12.
It’s also part of Melbourne Recital Centre’s Season One: Horizon program, which brings some of the world’s most interesting contemporary artists to Melbourne from January to March.
Pride & Joy performances
This performance will include Auslan interpretation.
- Deborah Cheetham: Gulaga
- Aaron Copland: Quiet City
- Caroline Shaw: Limestone and Felt
- Naima Fine: Crystal Ruth Bell: We Keep Going
- Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Serenade for String Orchestra in C
Attendees are also invited to join Orchestra Victoria for a pre-concert talk in Elisabeth Murdoch Hall from 6.30pm – 7.15pm, featuring Orchestra Victoria conductor Simon Bruckard.
Pride & Joy will take place on Wednesday 25 January at Elisabeth Murdoch Hall. For tickets and more information, head to the Melbourne Recital Centre’s website here.
