Strings and Synth: Pop Artists and Orchestras Continue to Join Forces

In Sunday’s (11/19) San Francisco Chronicle, Joshua Kosman writes, “When Ellie Goulding takes the stage of Davies Symphony Hall on Monday, the chart-topping British singer-songwriter’s … backup band will be the San Francisco Symphony…. Goulding joins a growing cohort of popular artists joining forces with symphony orchestras…. In June, the San Francisco Philharmonic, an independent orchestra conducted by Jessica Bejarano, presented a program of the music of San Francisco rapper Andre Nickatina recast for orchestra. In August, the San Francisco Symphony played host to R&B artist Maxwell. And in the South Bay just last month, the Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir [performed] orchestral versions of his music with the Stanford Symphony Orchestra…. ‘We’re trying to bring in new audiences, and to be responsive to our patrons as much as we possibly can,’ said Jeffrey Jordan, the San Francisco Symphony’s program manager for Pops and Presentations…. It’s not as though the history of orchestrating rock and pop music is a recent development. The British progressive rock band Procol Harum’s 1972 release ‘Live: In Concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra’ was its best-selling album.” San Francisco Symphony conductor Edwin Outwater comments, “It’s possible to explore new things and maintain the old things, and to feel that they’re both good in different ways.”