“Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony plan to celebrate the Bay Area’s LGBTQ community and the spirit of diversity in the region with a concert titled ‘Symphony Pride,’ featuring a guest appearance by Broadway singer Audra McDonald,” writes Joshua Kosman in Monday’s (2/27) San Francisco Chronicle. “The concert is scheduled for April 4 in Davies Symphony Hall, just before Thomas and the orchestra leave for their tour of the East Coast. That tour had originally included two concert dates in Chapel Hill, N.C., but the Symphony canceled those appearances in December in response to the passage of HB2, the North Carolina law that overturned transgender protections. ‘This special evening honors the essential contributions that LGBTQ composers have made in shaping the American musical sound,’ Thomas said in a statement.… The program includes music by several noted LGBTQ composers, including Lou Harrison, Meredith Monk, Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein, as well as an excerpt from Mahler’s First Symphony, which is part of the tour repertoire. Proceeds from the concert will go to a range of local organizations providing services for the local LGBTQ community, including Larkin Street Youth Services, the Transgender Law Center, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and the Trevor Project.”
Posted February 28, 2017
