Disruptor Conductor
Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser is an unlikely hero on a mission to create live orchestral shows that are for everyone. NOW STREAMING ON CBC GEM
As far as Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser knows, there aren’t many black LGBTQ conductors like him in Canada. The child of a working-class Caribbean mother, he was raised in Calgary and, for many years, struggled with his sexuality. “I have often felt ‘other’ in my life,” he says.
Growing up, Bartholomew-Poyser was drawn to classical music and often turned to it for solace. As an adult, he finally found his voice as a conductor. He believes that the beauty of music can heal and unite all of us beyond differences in race, sexuality, socioeconomic status and gender identity.
Bartholomew-Poyser wants to use his musical power for good. In Disruptor Conductor we see him on a mission to break down institutional walls and bring live orchestral music to young people, the LGBTQ community, people on the autism spectrum and prison populations — anyone who might not have had access to it or who may have felt unwelcome in traditional spaces.
- MORE:
- Drag star Thorgy Thor brings her star power to the world of orchestral music
- CBC ARTS: With a little help from a famous drag queen, Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser is re-imagining the symphony
“We’re trying to bring music to everybody. Oftentimes, when you heard these instruments, sometimes you had to go to a concert hall to hear it. We’re trying to bring it out of the concert hall and just take it to wherever people are,” says Bartholomew-Poyser.
Along with RuPaul’s Drag Race star Thorgy Thor, Bartholomew-Poyser creates the first orchestral drag queen show in Canada. It’s a way to express two parts of himself at once, bringing Old World orchestra and his recently discovered LGBTQ community together in a harmonic union.
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Disruptor Conductor
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