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Thursday, July 10, 2025

Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90068

Classical Pride

Spotlighting LGBTQ+ artists of today and those who have made lasting impacts across centuries of music, Classical Pride makes its US debut at the Hollywood Bowl this July. “Classical music is—and has been for a very long time—part of queer culture, and it’s about time we celebrated this,” writes Oliver Zeffman, curator and conductor of the program.

Classical Pride showcases the diversity of LGBTQ+ voices—composers and performers. Some of today’s brightest stars—including vocalists Pumeza Matshikiza, Nikola Printz, and Anthony Roth Costanzo—come together for the world premiere of Jake Heggie’s song cycle Good Morning, Beauty. It’s lyricist, the iconoclastic New York Downtown theater artist Taylor Mac, calls the piece “a present to queers in long-term relationships.”

Jennifer Higdon’s poignant meditation on loss, blue cathedral, appears on the first half, and after intermission, violinist and drag performance artist Thorgy Thor of RuPaul’s Drag Race fame takes the stage for her spirited blend of comedy, music, and reflection with Zeffman. The concert is bookended by Bernstein’s exuberant Candide overture and Tchaikovsky’s yearning ode to Dante’s Francesca—two iconic works by composers who could not fully embrace their identity in their own time.

Buy tickets https://my.hollywoodbowl.com/en/syos2/performance/10095