PRIDE ANTHEM
This brand new piece has been composed by the members of Stockport LGBT+ PLUS Spectrum to celebrate what Pride means today.
Pride Classical is designed to celebrate the role of music in the lives of the LGBTQ+ community. Without that community, there’d be no music, and no Pride – and so, to ensure that community stays at the heart of the event, we've been working with the LGBTQ+ community to create a brand new Pride Anthem.
This new Pride Anthem was created entirely by members of Stockport LGBT+ PLUS Spectrum. With support from Amina Hussain, Keith Doran and Ben Hudson, they wrote the lyrics and melodies, planned the rhythm section, selected the musical style and edited the song structure.
Over four sessions, at Stockport Library and Manchester Central Library, the group began by sharing their stories and using percussion instruments to freely improvise how they were feeling. From those initial explorations, key aspects of their individual and shared experiences were explored and structured into a journey.
Stockport LGBT+ PLUS Spectrum
Stockport LGBT+ PLUS Spectrum supports LGBTQ+ members who also identify as neurodiverse and/or pan-disabled. Awareness of neurodiversity and pan-disability within the LGBTQ+ community is growing, but there is still a lack of dedicated support groups out there. This group enables those who can identify to network with other like-minded people, encouraging each other to share ideas and experiences. Creating accessible social networking opportunities along with fun and engaging activities will gradually build the self-confidence required to step into new social environments.
Amina Hussain
Amina is principal flute of Manchester Camerata and Carrot Productions and a registered music therapist. Amina uses music as a tool for social change through creative, improvisatory and music therapy techniques, and is co-director of String of Hearts, a music-making-on-prescription service helping isolated participants to reshape their place in society in the wake of the pandemic.
"It's always mattered to us that the project celebrates the community as it is today. The Pride Anthem project makes that part of the music we play, as well as the story we tell"
The Pride Classical team
