Saturday June 3, 2023 – 7:30pm
Grunin Center for the Arts, Ocean County College
The Garden State Philharmonic under the direction of Diane Wittry, Conductor, performs a concert that showcases the influence of famous classical music pieces on modern day rock and roll songs and music of the Beatles. Hear how Johann Sebastian Bach’s music impacted popular music years later and how Baroque trumpet pieces influenced the Beatles song “Penny Lane.” Enjoy the famous saxophone melody by Serge Prokofiev in the Romance of the Lieutenant Kije Suite, that was used by the rock artist Sting in his song “Russians.” The solo movement of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 was used by Eric Carmen in “All by Myself” and the chord progressions of Beethoven’s Moonlight sonata were presented backwards in the Beatles song “Because.”
A highlight of the concert is the New Jersey premiere of a Beatles Fantasy Concerto by Maxime Goulet and Eric Jones Cadieux performed by Violin soloist Nicholas Pappone.
Kenneth Womack a Beatles expert and author of 7 Beatles books, currently on the faculty of Monmouth University, will be at the concert to give opening remarks and will be available for a book signing after the concert.