An estimated 2,000 people attended the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s second annual Pride Block Party on June 6, a free event at the ICON Festival Stage at Smale Park. Photo by JP Leong.
Multiple orchestras will present concerts and events marking Pride month, the annual commemorations during June that celebrate the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning, intersex, asexual, and other communities (LGBTQIA+). Here is a partial listing of Pride activities at orchestras.
The Syracuse Orchestra got Pride off to an early start on May 3 and 4 with a special performance in the Underground Lounge of Destiny USA in Syracuse. Produced in partnership with CNY Pride, the concert featured the Syracuse Orchestra performing works by LGBTQIA+ composers and allies, among them Leonard Bernstein and Madonna. Drinks and food were available for purchase, and a portion of ticket sales supported CNY Pride.
The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra marked Pride on June 6 with a free Pride Block Party that featured local vendors and giveaways, food trucks, activities, and entertainment prior to a concert by the Cincinnati Symphony, led by Daniel Wiley, with guests that included classically trained opera singer Monét X Change of RuPaul’s Drag Race and the Cincinnati Men’s Chorus. Music included works by Bernstein, Rossini, Bellini, Cyndi Lauper, and Madonna as well as show tunes.
The Minnesota Orchestra wraps up its current season on June 20-22 with Pride Month concerts featuring music by historic composers of the LGBTQIA+ community. Music Director Thomas Søndergård, who married his longtime partner, Andreas Landin, in 2022, will lead works by composers including Dame Ethel Smyth, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, and Francis Poulenc. The June 21 concert will be broadcast on Twin Cities PBS and livestreamed on the orchestra’s website and social media channels.
On June 25, the Philadelphia Orchestra, led by principal Guest Conductor Designate Marin Alsop, will give its third annual Pride Concert. The free event will feature classically trained opera singer Sapphira Cristál, the ANNA Crusis Feminist Choir, Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus, and Philadelphia Voices of Pride in works by Bernstein, Copland, Tchaikovsky, Higdon, and others, and takes place in Marian Anderson Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.
The International Pride Orchestra, comprising LGBTQ+ musicians, will perform a Pride concert at the Manhattan School of Music on June 27. Led by founder and director Michael Roest, the orchestra’s professional and community musicians, music educators, and members of queer ensembles celebrate community and raise money for LGBTQ+ causes. The June 27 event will raise funds for SAGE, which provides services and advocacy for LGBTQ+ elders. Performers include drag artists Thorgy Thor and Peaches Christ. Roest will share the podium with Robert Moody, music director of the Memphis Symphony and Arizona MusicFest, and recently named Equilibrium Young Artist Elinor Rufeizen.
On June 29 in Orchestra Hall, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Principal Pops Conductor Designate Enrico Lopez-Yañez will be joined by actor and vocalist Tituss Burgess for selections from Broadway and film for a celebration of Pride. The event will celebrate the spectrum of identities within the LGBTQIA+ community and marks the first official Pride concert by the DSO, a tradition the symphony says it plans to continue.
During San Diego’s Pride Month, on July 18 the San Diego Symphony, in collaboration with Fit Athletic, will present the third annual Pride Yoga and Dance Party at the outdoor Rady Shell at Jacobs Park. The free hour-long yoga class takes place on the lawn starting at 7:00 p.m. led by Fit Athletic’s Viktoria Talbot. After class, the Rady Shell at Jacobs Park will be transformed into the site of a dance party with musical guests DJ Sassy and DJ Dova. Drinks, including the specialty drink of the evening—the “Pride Breeze”—will be available for purchase.
