Laura makes LSO debut
Laura van der Heijden makes her London Symphony Orchestra debut on Sunday evening at the Barbican, performing Henriëtte Bosmans’ Cello Concerto No. 2. Laura is delighted to appear as part of the fourth Classical Pride Festival, which celebrates the contributions of LGBTQ+ composers and performers to classical music. Conducted by the festival’s founder and curator, Oliver Zeffman, the concert features a wide-ranging programme spanning Ravel to Michael Tilson Thomas, the LSO’s late former Principal Conductor.
Drawing on her Swiss-Dutch and Jewish heritage, it is particularly fitting that Laura’s LSO debut comes with Henriëtte Bosmans’ Second Cello Concerto. A pioneering Dutch-Jewish composer of the twentieth century, Bosmans navigated the challenges of the Nazi occupation while continuing to compose and present her music in secret. Today she is also recognised as an important figure in LGBTQ+ musical history. As interest in her remarkable body of work continues to grow, Laura is proud to bring this concerto to new audiences and to contribute to the ongoing rediscovery of one of the Netherlands’ most distinctive musical voices.