Finally! Rock Meets Classical

World Premiere of New Music by Young Composer, Silas Durocher “Silas is part of a new generation of composers that draw on Bartok, the Beatles, ethnic music, rock and Ravel in equal measure,” says Sarasota Orchestra Artistic Director Leif Bjaland, who commissioned Durocher to write a new work specifically for the orchestra. “His music is kaleidoscopic and tremendously exciting.”

[ClickPress, Thu Feb 19 2009] On Saturday, Feb. 28, the Sarasota Orchestra will present the world premier of an innovative new sound by youthful composer, Silas Durocher. If classical music is ailing, Durocher is one of its doctors. He offers classical music a needed shot in the arm with compositions known to make audiences get up and dance. Even the stuffier concertgoers tap their feet and smile.

“Silas is part of a new generation of composers that draw on Bartok, the Beatles, ethnic music, rock and Ravel in equal measure,” says Sarasota Orchestra Artistic Director Leif Bjaland, who commissioned Durocher to write a new work specifically for the orchestra. “His music is kaleidoscopic and tremendously exciting.”

The premiere is part of the Crossroads Project, in which the orchestra will debut new music by Durocher, as well as noted works by contemporary composers Arvo Part and John Corigliano, among others.

Durocher's music is part of an emerging genre based on the eclectic tastes of an intelligent and worldly generation that see no boundaries between musical categories. His sound is captured in his recently released album, Thesis Statement, recorded with a five-person ensemble including principals from the Sarasota and Tampa orchestras. They call themselves Silas Durocher and Everybody Knows.

As one reviewer raved about Durocher's new CD, "Durocher’s ability to make this intricate composition accessible to even the most musically-challenged of ears is impressive; it sounds so effortless. He picks and chooses from seemingly disparate styles and genres—Tango, funk, swing, jazz, rock opera, honky tonk…it’s all there. If Durocher had been born in Liverpool in the 1940s, Paul McCartney could very well be a retired factory worker right now."

For more information about Silas Durocher and Everybody Knows, the new album, or to request music, photos or an interview, visit silasdurocher.com, view the electronic press kit at sonicbids.com/silasdurochereverybodyknows or e-mail hannah.sepantaie@gmail.com.

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