{"id":97937,"date":"2024-06-14T15:35:58","date_gmt":"2024-06-14T22:35:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/?p=97937"},"modified":"2026-02-03T14:27:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T22:27:08","slug":"five-contemporary-lgbtqi-artists-we-love-to-play","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/five-contemporary-lgbtqi-artists-we-love-to-play\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Contemporary LGBTQI+ Artists We Love to Play On Air"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex (LGBTQI+) Pride Month is observed each year in commemoration of the June 1969 Stonewall Uprising in New York, a tipping point for the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States.\u00a0Nationally, Pride Month is observed in June. Locally, the city of Portland celebrates its queer community in July.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In honor of Pride Month, All Classical is shining a spotlight on musicians from the LGBTQI+ community who bring so much beauty and joy to listeners around the world. Join us in celebrating the musical contributions of five extraordinary contemporary LGBTQI+ artists who we love to play on air all year round.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo by Andrew Bogard; courtesy of Higdon’s website<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

JENNIFER HIGDON<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Jennifer Higdon, a Pulitzer Prize and three-time GRAMMY award-winning composer and flutist, has proven herself a major figure in contemporary classical music time and time again. Higdon\u2019s exquisite music encompasses a wide range of genres, from large-scale pieces for orchestra and stage to intimate songs for voice and piano. Among her many accolades, Higdon\u2019s first opera, Cold Mountain<\/em>, won the International Opera Award for Best World Premiere in 2016 (the first American opera to do so), and her GRAMMY award-winning recording of Percussion Concerto<\/em> was inducted into the Library of Congress National Recording Registry in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interestingly, Higdon had a relatively late start to music. At age 15, she taught herself to play flute, and she began formal studies in composition at 21. Nonetheless, Higdon\u2019s path to a career in music has led her to become one of the most influential musical voices of our time. Her music is both distinct and accessible and has been praised as being \u201cimbued with integrity and freshness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Together with her wife, Cheryl Lawson, the couple established their own publishing company, Lawdon Publishing (a fun combination of the couple\u2019s last names), through which Higdon publishes all of her musical works. Fun fact \u2013 revered conductor Marin Alsop officiated the couple\u2019s marriage in 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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