Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Performs Led Zeppelin Hits With Live Rock Band, August 2

Brent Havens leads BSO in its Pier Six Pavilion debut

Baltimore, Md. (June 30, 2008)—Unlike cover bands that usually visit the East Coast, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra will provide the raw orchestral power behind Led Zeppelin’s hit songs at Pier Six Pavilion, Saturday, August 2. In this final concert of the summer season, conductor and arranger Brent Havens will lead the BSO and a live rock band in true-to-the-original arrangements of classic Led Zeppelin hits including “Kashmir,” “Good Times, Bad Times” and “Stairway to Heaven.” With the 1980’s hair-band Zebra front-man Randy Jackson on vocals and flashy arena lighting, this will be a true rock ‘n’ roll performance. See below for complete program information.

Synonymous with rock, Led Zeppelin fused the genre with personal interpretations of every type of music from blues and folk, to soul and classical. After breaking the rock scene in 1968, Led Zeppelin was unstoppable with their guitar heavy albums and is still considered one of the biggest bands of all time. After drummer John Bonham’s untimely death in 1980, the group disbanded.

Bridging the gulf between rock ‘n’ roll and classical music, Brent Havens has arranged the songs featured in this program. “Our concept for The Music of Led Zeppelin was to make the music as close to the originals as we could and then add some colors to enhance what Zep had done,” Havens said. “The wonderful thing with an orchestra is that you have an entire palette of sounds to call upon. The band is reproducing what Led Zeppelin did on the albums, verbatim, and then having an orchestra behind the band gives the music richness, a whole different feel, a whole different sense of power.” With many Zep classics driven by a rock-heavy orchestra, this one-night only performance will include the kick that other cover bands lack.

Brent Havens, conductor
A Berklee-trained arranger and conductor, Brent Havens is the arranger and guest conductor for four symphonic rock programs: The Music of Led Zeppelin, The Music of the Doors, The Music of Pink Floyd and The Music of the Eagles. He has written music for orchestras, feature films and television. His television work includes movies for ABC, CBS and The Family Channel, commercials, sports music for ESPN and music for cartoons. In 2003, Havens worked with the Doobie Brothers and the Milwaukee Symphony, arranging and conducting the combined group for Harley Davidson’s 100th Anniversary Birthday Party Finale attended by over 150,000 fans. He also composed the score for the film Quo Vadis, a Premier Pictures remake of the 1956 gladiator film.

Randy Jackson, vocalist
Randy Jackson is the lead vocalist of The Music of Led Zeppelin, performing all over the United States. He is also the lead singer of the rock band Zebra, and produced and engineered their latest album, Zebra IV. Debuting in 1983, the band has been critically acclaimed for its lush rock sounds, due in large part to Jackson's searing lead vocals and soaring guitar leads, the album sold 75,000 copies the first week. Who's Behind the Door, written by Jackson, received serious notice in the press, and helped to form legions of Zebra fans almost instantly. Jackson has also toured as keyboardist and guitarist with the reunited Jefferson Airplane, and works extensively in the area of musical software and hardware development.

COMPLETE PROGRAM INFORMATION
BSO Summer Nights: BSO Rocks with the Music of Led Zeppelin
Saturday, August 2, 2008 at 8:00 p.m.—Pier Six Pavilion, 731 Eastern Avenue, Baltimore, Md.

Brent Havens, conductor †
Randy Jackson, vocalist †

† Denotes a BSO artist debut

All songs are by Led Zeppelin and orchestrated by Brent Havens. The songs performed may vary but will include selections from the following list:

“Immigrant Song”
“Ramble on”
“Good Times, Bad Times”
“Kashmir”
“Going to California”
“Song Remains the Same”
“Heartbreaker”
“Misty Mountain Hop”
“Whole Lotta Love”
“Four Sticks”
“All of My Love”
“Rain Song”
“Dancing Days”
“Since I’ve Been Loving You”
“Moby Dick”
“Black Dog”
“Stairway to Heaven”
“The Ocean”

Media sponsorship is provided by Baltimore City Paper and 100.7FM The Bay.

Tickets range from $25 to $50 and are available through Pier Six Pavilion, 410.783.4189 or http://tickets.piersixpavilion.com. Tickets are also available via Ticketmaster, 410.547.SEAT or www.ticketmaster.com.

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