Queen’s biggest anthems are getting the full symphonic treatment when The Music of Queen arrives at San Francisco’s Curran Theatre for one night this fall. The concert is scheduled for November 7, at 7:30 PM, with songs including “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Somebody to Love,” “Don’t Stop Me Now,” “We Are the Champions,” and “Killer Queen” on the program.
The official event listing from ATG San Francisco describes the performance as a meeting of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Orchestra, a full rock band and commanding vocals. Strings, brass, woodwinds and percussion will add orchestral heft to Queen’s famously dramatic blend of hard rock, opera and pop, and tickets are on sale now.
ATG San Francisco names MiG Ayesa as vocalist and Brent Havens as conductor, giving the one-night concert a lineup built for both the theatricality and vocal acrobatics of Queen’s catalog. Ayesa has performed on Broadway, while Havens is the conductor and arranger behind Windborne Music’s rock-symphony productions.
Queen’s Catalog Meets a Full Orchestra
Windborne Music says its arrangements aim to stay close to Queen’s original recordings while allowing the orchestra to wrap new colors around the band’s sound. The production draws from a catalog that includes music from albums such as A Night at the Opera, Sheer Heart Attack, News of the World and A Kind of Magic, according to Windborne Music.
As reported by BroadwayWorld, Havens will lead the ensemble for a single San Francisco performance at the Curran. For Queen fans, the appeal is less a conventional tribute act than a large-scale reorchestration of songs already written with towering harmonies, grand crescendos and more than a little rock-star excess.
