From the podium and in his capacity as artistic director, longtime Hudson Valley Philharmonic (HVP) conductor Randall Craig Fleisher has been a highly visible bridge-builder between the Big Show wing of classical music and the world of pop – especially rock – music. Maestro Fleisher has “orchestrated” some curious mashups in his tenure, the most unlikely being a kind of guitar concerto pairing Fleisher’s HVP with the late Velvet Underground lead guitarist Sterling Morrison.
It thus comes as no surprise that Fleisher is a key player in Rocktopia, which is coming to the Bethel Center for the Arts on Saturday, August 12 at 8 p.m. A collaboration between the HVP and Trans-Siberian Orchestra vocalist Rob Evan, Rocktopia presents one-of-a-kind musical arrangements featuring the works of classical composers, rock bands and artists including Queen, Mozart, Journey, Handel, U2, Tchaikovsky, Heart, Beethoven, Styx, Foreigner, Rachmaninoff, Pink Floyd, Copland, the Who and more.
Evans oversees the many vocalists required to pull this off, while Maestro Fleisher whips the HVP into a frenzy; and it all goes down on the site of the original 1969 Woodstock concert. Ticket prices for this Pavilion-only show range from $53 to $105.50. For tickets and additional information, visit www.bethelwoodscenter.org/events. The Bethel Woods Center for the Arts is located at 200 Hurd Road in Bethel.