Ben Folds reunited with the RPO in 2020
Date: June 7, 2019
Jessica Pavia, CITY Newspaper. Click here for the original article.
Genre-bending musician Ben Folds will join the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra next spring in a May 8, 2020 performance at Eastman Theatre’s Kodak Hall, as part of the 2019-20 season of “Eastman Presents.” Folds last performed with the RPO at CMAC in 2014.
The singer-songwriter and composer is known to many as a pop-rock sensation. But not many pop-rock artists can top Billboard charts with a piano concerto. While Folds dabbles in both the pop and classical worlds, at least two things remain consistent: his unique, prosaic lyrics and his ingenious knack for melodies.
Over the years, he’s collaborated with stylistically diverse artists, including Regina Spektor, “Weird Al” Yankovic, William Shatner, and yMusic. He was also named the first-ever Artistic Advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in 2017.
Folds has garnered multiple platinum albums — for both his solo material and his work with the trio Ben Folds Five. He also spent five seasons dispensing constructive musical criticism as a judge on NBC’s a cappella competition show, “Sing-Off.”
Individual ticket prices vary from $49 to $94; two VIP packages will also be available: a master class hosted by the artist for $210 and a meet-and-greet experience for $310 . Tickets and information are at 454-2100 and rpo.org.
