Georgia Mann, a presenter on BBC Radio 3, brought classical music to the UK’s famed Glastonbury Festival with a DJ set that aimed to create an upbeat mood for festival-goers. Describing her set in The Guardian, Mann noted the pressure of offering classical music as a curtain-raiser to popular artists such as Coldplay and Black Pumas; to do so, she selected works by Max Richter and Hannah Peel, a Kanneh-Mason Trio arrangement of Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song,” and concluded on the high-energy finale from Stravinsky’s “The Firebird.”
Why it matters:
- Versatility of classical music: The event highlights the adaptability of classical music and its potential to engage new, diverse audiences outside traditional concert halls.
- Bringing in new audiences: Bringing classical music to a major festival like Glastonbury can help break down genre barriers and demonstrate its relevance in contemporary music culture.
