Buffalo Rising Online

Mar 17th 2006, 2:00pm By Ethan Cox

You've probably seen the banner, or the giant ad in the newest Buffalo Rising Magazine, but in case you haven't noticed: Our own Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra will be rocking Kleinhans on Saturday, March 25th, playing the music of Led Zeppelin. That's right, ROCKING, with lights, fog, electric guitar (& violin!), vocals courtesy of Randy Jackson... and most of all volume: all the trappings of the modern "arena" rock show that in many ways, we owe to Led Zeppelin in the first place. This is not Muzak.

BR.O chatted on the phone a little with Brent Havens, the arranger and conductor about the upcoming show...

The first performance was in 1995, and was commissioned by the Virginia Symphony Orchestra. The intention was to create an event that would promote the orchestra, and to draw an audience that might not otherwise consider going to the symphony.

Said Brent of his arrangements: "I write parts that add color or enhance the music as-written, I'm not re-writing the music. Sometimes the entire orchestra will play the same lick as the guitar--like in Black Dog--and other times their role is more to wrap around the music." As such, Brent says not every song lends itself to adaptation, while others are a natural fit. For the latter, Kashmir comes to my mind, or The Rain Song from the keyboard-heavy Houses of the Holy. Still, expect favorites like Heartbreaker and The Immigrant Song, and of course, Stairway To Heaven. The original production was so successful that it has since evolved- adding Singer/Guitarist Randy Jackson in 1997 and other musicians- an electric violinist has been added since the last concert here. As well, Brent has written similar arrangements for the music of Pink Floyd, the Doors, the Eagles and (in-the-works) Queen.

I asked Brent about both the reaction he gets from the audience as well as from the musicians. According to Brent, when he asks the musicians before rehearsals how many are familiar with the music, usually about 70% say they are. After all, it would have been hard to avoid Led Zeppelin during their hey-day. Brent told me that "The musicians have a lot of fun with it, and since the audience reaction is so through-the-roof, they really appreciate that." And the fans? "People often don't expect that sort of performance from their local symphony- they often get the most applause!"

Satruday March 25th: For this trip to the BPO, you can exchange your shirt & tie for a tie-dyed shirt (and your coat for a jean jacket), head on down to Kleinhans and ROCK!