Across generations, queer composers and poets have found ways to put love into words and music—even when the world around them made that love difficult, dangerous, or impossible to name.

In celebration of Pride, this intimate program brings together art songs and chamber works for baritone, clarinet, and piano, exploring the many ways artists have given voice to queer love, devotion, longing, and joy. Spanning different generations and social and political contexts, these works reveal both the changing possibilities—and the enduring power—of expressing queer love through art.

Their music and poetry raise questions that extend beyond any individual work: What does it mean to write about love when that love cannot always be spoken openly? How does music preserve experiences that history has tried to silence? And what changes when a love once forced into secrecy can finally be heard in the light?

Presented at the Boston Public Library, this concert celebrates a tradition of queer artistic expression that stretches across generations—and reminds us that queer love has always been part of our shared cultural history.

 

Join BFO Artistic Director Alyssa Wang, BFO musicians, and guest artists for an immersive chamber music experience that blends performance with thoughtful discussion, inviting audiences to engage with the music’s historical, cultural, and emotional context.