Sedona News – On Saturday, April 26, 2025, Sedona Symphony will present its annual pops concert, under the artistic direction of conductor Janna Hymes. The concert features Classical Mystery Tour, a long-running, globally touring quartet who replicate a collection of Beatles’ classics as they were originally performed, augmented by full symphonic backing. The Los Angeles Times called the Classical Mystery Tour show “more than just an incredible simulation,” further noting that “the swelling strings and soaring French horn lines [gave the] live performance a high goose-bump quotient; the crowd stood and bellowed for more.” Because most Beatles fans never had the chance to experience a live Beatles show, Classical Mystery Tour provides an opportunity to hear these timeless songs in a concert setting. The concert will begin at 7:00 PM at Sedona Performing Arts Center, 995 Upper Red Rock Loop Road, Sedona.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM:
Classical Mystery Tour: The four musicians in Classical Mystery Tour look and sound just like The Beatles, but Classical Mystery Tour is more than just a rock concert. The full show presents some two dozen Beatles tunes sung and played exactly as they were written. Hear “Penny Lane” with a live trumpet section; experience the beauty of “Yesterday” with an acoustic guitar and string quartet; enjoy the rock/classical blend on the hard edged “I Am the Walrus.” From early Beatles music on through the solo years, Classical Mystery Tour presents The Beatles as few have ever heard them: totally live.
Classical Mystery Tour features Jim Owen, Miles Frizzell, Glenn McCallum, and Joe Bologna. The group have been delighting pops audiences for more than 22 years, performing concerts with more than 100 orchestras in the Unites States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The group played has sold out concerts at the Sydney Opera House, and has performed with America’s most prestigious orchestras, including the Cleveland Orchestra, The Boston Pops, The Philadelphia Orchestra, The San Francisco Symphony, and many more.
The Beatles: Between 1960 and 1970, Liverpool’s Beatles (Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr) revolutionized popular music, as an innovative self-contained quartet who wrote, sang, and played their own songs, freeing popular artists from the songwriting mills and studio session players who had shaped the airwaves for decades before The Beatles created a whole new order of music-making. Honing their live chops in clubs in England and Germany’s rugged port city, Hamburg, the band exploded into popular consciousness and commercial success, with Beatlemania standing as a defining trait of the decade that spawned “The Fab Four.”
In 1966, The Beatles retired from live performance, choosing instead to deploy the recording studio (typically assisted by producer George Martin and engineer Geoff Emerick) as a fundamental creative tool in crafting majestic, thrilling, and often genre-jumping albums and singles. Martin’s long experience as a conductor and orchestrator brought a variety of classical music instruments and techniques into The Beatles’ mix, creating a rich sonic tapestry far beyond that offered, then or now, by many other four-piece rock bands. Following the group’s dissolution in 1970, the Beatles’ four members continued to create critically acclaimed and highly popular works in equal measure; McCartney and Starr (the surviving members of the group) continue to tour and release new music, most recently Starr’s T-Bone Burnett-produced country album, Look Up, and McCartney’s critically lauded 2020 album, McCartney III.
ABOUT SEDONA SYMPHONY:
Now in its 20th season, Sedona Symphony remains committed to our mission of “enriching the quality of life of our Northern Arizona community through the power of live orchestral music that educates, entertains, and inspires.” Led by Artistic Director Janna Hymes, Sedona Symphony offers a diverse range of programs, featuring both classical masterpieces and pops performances. Our 2024-2025 Season is sponsored by Neil and Mary Pope. The April 26 concert is sponsored by Liz and Bill Sweeney. Ticket prices range from $20 to $90, with half-price discounts for attendees aged 18 or under. Tickets are available for purchase on Sedona Symphony’s website (sedonasymphony.org) and at the door on the day of the concert, subject to availability.