Music of Queen – A Rock Symphony 

THIS IS A VIRGINIA ARTS FESTIVAL PRODUCTION. This performance is not eligible for VSO vouchers or subscriber exchanges. Tickets are sold exclusively via the link provided, or by calling the Virginia Arts Festival Box Office at (757)282-2822.   We Will Rock You, We Are The Champions, Bohemian Rhapsody….the list of Queen anthems goes on and on and on……and now you can relive the thrill of a live Queen concert with full symphony orchestra in this unforgettable concert from Windborne Productions, a Festival favorite for decades. After a recent show, one reviewer wrote: “everyone in the hall hung on every word and turn of the music” and the finale “had the whole throng in the packed house on their feet” (Houston Press). Get ready to rock! Learn About the Performance THE MUSIC OF QUEEN: A ROCK SYMPHONY Bridging the gulf between rock n’ roll and classical music, conductor/arranger Brent Havens takes the podium to present Windborne’s The Music of Queen, a program he scored to extend the listening experience of Queen’s exceptional tunes. Performed by an orchestra and amplified with a full rock band and vocals, Havens and his ensemble capture Queen’s distinct sound while presenting some familiar and lots of new musical colors. Delivering a fabulous rendition of Freddie Mercury’s vocals is London’s West End and Broadway’s MiG Ayesa. “I had worked with MiG on a “Rock of Ages” show in St. Louis and when we were looking for a new Music of Queen show singer I immediately thought of MiG. His energy, musicianship and fantastic voice made an immediate impression on me,” says Havens. “Clearly, there will never be another Freddie Mercury and I don’t want MiG to try to be him… but MiG delivers an amazing and wonderful performance on this show. He has the audience swept up in this music like no other.” Heightened by rock concert lighting, the symphonic rock hybrid has met with riotous approval at both ends of the hall. Many classical musicians also enjoy the change of pace. “So many of the musicians grew up with this music much like we did,” says Havens. “They may not have studied it to the extent that my musicians have studied it but they are certainly familiar with the music. Who can avoid hearing ‘We Will Rock You’ at sporting events, on TV shows, and even in the super market?” Indeed, Queen’s music seems omnipresent. “We’ve successfully merged four different groups with the orchestra and it seemed to me the next logical step in selecting a group was Queen. As always we wanted to keep the foundation of the music as close to the originals as we could and then add additional colors to enhance what Queen had done,” says Havens. “The wonderful thing with an orchestra is that you have an entire palette of sounds to call upon. The band is reproducing what Queen did live, as closely as possible within the constraints of personnel, and then having an orchestra behind the band gives the music richness, a whole new feel, a whole different sense of color but still pres...