Sneak Peek 5/19: One-Night Orchestra (and more)

9pm
"The Hark! Philharmonic", John Shade, Visqueen, The Motion Sick
at Middle East - Downstairs, 480 Mass Ave, Cambridge (Central Sq)
$10 advance / $12 day of show / 18+

I'm always interested in new experiences, especially one-time only performances, so I want to pass this on. There will probably never be another full-on orchestra to play at the Middle East.

Most orchestras don't want to play at rock clubs, and their audience usually doesn't want to them where a faint aroma of stale beer wafts around the room.

Things will change tomorrow, and this is not one of those "rock band with strings" deals! Christopher Pappas (The Everyday Visuals and Forest Fires) conducts a group of more than 25 players through three of his original compositions.

Without hearing a note of it, I wholeheartedly believe it will be something worth hearing based on all of his other outstanding music. He explains the origin of the project:

For a while now, I had been writing orchestral music in my head, however, I never really had the initiative to bring the pieces to fruition because of the 'minor' detail: I never thought they would actually have the chance to be played by a real orchestra.

Then I met a Violist by the name of Susannah and she asked the very simple question: "Why not?" And with that she promised me that if I wrote out the pieces, she would find an orchestra.

Although the name is related to Forest Fires' CD title ("Hark! and Other Lost Transmissions"), I assume the three original pieces are not orchestral versions of tunes from the album. If look towards the end of this interview, he talks about Wednesday's endeavor and mentions the group will also play a Vivaldi concerto.

There are three top-shelf acts that precede the orchestra, and I have it from a good source that The Motion Sick will begin at 9pm sharp. I suggest you not miss any of the music!

To keep it under $10, you can buy advance tickets without service charge at the "Middle East Box Office" everyday from 1pm to 7pm. Go into the doors of the "Upstairs" room (to the left of ZuZu), and you'll see a stairway in the back to the left.

The bartender will likely give mild encouragement if you feel unsure about going up...