Youth Orchestras of San Antonio has a performance planned that's honoring a fallen pop star. It's YOSA's third foray into re-creating classic albums live. Troy Peters is the music director.
"On Monday night, March 13th, YOSA's going to present Purple Rain live--a celebration of the music of Prince, with twelve San Antonio bands and a full symphony orchestra at the Tobin Center."
Fishermen is one of those bands, and is fronted by Edwin Stephens.
"For an artist like myself, it's kind of a dream-come-true."
Fisherman gets to do the title track.
"We're going to do Purple Rain. You dream about playing with all the bells and whistles and the grandeur that you can get only by having an orchestra behind you, and a stage as prestigious as the Tobin Center."
This isn't the first time for Fisherman. They played in last year's Abbey Road project. He says you can anticipate their best effort.
"We expect every band and every artist to bring their A game. We're friends with half the bands if not more that are playing, and so everybody just likes to push each other to the next level. It makes you bring out your best."
While Prince's death popped the Purple Rain album to the top of Peters' must-do concerts list, the album is also one he knows note-per-note.
"This record came out when I was 15-years-old and I listened to this record almost every day for a couple of years. I fell in love with taking music apart, figuring out how it works partially because of the genius of Prince."
Oddly, Prince may have also steered Peters even further into classical music.
"There's a song called When Doves Cry that is mixed and produced in a way unlike any other in popular music. And it made me listen to Beethoven and the Beatles differently."
The concert will run the gamut from funk and rock to mariachi. Yes, mariachi.
