Work of the Week – Julian Anderson: ECHOES

A concert by and for the LGBTQ+ community: The world premiere of the new orchestral work ECHOES by Julian Anderson will take place on July 07 2023 with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in London. Oliver Zeffman will conduct and Davóne Tines will sing the baritone solo part.

To mark Pride month, demonstrations and festivities take place around the world to celebrate the queer community. This concert is the first of its kind with a renowned orchestra in Europe. Generally, the queer community is represented in Western countries, but Pride is the time of year when the LGBTQ+ community fights for its global rights and commemorates those who have died in the strife. The premiere of ECHOES is the first classical concert that has intentionally chosen queer composers to be valued for their contribution to classical music.

Pride as a classical concert: ECHOES by Julian Anderson

The 11-minute piece is composed for baritone, choir and orchestra. For the world premiere, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra will perform alongside the LGBTQ+ Community Choir. The evening's programme will be hosted by DJ and television presenter Nick Grimshaw. 

Classical music owes a lot to LGBT people, it’s worth saying so, and Pride is the moment for it. So yes, there’s purpose in a classical Pride concert. (Oliver Zeffman)

ECHOES was commissioned by Oliver Zeffman on the occasion of the concert for Pride month. In addition, Anderson dedicated the work to him in friendship.

Links:

Julian Anderson: Composer Profile

ECHOES: Work Details and Online Score

Website City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra

Foto: Oleksandr Góntar / Adobe