VETERAN conductor Jeffrey Solares led the Manila Symphony Orchestra (MSO) in a classical-rock mashup concert, “Bohemian Rhapsody in Blue,” last April 26 at the Ayala Museum.
Solares, a violin professor at the Conservatory Music, said that the concert was part of MSO’s “Rush Hour” concert series which aims to build an audience for classical music by combining classical and popular music repertoire.
“We don’t like to play purely popular music because the mission of Manila Symphony is to promote classical music,” Solares explained. “I find a way to tie up both these [kinds of] program… it’s usually [a] 50-50.”
Under the helm of Solares, the concert opened with French composer George Bizet’s “Danse Boheme,” a classical piece from Hector Berlioz’s opera “Carmen.”
It was followed by another opera piece, “Musetta’s Aria” from “La Boheme,” by Italian opera composer Gioacomo Puccini.
The MSO used Solares’s original arrangements for rock band Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Love of My Life,” “Another One Bites the Dust” and “Under Pressure.”
The highlight of the night was the performance of Conservatory alumnus Glenn Aquinas’s arrangement of “Bohemian Rhapsody in Blue,” a compelling mash-up of Queen’s hit song “Bohemian Rhapsody” and George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.”
“The music of Queen is special… ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ has a very special form, it’s not an ordinary pop song. It has quite a depth to it, musically speaking,” said Solares.
With a guitar accompaniment by Noli Aurillo, the concert was capped with a rendition of Queen’s “We are the Champions.”
“When you make art, humor is part of that, and that’s what draws people’s attention initially; thus, our gimmick with the far-fetched medley,” said Solares.
Solares, the executive director and conductor of MSO, was also the former assistant conductor of the UST Symphony Orchestra.
During his time in MSO, he has led the organization to multiple wins in National and International competitions such as the Summa Cum Laude International Music Festival 2018.
Founded in 1926, MSO, one of the first orchestras in Asia, is composed of 60 musicians under the musical direction of Prof. Arturo Molina.
