Oliver Zeffman [Sebastian Nevols]

THAT the soundtrack to Gay Pride events has generally been rock and pop is understandable – it gets you dancing in the street – but far from representative in terms of history. The pioneers in musical gay culture were Tchaikovsky, Britten, Bernstein, Tippett and a host of others who were largely left out of the Pride agenda… until last year when the enterprising young conductor Oliver Zeffman decided it was time to put matters right.

With the help of influential friends and generous backers, he organised a Classical Pride concert at the Barbican which, to some surprise, proved massively successful: sold-out, joyous, playing to a youthful, diverse audience, many of them clearly new to classical music and making the discovery of their lives.

By any measure, it was an extraordinary event. And this year it’s grown into a five-day festival – again at the Barbican, masterminded by Zeffman, but now with the London Symphony Orchestra on board and many more participants.

Running July 3-7, the big deal remains, as before, an orchestral concert that carefully balances glittering entertainment (supplied by TV host Nick Grimshaw) with serious content (including a Saint-Saens piano concerto with star soloist Pavel Kolesnikov, a symphony by Szymanowski, and a new piece by American composer Jake Heggie for soprano Pumeza Matshikiza). All that’s on July 7.

But the festival opens with a classical drag competition that promises Ru Paul-type contestants singing Donizetti and Bellini in outrageous frocks, and involves jovial tenor Nicky Spence in some capacity or other (July 3 at the Outernet space by Tottenham Ct Rd tube). July 5 brings the esteemed Fourth Choir to Milton Court with a programme (including new piece by Isobel Waller-Bridge) based around the love letters that passed between Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears through the 1940s, 50s, 60s: times when what they committed to paper could have landed them in prison. And staggered throughout the day on July 6 is a series of short concerts at St Giles in the Barbican featuring students from the London conservatoires in works by lesbian and gay composers.

It’s impressive and emboldening to see how Zeffman’s idea has developed; and the packed agenda covers considerable ground, from the frothy to the deeply felt. A must-see. Details: classicalpride.uk

• Not quite so starry but still something to be reckoned with, High Barnet Chamber Music Festival is the creation of another enterprising young conductor, Joshua Ballance, running across three weekends and starting June 29 with a concert by the Mithras Piano Trio at St John-the-Baptist EN5, close to High Barnet tube. Much of the music is either new or not well-known, so expect discoveries. Hopefully happy ones. hbcmf.co.uk

• And another north London festival, the Proms at St Jude’s, sails into harbour this weekend with the grand finale of a traditional Last Night, June 30, featuring musical comedian Rainer Hersch and his quirky “Orkestra”. For something less knockabout, the young players of the Menuhin School Orchestra play music associated with classic films (including Walton’s magnificent score for Henry V), June 28. And anyone with musically curious kids will find things to keep them quiet (or alternatively noisy: there are drumming workshops) in the family events running throughout June 30 in Central Square, Hampstead Garden Suburb. promsatstjudes.org.uk