For Immediate Release
August 1, 2022
Contact: Julie Goetz, Director of Communications
(412) 905-9058
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STING AND THE PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ANNOUNCE
TWO NIGHTS OF CONCERTS IN JANUARY 2023
World Renowned Musician to Perform Greatest Hits Reimagined for Symphonies
PITTSBURGH—For the first time in Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra history, world renowned musician Sting will join the Orchestra to perform his greatest hits reimagined with symphonic arrangement. The concerts will take place on January 9 and 10, 2023 at 7:30 P.M. at Heinz Hall.
Drawing from a diverse and illustrious career that has produced numerous multi-platinum albums, a staggering list of number one songs, countless accolades, and worldwide record sales of nearly 100 million, Sting’s greatest hits will be performed reinterpreted with orchestrations first created for his 2010 Symphonicity tour. Selections will include fan-favorites such as “Roxanne,” “Next To You,” “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” and “Every Breath You Take,” and notable songs from Sting’s solo career – “Englishman in New York,” “Fragile,” “Russians,” “If I Ever Lose My Faith in You,” “Fields of Gold,” and “Desert Rose.”
Known for blazing new paths of musical territory, Sting’s foray into the classical realm began with the crossover success of his #1 album "Songs from the Labyrinth," a lute-based interpretation of the music of 16th century composer John Dowland, released in 2006 on Deutsche Grammophon. Sting’s interest in collaborating with an orchestra continued in 2008 following an invitation to perform with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. After reworking selections from his expansive catalog, he and several members of his longtime band joined the orchestra in a performance that left an indelible mark on Sting. In 2010, accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, Sting embarked on a world tour performing his most celebrated songs re-imagined for symphonic arrangement.
“Sting’s charisma and utterly unforgettable hits reimagined with symphonic orchestrations will make for an irresistible combination with the brilliant musicians of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra,” said Melia Tourangeau, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
Tickets go on sale to Sting’s Fan Club members on August 8; to Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra subscribers on August 15; and to the general public on August 22, 2022. Ticket prices range from $99-$350, with VIP options at $450 and $750.General public tickets will be available through the Heinz Hall Box Office online at www.pittsburghsymphony.org, by phone at 412.392.4900, or in person at 600 Penn Ave in downtown Pittsburgh.
Bank of America is the presenting sponsor of Sting with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
Sting is managed by Martin Kierszenbaum, Cherrytree Music Company.
About the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
About Sting
Composer, singer-songwriter, actor, author, and activist Sting was born in Newcastle, England before moving to London in 1977 to form The Police with Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers. The band released five studio albums, earned six GRAMMY Awards® and two Brits, and was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003.
As one of the world’s most distinctive solo artists, Sting has received an additional 11 GRAMMY Awards®, two Brits, a Golden Globe, an Emmy, four Oscar nominations, a TONY nomination, Billboard Magazine’s Century Award, and MusiCares 2004 Person of the Year. In 2003, he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for his myriad of contributions to music. Also a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, he has received the Kennedy Center Honors, The American Music Award of Merit and The Polar Music Prize. Sting has been awarded Honorary Doctorates of Music by the University of Northumbria (1992), Berklee College of Music (1994), University of Newcastle upon Tyne (2006) and Brown University at its 250th Commencement ceremony (2018).
Throughout his illustrious career, Sting has sold 100 million albums from his combined work with The Police and as a solo artist.
Following his critically acclaimed album, 57th & 9th, his first rock/pop collection in over a decade, Sting and reggae icon, Shaggy, both managed by the Cherrytree Music Company, released a collaborative, island-influenced album, entitled 44/876, drawing from the many surprising connections at the heart of their music. With its title referencing their home country codes, 44/876 first and foremost honors the duo’s mutual love for Jamaica: Shaggy’s homeland, and the place where Sting penned such classics as The Police’s “Every Breath You Take.” Their release spent over 20 weeks atop Billboard’s Reggae Album chart in the US, earned Gold certifications in Poland and France and received the GRAMMY Award® for Best Reggae Album.
In 2019, Sting was honoured at the BMI Pop Awards for his enduring hit single “Every Breath You Take,” which has become the Most Performed Song, with 15 million radio plays, from BMI’s catalog of over 14 million musical works. The song was also added to Spotify’s ‘Billions Club,’ having amassed over 1 billion streams on the platform.
Also in 2019, an album entitled My Songs, featuring contemporary interpretations of his most celebrated hits, was released and followed by a world tour of the same name, which recently resumed. Sting’s ‘My Songs’ World Tour is a dynamic and exuberant show featuring his most beloved songs spanning the 17-time GRAMMY Award® winner’s prolific career with The Police and as a solo artist. Full tour itinerary can be found here.
Always known as a musical explorer, pioneering genre-bending sounds and collaborations, Sting’s next release Duets, compiles some of his most celebrated collaborations, including those with Mary J. Blige, Herbie Hancock, Eric Clapton, Annie Lennox, Charles Aznavour, Mylène Farmer, Shaggy, Melody Gardot, Gashi and more.
Sting’s latest album, The Bridge, showcases his prolific and diverse songwriting prowess. Representing various stages and styles from throughout his unrivaled career and drawing inspiration from genres including rock n’ roll, jazz, classical music and folk, the eclectic album features Sting’s quintessential sound on pop-rock tracks such as the album’s opening rock salvo “Rushing Water” and new indie-pop sounding “If It’s Love.”
Sting kicked off his Las Vegas residency, “My Songs,” at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace to rave reviews. The show presents a compendium of his most beloved songs with dynamic, visual references to some of his most iconic videos and inspirations with Sting treating fans to an array of greatest hits spanning his illustrious career, including “Roxanne,” “Message In A Bottle,” “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic,” “Every Breath You Take” and several other fan favorites, plus brand new songs from his latest album, The Bridge. The residency will resume in April 2023.
Most recently, Sting produced Shaggy’s latest album, Com Fly Wid Mi which finds the dancehall/reggae icon performing the Sinatra songbook in a reggae style. To celebrate the albums’ release, Sting hosted a party at the legendary Blue Note Jazz Club in NYC where Shaggy performed the album in full.
Sting has appeared in more than 15 films, executive produced the critically acclaimed A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, and in 1989 starred in The Threepenny Opera on Broadway. His most recent theatre project is the Tony®-nominated musical The Last Ship, inspired by his memories of the shipbuilding community of Wallsend in the northeast of England where he was born and raised. The show, with music and lyrics by Sting, ran on Broadway in 2014/2015 and completed a UK regional theatre tour which ran from March-July 2018. Thereafter, Sting starred as shipyard foreman Jackie White in the Toronto-based production of The Last Ship at the Princess of Wales Theatre. In 2020, he reprised the role for productions in Los Angeles at the Ahmanson Theatre and San Francisco at the Golden Gate Theatre.
Sting’s support for human rights organizations such as the Rainforest Fund, Amnesty International, and Live Aid mirrors his art in its universal outreach. Along with wife Trudie Styler, Sting founded the Rainforest Fund in 1989 to protect both the world’s rainforests and the indigenous people living there. Together they have held 19 benefit concerts to raise funds and awareness for our planet’s endangered resources. Since its inception, the Rainforest Fund has expanded to a network of interconnected organizations working in more than 20 countries over three continents.
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