Queer Songbook Orchestra (QSO Kids)

Discipline: Interdisciplinary
Homebase: Toronto
Languages: English
Grant Eligibility: Eligible for 40% AIE

QSO Kids is a an extension of the Queer Songbook Orchestra, a Toronto based chamber pop ensemble dedicated to exploring and uplifting LGBTQ+ narrative through the lens of popular music. Formed in 2014, the QSO have toured extensively throughout Canada and collaborated with 200+ guest artists and storytellers from across the country. By weaving together story and song, the QSO curate intimate performances with the aim of building community, while fostering dialogue and broader understanding of LGBTQ+ experience. Falling under this broad umbrella, QSO Kids functions with a smaller ensemble, adapting and presenting these themes for young audiences.

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Performance(s)

QSO Kids of Heart & Mind

School Year: 22-23
Discipline: Interdisciplinary
Offered Languages: English
Grade Suitability: K - 6
Duration: 40 mins
Capacity: 100
Tech Requirements: n/a
Available Formats: Virtual

QSO Kids of Heart & Mind is a collaborative work presented by a small team of highly skilled artists from the LGBTQ+ community. Weaving together story and song, the performance is an interactive exploration of identity and acceptance, developed for classrooms to nurture understanding and inspire discussion and expression in support of how we feel inside. This is a performance aimed at creating dialogue, art and awareness of the LGBTQ+ community and to inspire inclusivity, love and acceptance. Through the exploration of historical queer figures and the songs connected to them, as well as personal anecdotes from the artists themselves, we are given a judgment free entry point into important issues for young people. Presented by performers who identify outside of gender and heteronormative norms, QSO Kids are a visible presence connecting directly with students who may themselves be feeling different from their peers. This performance is prerecorded.

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Testimonials & Reviews

Reclaiming a hidden history of LGBTQ participation in pop culture, the QSO is actively invested in the politics of queer representation. THIS Magazine

9 out of 10... unleashing the unifying power of music Exclaim Magazine

The open and loving nature of this show became it's most impactful element The Queen's Journal

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