GFEST - GAYWISE FESTIVAL ® 2015
(COMPLACENT PRESENT)… FRAGILE FUTURE?
Spotlight on 'relatively silent' world of gay musicians and composers: TONAL FUTURE
AN ECLECTIC SHOWCASE OF ART, FILMS AND PERFORMANCE WORK BY LGBTQI ARTISTS FROM BRITAIN AND BEYOND
MUSIC PERFORMANCE: 20 – 21 NOVEMVER
Full festival dates: Monday 9 November – Saturday 21 November 2015
www.gaywisefestival.org.uk
An annual platform for LGBTQI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex) artists and organisations, the 8th GFEST - Gaywise FESTival ® runs Monday 9 – Saturday 21 November 2015 at venues across London. At a time when the LGBT community enjoys more tolerance and equality than at any other moment in history, when gay men and lesbians in more and more countries including the UK can marry their chosen partner, feel secure at work and home thanks to anti-discrimination laws, and benefit from increased visibility, one could say that now is a time for celebration. Yet many LGBTQI people still face unimaginable horrors in countries as diverse as Russian, Syria and Uganda. GFEST contemplates this polarised situation with this year's theme: (Complacent Present)… Fragile Future?
The theme is equally pertinent to festivals like GFEST. "As a small LGBT arts charity we face enormous fundraising challenges," says GFEST artistic director Niranjan Kamatkar. "Despite all those challenges we are still carrying on, putting forward a singular message that GFEST is there for the celebration of all LGBT artists and practitioners, promoting artistic excellence being at the heart of LGBTQI future."
PERFORMANCE
This year's GFEST concludes with an evening of classical music in the hollowed environs of St Pancras Parish Church, with its wonderful natural acoustics (20 November, £7 / £5 concessions). Entitled TONAL FUTURE, the evening aims to raise funds for, and awareness of, the 'relatively silent' world of gay composers and gay music. Having worked with the Royal Northern Sinfonia, the National Orchestras of Lebanon and Malta, and having directed Oxford's University Church mixed-voice choir for 10 years, Gulliver Ralston will present a solo piano recital featuring works of Francis Poulenc. Liam Byrne plays the viola da gamba, a historical hybrid of guitar and cello. He will play forgotten gems of baroque music by Marin Marais and Sainte Colombe alongside newly commissioned works by living composers including Nico Muhly. The Korros Ensemble is a dynamic trio with an international reputation for their unique and distinguished performances. Comprising flute, clarinet and harp, they create a rarely heard soundworld of unusual and beautiful textures. They'll present compositions of Benjamin Britten and Manuel de Falla. Having worked as an accompanist with Opera Ireland, NI Opera and Ulster Orchestra, counter tenor Miles Lallemant will present a short recital accompanied by Duncan Day on piano.
Chaired by Gulliver Ralston, Director of Music at the University of Roehampton and at Oxford's University Church, the panel discussion FRAGILE FUTURE? will debate the impact of LGBT composers and musicians on classical music, and explore the influences of sexuality on creation of music (University of Roehampton, 21 November, free)
For more information, images, interview requests
please contact: Stuart Haggas
[email protected] " 07714-244039
Notes to editors:
GFEST - Gaywise FESTival is presented by arts charity Wise Thoughts, a pioneering organisation based in Haringey, north London, that combines creative use of diverse art forms such as film, visual art and performance, and delivers targeted services. Its services help address social justice issues and needs of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) and Black, Asia, & Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities. A platform for LGBTQI artists, GFEST takes place annually in November.
