Renaissance with Annie Haslam Symphonic Tour

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Renaissance, 2017

Progressive rock mainstays Renaissance, featuring original lead singer Annie Haslam, will embark this fall on their Symphonic Journey tour, backed by a 10-piece chamber orchestra. Four dates on the tour, which runs 10/26-11/3, mark the first time in 40 years that Renaissance will perform live with an orchestra and will be filmed for an upcoming DVD release, fresh off the success of their 2015 Live at the Union Chapel DVD.

“It’s so exciting to be backed by an orchestra again,” says Haslam, who’s been fronting Renaissance since the beginning 48 years ago, in a press release.

Annie Haslam

Haslam, who’s performed with orchestras including the New York Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic, adds, “Although it’s not easy to pull off, we’ve curated our own group of 10 orchestral players for four special concerts, and I can’t wait to look over my shoulder and see strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion as we launch into our big numbers.”

Fans can look forward to the band’s orchestral classics like “Mother Russia,” “Carpet of the Sun” and “A Song for All Seasons.”

The Symphonic Journey tour opens with four special orchestral shows:

October 26, Ridgefield Playhouse in Ridgefield CT
October 27, Keswick Theater in Glenside PA
October 28, Town Hall in New York City
October 29, The Egg in Albany NY

Renaissance will also play dates (without orchestra) at Boston’s City Winery (November 1); Annapolis MD’s Rams Head On Stage (November 2) and Oakmont PA’s The Oaks Theater (November 3).

In recent years, Renaissance has been active, touring extensively through North America, Canada, Japan, South Korea, England, Holland, Belgium, Israel, Portugal, Argentina and Brazil.

With Haslam as lead vocalist, the band is composed of her longtime musical associate Rave Tesar on piano, Tom Brislin on keyboards, Mark Lambert on guitars, Frank Pagano on drums and percussion, and Leo Traversa on bass.

Watch Renaissance perform “Carpet of the Sun” in 1977