In Sunday’s (2/21) New York Times, Rachel Lee Harris reports, “The British rocker Sting and the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra are pairing up for a North American tour beginning this summer, the promoter Live Nation announced. The tour will feature Sting tunes like ‘Fields of Gold’ as well as hits by his former band, the Police, including ‘Roxanne’ and ‘Every Breath You Take.’ Those songs will be arranged for the 54-piece orchestra, to be conducted by Steven Mercurio and accompanied by a quartet that includes a guitarist, a multipercussionist, another vocalist and a bassist. In an e-mail message on Sunday, Sting said he was inspired by a 2008 performance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. ‘It was both exciting and a bit daunting working up orchestral versions of some of my most successful songs,’ he wrote, adding, ‘I certainly enjoyed the experience, as did the audience and most importantly so did the orchestra, who I believe were very relieved that they weren’t reduced to sawing whole notes behind a pop ballad.’ The tour will begin on June 2 in Vancouver and continue on to Denver, Los Angeles and the Ravinia Festival near Chicago. Additional dates in New York, Boston, Toronto and elsewhere are yet to be announced. Tickets go on sale March 8.”
Posted February 22, 2010
