Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra to present queer-friendly program of new music curated by Shelley Washington

The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra’s final 2021-22 season concert—curated by composer Shelley Washington, who regularly incorporates poetry into her work and featuring a range of new classical music—will take place June 11 at Boomtown Brewery in downtown Los Angeles. The program is entitled “Current: Heartbeat” and will feature Washington’s Uniforms, Aeryn Santillan’s Reconnect and Makeshift Memorials, Susanna Hancock’s Platforms, Sugar Vendil’s ooh wo aa oo wa o, and the first movement of Darian Donovan Thomas’s Fluid Suite. The concert, open to adults ages 21 and older, will feature experience design by Boss Witch Productions and projection design by Hsuan-Kuang Hsieh. The concert begins with a roundtable discussion featuring the composers, collaborators, and guest artists in conversation about representation and authenticity in classical music. Washington said, “The event was specifically set on June 11 to coincide with pride and is designed to complement the larger pride celebration. It’s queer-friendly; the cohort of participating composers and production artists is strongly aligned with the queer community. The artwork being presented is at the intersection of gender and identity.”