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DAYTON PERFORMING ARTS ALLIANCE PRESENTS:
Steve Hackman’s Tchaikovsky X. Drake opening the 23-24 Rockin’ Orchestra Series
“If you decide to do one wild-and-crazy thing in 2023, make it Tchaikovsky X. Drake. You’ll be amazed!”
- Neal Gittleman, Artistic Director and Conductor, Dayton Philharmonic
DAYTON, OH (Sept. 14, 2023) – Dayton Performing Arts Alliance’s Dayton Philharmonic kicks off the 23-24 Rockin’ Orchestra Series with the mind-blowing, genre-bending, and critically acclaimed Steve Hackman’s Tchaikovsky X. Drake, Sept. 23 at 7:30pm at the Benjamin and Marian Schuster Center for the Performing Arts. Grammy-winner Drake’s melodies weave throughout Tchaikovsky’s epic Fifth Symphony, seamlessly blending 19th-century symphony with 21st-century hip-hop, pushing musical bounds and new sounds. Arrive early and enjoy a free pre-show party with live entertainment with DJ JRK hosted by Dayton Metro Library. Tickets for Tchaikovsky X. Drake are on sale now. Call 937-228-3630, purchase online at daytonperformingarts.org/tickets, or stop by the Schuster Center Box Office in downtown Dayton.
“I see lots of promotional material from guest artists and artist managers, hoping to convince us to book one (or more) of their shows,” said Neal Gittleman, Artistic Director and Conductor of the Dayton Philharmonic. “It’s rare that something knocks my socks off and makes me say, ‘Oh YES!’ Well, the promotional material for the Tchaikovsky X Drake show made me say, ‘Oh, HELL yes!’ The idea sounded wild: the orchestra plays Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony while singers, a rapper, and a DJ perform songs by Drake simultaneously? But it works, and it’s amazing.”
Composer, conductor, producer, DJ, arranger, songwriter, singer, and pianist Steve Hackman’s innovative fusions blur the links between high and pop art. As Conductor and Curator of the Baltimore Symphony’s BSO Fusion Series and Conductor and Creative Director of the Indianapolis Symphony’s Uncharted Series, he has created one of the country's most successful millennial-focused concert experiences.
According to Adam Sacks from ClassicalMusicDaily.com. Hackman has developed “…almost an entirely new musical form and genre, which tears down the wall that separates not only audiences, but how we even think of pop versus concert music.”
In Tchaikovsky X. Drake, the Dayton Philharmonic is joined by three singers, one rapper, a drummer, and a bassist as 22 songs of Drake such as “God’s Plan,” “One Dance,” “Controlla,” “Nice For What,” “Hold On, We’re Going Home,” “In My Feelings,” “Take Care,” and “Find Your Love” weave almost seamlessly throughout Tchaikovsky’s epic Symphony No. 5, creating a sound that rotates between a romantic and contemporary hip-hop/classical fusion
Other uniquely blended works by Hackman include Brahms and Radiohead, Bartòk and Björk, and Beethoven and Coldplay.
Pre-Show Party
Start the evening at a pre-show party at 6pm in the Wintergarden inside the Schuster Center. Dayton Metro Library hosts a free party with live entertainment with DJ JRK, delicious appetizers, and a cash bar before the show. No ticket is required.
Tickets for Tchaikovsky X. Drake are on sale now. Call 937-228-3630, purchase online at daytonperformingarts.org/tickets, or stop by the Schuster Center Box Office in downtown Dayton.
The Dayton Performing Arts Alliance’s 23-24 Rockin’ Orchestra Series continues with Jeans ‘n Classics: Music of Queen (Oct. 7, 2023); Arrive From Sweden: The Music of ABBA (April 27, 2024); Windbourne’s Music of Whitney Houston (May 18, 2024); and The Music of Green Day (June 1, 2024). All Rockin’ Orchestra performances begin at the Schuster Center at 7:30pm.
To purchase single tickets or a subscription to the 23-24 Rockin’ Orchestra Series or any of DPAA’s Opera, Ballet, or Philharmonic performances, visit daytonperformingarts.org.
About Steve Hackman
A multi-hyphenate music powerhouse and visionary producer, Steve Hackman is a daring voice leading the charge among a new generation of classical musicians intent on redefining the genre. Equally adept in classical and popular styles, his breadth of musical fluency and technique is uncanny—he is at once a composer, conductor, producer, DJ, arranger, songwriter, singer, and pianist. He uses those wide-ranging abilities to create innovative fusions that blur the lines between high and pop art.
The result is evocative works that are both derivative yet wholly original. He synthesizes Brahms and Radiohead, Bartók and Björk, and Beethoven and Coldplay into epic orchestral tone poems; re-imagines Stravinsky and Shostakovich into original orchestral-electronic concept albums; and samples Verdi and Debussy and interpolates them into hip-hop tracks. His performances of these pieces have surprised and thrilled diverse sellout audiences across the country, including with the orchestras of Philadelphia, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Pittsburgh, Colorado, Phoenix, Nashville, Oregon, Indianapolis, Grand Rapids, Columbus, Charlotte, Southwest Florida, Alabama, Colorado Music Festival, and the Boston Pops.
In the Fall of 2021, Hackman composed the 60-minute ballet AT WORK in partnership with Jacob Jonas the Company, premiering the piece on consecutive weekends at Century City Park and the Water Gardens in Los Angeles. It was the culmination of two busy years of composing: he wrote five original scores for the global film initiative films and dance, teaming up with Hilary Hahn, Dave Koz, Voces 8, and musicians from the Philadelphia Orchestra in the process; his music was featured on the American Express campaign Stand For Small, alongside the voice of Lin-Manuel Miranda; and during the summer of 2021 he completed recording of a solo piano album.
Hackman has teamed up with some of the biggest pop superstars of today to add a signature virtuosic and classical dimension to their work. He has collaborated frequently with Doja Cat, performing with her at the 2021 VMAs in Brooklyn, following orchestrating and arranging strings for her performances at the Billboard Music Awards and iHeart Radio Music Awards.
In December 2019, Hackman collaborated with Kanye West, the Sunday Service Choir, and Access Opera in their production of the opera Mary. Hackman contributed as a composer, conductor, and orchestrator. The opera was performed publicly at Art Basel in Miami, Laskey Mesa in Calabasas, and Lincoln Center in New York City.
About Dayton Performing Arts Alliance
Dayton Performing Arts Alliance (DPAA) was formed in a groundbreaking and innovative merger between Dayton Ballet, Dayton Opera, and Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. Together, they are the largest performing arts organization in the greater Dayton community, with a mission to be the community’s indispensable source for traditional, diverse, and innovative experiences in ballet, opera, and orchestral music. The vision of DPAA is to transform lives through the power of music and dance. In addition, DPAA offers various performance and education programs, setting a new standard for artistic excellence. DPAA performances reach an audience of more than 90,000 people annually, and their rich arts education programming serves over 60,000 schoolchildren in 150 schools in southwest Ohio. These performances and education initiatives are made possible partly through significant support from the Ohio Arts Council, Culture Works, Montgomery County, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
CONTACT: DIANE SCHOEFFLER-WARREN DPAA- Director of Communications Phone 937-224-3521 x 1138
DL: 937-535-5458 dschoeffler-warren@daytonperformingarts.org
Photos: Steve Hackman Tch X Drake photos