HOUSTON (June 26, 2018) – What would The Beatles have sounded like if they had the chance to perform live in concert with a symphony orchestra?
Find out when Classical Mystery performs live with the Houston Symphony on July 6, 2018, at Jones Hall for the Performing Arts.
The four musicians in Classical Mystery Tour look and sound just like The Beatles, but Classical Mystery Tour is more than just a rock concert. The show presents more than two dozen Beatles tunes performed exactly as they were originally recorded. Hear “Penny Lane” with a live trumpet section, experience the beauty of “Yesterday” with an acoustic guitar and string quartet, enjoy the classical/rock blend on “I Am the Walrus,” and relish the cascading crescendos on “A Day in the Life.”
From early Beatles music on through the solo years, Classical Mystery Tour is the best of The Beatles like you’ve never heard them before. You might say it’s the best show the Beatles never did!
Tickets are $22 to $99, and are available by calling the Houston Symphony Patron Services at (713) 224-7575 or by visiting houstonsymphony.org. For more information, visit ClassicalMysteryTour.com.
CLASSICAL MYSTERY TOUR: A TRIBUTE TO THE BEATLES
Friday, July 6, 2018, at 7:30 p.m.
Jason Seber, conductor
Jim Owen, piano, vocalist
Tony Kishman, bass, piano, vocalist
Tom Teely, guitar, vocalist
Doug Cox, drums, vocalist
About Classical Mystery Tour
Since its initial show at the Orange County Performing Arts Center (now renamed the Segerstrom Center for the Arts) in 1996, Classical Mystery Tour has performed with more than 100 orchestras across the United States and around the world, receiving accolades from fans and the media. The Los Angeles Times called the show “more than just an incredible simulation…the swelling strings and soaring French horn lines gave the live performance a high goose-bump quotient…the crowd stood and bellowed for more.”
“We really make an effort to sound exactly like the originals,” explains James Owen, the founder of Classical Mystery Tour who also portrays John Lennon in the show. “The orchestra score is exact, right down to every note and instrument that was on the original recording. On ‘Got to Get You Into My Life,’ we have two tenor saxes and three trumpets. That’s what it was written for, and that’s what we use. And on ‘A Day in the Life,’ that final big orchestra crescendo sounds amazing when it’s played live.”
The release of The Beatles music on ITunes, plus the popularity of The Beatles Box Set and Beatles Rock Band, set off a new wave of Beatlemania and proved that The Beatles are more popular than ever. Because many Beatles fans never had the opportunity to experience a live Beatles show, Classical Mystery Tour offers that live experience—with a symphony orchestra.
“We have some real show-stopping numbers,” says Owen. “I wish I could actually be in the audience to see and hear this show, because the power of the emotional and nostalgic connection this music has with audiences is hard to put into words.”
About the Houston Symphony
During the 2017-18 season, the Houston Symphony celebrates its fourth season with Music Director Andrés Orozco- Estrada and continues its second century as one of America’s leading orchestras with a full complement of concert, community, education, touring and recording activities. The Houston Symphony, one of the oldest performing arts organizations in Texas, held its inaugural performance at The Majestic Theater in downtown Houston on June 21, 1913. Today, with an annual operating budget of $33.9 million, the full-time ensemble of 88 professional musicians presents nearly 170 concerts annually, making it the largest performing arts organization in Houston. Additionally, musicians of the orchestra and the Symphony’s four Community-Embedded Musicians offer over 900 community-based performances each year, reaching thousands of people in Greater Houston.
The Grammy Award-winning Houston Symphony has recorded under various prestigious labels, including Naxos, Koch International Classics, Telarc, RCA Red Seal, Virgin Classics and, most recently, Dutch recording label Pentatone. In 2017, the Houston Symphony was awarded an ECHO Klassik award for the live recording of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck under the direction of former Music Director Hans Graf. The orchestra earned its first Grammy nomination and Grammy Award at the 60th annual ceremony for the same recording in the Best Opera Recording category.
For tickets and more information, please visit houstonsymphony.org or call 713-224-7575.
HOUSTON SYMPHONY MEDIA CONTACT:
Mireya Reyna: (713) 337-8557, mireya.reyna@houstonsymphony.org
CLASSICAL MYSTERY TOUR MEDIA CONTACT:
Laura Wise: (714) 708-3119, LRobinson@artspr.org
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