The Oklahoma City Philharmonic is ready to rock audiences this weekend with The Music of Queen. The Pops concert event, produced by Windborne Music, will feature the full orchestra performing with a live rock band.

The set list will be comprised of the greatest hits and lost classics that span Queen’s catalogue.

Formed in 1970, Queen found success with 1974’s Sheer Heart Attack and 1975’s A Night at the Opera and
would go on to conquer the world of rock ’n’ roll with dozens of hits
including “Another One Bites the Dust,” “Killer Queen,” “We Will Rock
You,” “We Are The Champions,” “Under Pressure” and “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

The
tribute band performing with the OKC Phil includes Las Vegas veteran
Brody Dolyniuk channeling Freddie Mercury on vocals; Berklee College of
Music grads Dan Clemens on bass and Powell Randolph on drums; child
prodigy Bart Kuebler on piano; and funk guitarist George Cintron will
stand in for Brian May.

The
orchestra is conducted by Windborne founder Brent Havens, a
Berklee-trained composer who has arranged the music for all nine of
Windborne’s symphonic rock shows devoted to icons of classic rock and
pop, including Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Pink Floyd, Michael Jackson and
The Who.

Crowd pleasers 

Havens said that originally, the symphonic rock shows where just about
bringing new audiences to see a live orchestra. Along the way, he fell
in love with exploring the musical potential of the songs themselves,
using the orchestra to highlight the complex harmonic and melodic
structures.

“Simply listening to
‘Bohemian Rhapsody,’ you hear just about every element from opera and
rock and orchestral music in one single piece,” Havens said.

Eddie Walker, executive director of the OKC Phil, agreed that Queen incorporated an abundance of influences into its music.

“Queen
was on the forefront of rock groups who began reaching back to borrow
grand, theatrical styles from the baroque and operatic past,” he said.

Queen’s musical explorations across genres and time periods makes Havens’ job a great deal easier as an arranger.

Unlike
some symphonic adaptations that use popular music as starting points
for more experimental interpretations, Havens preserves the core song
note for note and builds around it.

“Plus, it’s just really fun,” he said.

“There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing a full house of fans of all ages rocking out to the orchestra.”