If you happen to be in Ankara, Turkey next week, drop by the University. We're performing Alexander Markov's "Rock Concerto" with the University Symphony and Chorus. Should be about 120 cats onstage! The "Rock Concerto" is a piece for electric violin (Alexander Markov), drums (Gregg Gerson), vocals (Neal Coomer), and electric bass (that's me!), 66-piece symphony orchestra, and 50-voice chorus. I also have a bunch of pipe organ parts to cut as well. I've been playing bass for over 20 years. I've only been playing keyboards for just over 20 minutes. There's no pressure there!
This is our 5th trip to Turkey and will be our 8th time mounting the entire concerto. We've also hit in Cyprus, Israel, and Bridgeport, CT. I know it's strange routing. You'll have to speak to our travel agent about that....
Alex is one of the top tier classical concert violinists in the world. And for Pagannini stuff, he's probably the #1 dude on the planet. But he also loves Jimmy Page. So he built himself a 6-string electric violin that he plays through a Marshall guitar amp and wrote a full concerto around the instrument. Nobody can say that he isn't committed to his concept!
Needless to say, even though I'm playing the part of "Rock Bass Player" in the piece, we're all featured soloists with the symphonies we visit (electric violin, vocalist, drums, and bass). At the end of the show they give us flowers just like Miss America. It's a trip. And standing right in the middle of a full symphony is a real charge. What a sound!
Ivan Bodley
Brooklyn, NY
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Experienced the amazing "Rock Concerto" in Tupelo. My 92-year-old mother was there too and said, "It was wild!" Imagine attending your first rock concert at that age...
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