Before 2023, there had been no classical music celebration of Pride outside the US. Conductor Oliver Zeffman changed that, curating Classical Pride at the Barbican to celebrate “the huge contribution of LGBTQ+ composers and performers to classical music”, he tells Broadsheet.
The festival returns this week, running from June 10 to 14, with Zeffman and his baton leading a programme that includes a concert with the London Symphony Orchestra playing 20th-century music by LGBTQ+ composers, as well as recitals. This year is also the debut of the Baroque Ball: a reimagining of the lavish balls of the courts of James I and Louis XV, with music from that era’s greatest LGBTQ+ composers, arias, and appearances by Dylan Mulvaney, Joe Locke, Jonny Woo and more.
As well as leading Classical Pride, Zeffman aims to bring classical music to a new, younger audience. His other work includes a series with Goalhanger’s The Rest Is History podcast and concerts held in museums across the capital, including the V&A and the Cutty Sark. He’s also a born-and-raised Londoner, so we asked him to share how he spends his time in the capital, from his favourite restaurants to the cinema he frequents.
Hi Oliver! First, tell us what you like to do on a day off?
I’m not very good at days off … but I love going to the cinema. My local is the Rio – in fact, it’s the UK’s oldest [continously running] cinema (it’s been open since 1909). When I have the time, I try and see two or three films a week.
What inspires you about living in London?
London has everything. [I love] cycling through the city (normally on a Lime Bike) at night, when it’s all lit up on a summer evening. It’s cooled down a little from the daytime, it’s not too busy but not too quiet. Hard to beat.
What’s your favourite London restaurant?
Mountain. Tomos Parry is great.
If you want to impress someone, where would you take them?
If it’s for work, Mountain – I do a lot of meetings there. Otherwise, my local bar Three Sheets in Dalston is great, or I go for a walk around the British Museum.
If you ever need a break from London, where do you go?
I travel quite a lot for work – but coming back to London is coming home. It’s the greatest city in the world.
What or who is making London a better place right now?
What: Lime Bikes. Getting ‘round the city has never been easier and I love that they’re now everywhere! Who: Nicholas Cullinan [director] at the British Museum. It’s such a coup that he’s bringing the Bayeux Tapestry to London later this year.
What is the essential play, TV show, song, book or film about London?
Peep Show, or London Bridge by Fergie.
Who is a London musician you idolise?
Sir George Benjamin. He wrote (and not just in my opinion) the best opera of this century – Written on Skin – and he’s also a truly wonderful human being. Him or Stormzy.
Classical Pride is happening around London from June 10–14.
