Bridging the gulf between rock n' roll and classical music, Louisville Orchestra performs The Music of Led Zeppelin at the Kentucky Center's Whitney Hall on Friday, November 7 at 8pm. Tickets range from $25 - $75.
Amplified by a full rock band and accompanied by singer Randy Jackson's screaming vocals, creator Brent Havens guest conducts the ensemble as they capture Led Zeppelin's sheer blast and power riff for riff while churning out new musical colors. "My concept was to take the music as close to the originals as we could and then add some colors to enhance what Zep had done," says Havens. "The wonderful thing with an orchestra is that you have an entire palette to call upon."
Delivering a note-for-note interpretation, vocalist Randy Jackson (lead singer of the rock band Zebra) shrieks brilliantly, acting as a window between the audience and reworked material. "Jackson more than captures the spirit of legendary Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant," says Havens.
The 2-plus hour concert features 18 Zeppelin tunes, including "Stairway to Heaven," "Heartbreaker," "Black Dog" and "Immigrant Song".
"On 'Immigrant Song,' I have the violins doing that 'Ah-ah-ah' part, up an octave from Jackson, and the French Horns are doing it with him in the same register," says Havens. "Then we have the brass kickin' in the back, doing the accents. It rips."
The symphonic rock hybrid has met with approval on both sides of the podium. "When we first came on stage, the audience gave us polite, almost classical applause," says Havens. "Then we hit the first note and they realized it was a rock show." Classical musicians also enjoy the change of pace. Havens laughs. "In one concert, during 'Stairway to Heaven,' the entire string section pulled out Bic lighters!" -- www.louisvilleorchestra.org
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