The San Francisco Symphony has announced a benefit show for the LGBTQ community after cancelling two North Carolina concerts in response to the state’s discriminatory legislation.
North Carolina’s HB2 Law means transgender people are only permitted to use bathrooms that match their birth certificate, not their gender identity.
Instead of touring North Carolina, the San Francisco Symphony will host an evening that will celebrate the LGBT+ community in the US, featuring Broadway star Audra McDonald.
“This special evening honours the essential contributions that LGBTQ composers have made in shaping the American musical sound,” said music director Michael Tilson Thomas.
”One of music’s greatest roles is to bring people together. I am proud to join with the musicians of the San Francisco Symphony and my dear friend Audra McDonald in presenting an evening that celebrates and honours the spirit of our community.”
The majority of ticket sales will go towards LGBT+ community organisations in the San Francsico area such as the Transgender Law Center and the National Center for Lesbian Rights.
A number of musical and sporting events have been cancelled or moved from North Carolina—included the NBA All Starts Game—in protest of the anti-transgender law which has already had enormous economic repercussions for the state.
