A new orchestral work by Jimmy López Bellido premieres at San Francisco’s Caroline H. Hume Concert Hall on 22 June. Commissioned by International Pride Orchestra, San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra, Loud marks Pride Weekend celebrations in San Francisco. Michael Roest conducts International Pride Orchestra in the ensemble’s inaugural performance, which supports LGBTQ youth charity LYRIC.
“Loud is a journey from a place of doubt, isolation, and hatred, toward acceptance, community, and love. A journey not unlike that of many LGBTQ+ youth across the world, who have fled their birthplaces and biological families in search of a haven where they can flourish and be their true selves.
[T]his work holds a very special place in my heart. As a gay man who has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for almost 16 years, writing a piece to commemorate Pride is genuinely meaningful to me. Even though a small group of close friends and family knew, it was not until I reached the West Coast back in 2007 that I finally accepted who I was and came out to the world at large.
Pride is also the time of the year when I met my now husband, Franciel, and June is the month during which we got married just a year ago, on 21 June, 2022. Franciel’s own path to acceptance was also fraught with difficulties. Born in a small village in Northeastern Brazil, he was always restless, moving first to São Luis and then São Paulo, but it was only here, in San Francisco, that he gathered the strength to finally come out publicly. For all these reasons, and because Pride has played such a central role in our lives, I have dedicated this work to him, and present it as a gift to mark our first-year anniversary.” – Jimmy López Bellido on Loud.
