A 32-piece orchestra will be taking classic Pride anthems and giving them a new lease of life in an exciting and ground-breaking show coming to the Bridgewater Hall.
Pride Classical will see 50 years of Pride songs transformed into classical arrangements, from I Am What I Am to the Pet Shop Boys’ It’s A Sin, alongside performers Danny Beard, Alison Jiear, and Matt Henry.
The show, from the award-winning Carrot Productions, will be historic as it will feature a majority of LGBTQ+ orchestral artists performing together at a Pride event for the first time ever.
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Those working on the show say the ‘inventive’ performance is going to be like nothing anyone has ever seen before and see big hits from Lady Gaga, ABBA and Kylie Minogue all performed in a new and magical way.
“It’s all the top LGBTQ+ anthems you’ve heard over the last 50 years performed by a great orchestra, West End stars and drag royalty,” bassoonist and producer Ben Hudson tells the M.E.N.
"We're taking pop, disco, country and dance tracks and putting them into a full symphony orchestra. What the team has achieved is just astonishing.”
The team behind the event, which takes place on June 2, said they initially began with a list of ‘more than 500’ songs before whittling them down to the final few that have made it into the show.
“There’s a reason behind each song,” Ben explains. “We really wanted to make sure there was some resonance either because of the historic impact or the meaning of the song at the time it was performed.
“We’re being very inventive. Our aim here isn’t to lift what you hear on a CD and replicate it with an orchestra, we want to elevate the song and make it sound better. You will hear the harp, you will hear the flute, you will hear the bassoon, you will hear the amazing rich sound of the orchestra behind each song.”
And the team is also keen to get rid of some of the ‘stuffy and formal’ perceptions surrounding classical music too.
“Pride Classical is going to be a real party and celebration,” Ben adds. “It is in a seated concert hall and there will be an area for people who don’t wish to stand but we really want people to get up and have a dance.
“There’s going to be no ushers telling people to sit down. In fact, I would challenge anyone to not dance after just the first 24 seconds of the show."
Carrot Productions, who have worked on immersive shows like Shaun the Sheep in Concert, Musical Beasts and The Snowman Tour, said they are trying to bring classical music to anyone.
Rachel Whibley, Managing Director, said: “We’re the opposite of the perception of classical music. We want people to have their eyes opened to classical music.
“The musicians themselves came up with this idea and we just thought it would be amazing. We’ve done hundreds of concerts in big concert halls so we’re used to putting on a production of this size.”
Rachel adds that the show is really going to be something special, with it already resonating with the musicians taking part. “We’ve had some amazing emails from players who have told us they’ve been waiting their entire career for this,” she explains. “Even people who don’t identify as LGBTQ+ have offered to take time off West End stints to come up here and perform just because of how special it is.
“They want to be here and it means so much. They know what it means to the community, to other people, and just how different it is going to be to other things out there.”
Alongside the Pride classics we all know and love, the show will also feature one brand new song performed by a group of neurodivergent people from Stockport-based group LGBT + PLUS Spectrum. The group have been meeting fortnightly with music therapist Amina Hussain and teacher Keith Doran to come up with a new Pride classic to sit amongst the rest.
“The second half will open with this brand new anthem that they’ve created,” Keith explains. “We were completely open with them about the song and wanted to create a melody that celebrated pride in their way with messages they wanted to share. It starts quite dark but it builds into something really uplifting and positive.
“Seeing them work is just magical. They make beats and it’s just astonishing to see how these people who don’t really have a musical background make it happen.
“Seeing the song performed by the orchestra on the night is going to be the first time the people in the workshop hear their song come to life. It’s going to be really emotional for them.”
Ultimately, the team behind the ‘passion project’ say they hope the event will connect with audiences and say they believe the show could become something really important to the community.
“We want to bring these songs to life,” Ben adds. “We’re not transcribing them, we’re giving the real crux of the song. We’re keeping things moving and there’s going to be a real energy about it.
“We’re really hoping it will resonate with people and bring them in. I really can’t imagine people coming out of this concert and not being swayed by the joy of classical music.
“We’re hoping it will be the first of many. It’d be lovely to take it to Pride events all over - there’s a lot more songs to feature, after all!”
Pride Classical takes place at the Bridgewater Hall on Friday, June 2. Tickets here. The show will also be taking place at Blackpool Tower Ballroom on June 3.
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