The Queer Festival celebrates queerness, resistance and openness outside the Pride season. Curated by concertmaster Janne Nisonen and British composer Jasper Dommett, the festival programme spans centuries of rainbow history, showcasing both rare gems and enduring favourites. The festival’s concerts will feature works by queer composers, whilst the Queer Club will explore the cultural power of undressing. The festival’s patron, Jani Toivola, hopes that art and music lovers will turn out in droves.
The festival opens on 12 November with the Against The Grain concert, conducted by Vanessa Chartrand, featuring Claude Vivier’s classic work of spectral music, Lonely Child, composed for soprano and orchestra. The soprano, Samuel Mariño, possesses a rare vocal range.
The Music from the Closet concert on 19 November will showcase the music of composers who have lived in cupboards, from Erkki Melartin to Pyotr Tchaikovsky. The concert, conducted by Janne Nisonen, will feature three-time Grammy nominee, cellist Seth Parker Woods, as soloist.
A new work commissioned by the Tapiola Sinfonietta from Jasper Dommett will bring the Queer Festival to a climax on 26 November, conducted by Geoffrey Paterson. Bernstein’s Serenade, based on Plato’s Symposium, featuring Tami Pohjola as soloist, offers a gently philosophical perspective on the theme.
Queer Club: A Naked Explanation of the World is a performance exploring the art history of burlesque and the cultural power of undressing. The music is provided by a quartet from the Tapiola Sinfonietta. At Louhisali on 25 November.
“If classical music is to survive, it needs to make more of an effort”
- Jasper Dommett, composer & festival programme curator
