The 2014 Picnic with the Pops concert series will rock a little harder this year when the Legends of Classic Rock team up with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra on June 28.
Lead by John Elefante, best known for his four-year stint as lead singer of Kansas, the five-piece band will perform some of rock’s unforgettable jams alongside the 70-piece orchestra.
“There’s nothing like that wall of sound behind you, especially coming from a symphonic background,” Elefante says. “It doesn’t take any of the rock edge away. It’s huge.”
Concertgoers can expect to hear familiar songs, including Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir,” Aerosmith’s “Dream On,” Foreigner’s “Cold As Ice” and, of course, some classic Kansas tunes.
“‘Dust in the Wind’ is always fun,” Elefante says. “We do a different version in which all the chords are the same, but the instrumentation is orchestral-geared, with more of a Journey sound. The vocals and piano build to a fever pitch and the strings really kick in. It’s well-suited for not only just a band, but the orchestra.”
Picnic with the Pops, which runs June 13-July 26 this year, takes place at Columbus Commons. The outdoor setting provides a new concert experience for orchestra regulars.
“There’s something about the night air, the sonics, no echo off the walls and not being confined to the walls of an arena,” Elefante says. “When the weather is right, there’s nothing like an outdoor show.”
Other acts on this season’s schedule include Ben Folds (“Rockin’ the Suburbs”), the O’Jays (“Love Train”) and Cirque Musica (a music/acrobatics hybrid).
“There’s nothing the orchestra can’t do,” says Mike Stefiuk, symphony director of artistic planning. “They are very versatile and can accompany any act.”
Events begin at 8 p.m. and each concert start out with a 30-45 minute solo performance from the orchestra.
“This shows audiences who may not usually come to the concerts that this can be incredibly cool,” Stefiuk says. “We try to break down the barriers of the ‘elitist product.’”
First-timers and seasoned symphony veterans alike make up the crowds at Picnic with the Pops.
“We’ve been able to do a good job of building trust with our audience,” Stefiuk says. “They know it will be entertaining and high quality. They respond very well and have come to know the organization as being one that pushes the envelope and that’s something they’ve come to expect.”
Tickets are available online at www.ticketmaster.com or by phone at 614-228-8600.
“It’s all about the experience,” Stefiuk says. “There’s the great city skyline and a beautiful park. You can get the best of both worlds: a dose of light classical music and the orchestra, doing a chameleon-like change when they accompany internationally renowned artists.”
Stephan Reed is an editorial associate. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
Know When to Folds ‘em
Alternative rocker, singer and songwriter Ben Folds will take the Bicentennial Pavilion stage June 21.
And this won’t be Folds’ first time playing with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra.
“He’s the kind of guy who gets how an orchestra can be incorporated into his music,” Stefiuk says. “There’s a wry humor he brings to his songs and show. That’s appealing to our audiences.”
Folds gained his fame in the late 1990s with his band Ben Folds Five. The group is best known for its 1997 album Whatever and Ever Amen, which contained the smash hit single “Brick” as well as “Battle of Who Could Care Less,” “Kate,” “One Angry Dwarf & 200 Solemn Faces” and “Song for the Dumped.”
Folds later branched out on his own with his piano and released three studio albums – hitting the charts with “Rockin’ the Suburbs,” “Still Fighting it,” “Landed” and “You Don’t Know Me,” the latter a duet with Regina Spektor – before rejoining his old outfit.
His signature sound meshes great with the symphony and allows for a revival of some of his classic songs.
“What makes him successful is that he found a way to integrate orchestra into a show that’s all his,” Stefiuk says. “Some of these artists have a way of taking their old songs and making them sound new again with a 70-piece orchestra. There’s just so much you can do.”
