Chastity Brown hopes to engage with people who may not otherwise see the MN Orchestra. Her contract stipulates that discount tickets be set aside for community members who may be otherwise unable to afford the show. Photo by Wale Agboola
“I’m the first black local artist they’ve worked with in that capacity and I don’t take that lightly,” Brown said. “I want to engage with community folks, Minneapolis working class people, queer people and brown people. My people.” Citing her artistic influences, Brown mentions queer black writers like Lorraine Hansberry, James Baldwin and Octavia Butler. “I think in ancestral terms. My queerness is part of my magic. When I enter a space to perform, I think about those like Lorraine and James who showed me what the magic could look like. I don’t aspire to be like them, I aspire to be more and more my authentic self.” That the concert is scheduled during Pride season, particularly this year, the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots that sparked the movement, is especially poignant. Brown said went through a period where she stopped attending Pride, describing herself as a shy person who doesn’t like to go to festivals or be around large crowds. Reflecting on the queer people of color at Stonewall, and the ongoing
fight for queer rights worldwide, her presence at Pride felt important. “I thought, ‘Holy shit, I need to go for those that can’t go right now.’ To be standing in that space of total fucking comfortability and magicalness,” Brown said. She added that she tries to take a moment at her concerts to talk about queerness and blackness, and acknowledge the dangers facing people who aren’t white and straight. Often, however, she said just being herself, living and loving her life, as loudly as possible, goes beyond anything she could ever articulate. “The fact that me just living, existing, loving myself when I walk out my front door, it’s not always necessary to speak with words,” Brown said. “Loving yourself at full volume is such a radical act. That’s what I think of in Pride Season.” For more information or ticket details, visit minnesotaorchestra.org/symphonyball.