|
unday 21 September saw history in the making as the Gateway Philharmonic Orchestra (GPO) , international rock star Shawn Phillips and international performer Cedric van den Schrick performed South Africa’s first Symphonic Rock Spectacular at the Gateway Theatre of Shopping, Umhlanga.
This awesome performance, the brainchild of conductor and music maestro Philipp Maier, blends the two genres of rock and classical music to form a complete unit. The production stretches across all preconceived boundaries and ‘opens one’s eyes’ to experiences never before imagined.
Although I had been given a taste of what was to come while at a performance by the Orchestra at Splashy Fen earlier this year, ‘Open Your Eyes’ met all expectations and more. In the 70s Deep Purple introduced the idea of combining the two genres of music yet there was no uniformity – the rock band remained distinctly different from the orchestra. Philipp Maier, on the other hand, has succeeded in creating a unit.
Although there is no particular theme to the production, in that there is no story-line per say, each of the songs featured refer to life and the synergy of energy.
Collaboration was the name of the game with Cedric and Philipp combining forces to compose the music and write the lyrics.
‘Life is made of experiences,’ says Cedric, ‘and this was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down.’ Although Cedric is currently based in Italy the internet provided a constant source of communication. It was a challenge for both artists and the Orchestra itself which comprises amateur and professional musicians.
The final addition to the mix was rock legend Shawn Philips who has always wanted to play with the backing of a live orchestra. ‘So many of my songs lend themselves to this combination – it rounds off the production.’
Idea
‘Open Your Eyes’ proves that there is still an extremely bright future for the classical element of music.
The production germinated from an idea at a Christmas party where musicians combined their talents for a jam session. ‘It was 11.30pm,’ Philipp recalls, ‘and Mel (Melanie Roberts) had the idea of using talented musicians and combining them with the orchestra in the studio.
‘This has been a huge learning curve as the musicians have had to get used to the mixing of two extremely different genres. Much of the music is complicated both rhythmically and technically. Not only do the members of the orchestra have to listen to the band but they also have to watch the conductor.’
By now many will have had the privilege of listening to the Orchestra, Philipp, Cedric and Shawn performing either at Gateway or at Awesome Africa at Albert Park last weekend but if this is not the case they have released a CD entitled . ‘Open Your Eyes’ which is available at local record stores. |
