The Score | Starman

When David Bowie died in January at age 69, the world was swept up in an outpouring of affection for the rock legend. In the Netherlands, a church rang its bells to the tune of “Space Oddity,” the Lumière light show in Brussels was set to Bowie’s music, and a volunteer orchestra at MIT performed Bowie-inspired music by Philip Glass. Orchestras around the U.S. programmed their own tributes, taking on “Life On Mars,” “Changes,” “Let’s Dance,” and “Under Pressure,” among others. The Buffalo Philharmonic, the Colorado Symphony, and the Virginia Symphony performed Bowie hits with Jeans ’n Classics singer Jean Meilleur and his eight-piece rock band. In June, the Atlanta, Houston, and Indianapolis symphonies offer Bowie tributes with Brent Havens, conductor and arranger at Windborne, which pairs rock music with orchestras. Havens directs Bowie concerts at the Pittsburgh and Dallas symphonies in July, and the Florida Orchestra’s Bowie evening in February 2017. The Buffalo Philharmonic’s Bowie show in March was so successful that the orchestra is repeating it in July at a free outdoor concert.