Music lovers in Victoria will have the opportunity to hear the music of The Beatles performed live with a symphony orchestra, when the the Victoria Symphony’s Classical Mystery Tour takes the stage on May 7 at 8 pm and May 8 at 2:30 pm at the Royal Theatre.
The four musicians in Classical Mystery Tour look and sound just like The Beatles, but the show is more than just a rock concert. The show presents more than two dozen Beatles tunes performed exactly as they were originally recorded.
Hear “Penny Lane” with a live trumpet section, experience the beauty of “Yesterday” with an acoustic guitar and string quartet, enjoy the classical/rock blend on “I Am the Walrus,” and relish the cascading crescendos on “A Day in the Life.”
From early Beatles music on through the solo years, Classical Mystery Tour is the best of The Beatles like you’ve never heard before.
“We really make an effort to sound exactly like the originals,” explains James Owen, the founder of Classical Mystery Tour, who also portrays John Lennon in the show.
“The orchestra score is exact, right down to every note and instrument that was on the original recording. On ‘Got to Get You Into My Life,’ we have two tenor saxes and three trumpets. That’s what it was written for, and that’s what we use. And on ‘A Day in the Life,’ that final big orchestra crescendo sounds amazing when it’s played live.”
The concert is conducted by Sean O’Loughlin, Victoria Symphony principal pops conductor. O’Loughlin has been conductor and/or arranger with some of the most popular pop artists of the century including Adele, Jerry Garcia, Steven Tyler, Kelly Clarkson and Josh Groban.
Through his growing number of commissioned and published works, O’Loughlin contributes to the rich history of orchestral and wind-band literature. He holds composition degrees from the New England Conservatory and Syracuse University.
Tickets start at $40 ($20 for students) and are available from the Royal and McPherson Box Office at 250-386-6121, or online at rmts.bc.ca. For more information, visit victoriasymphony.ca