Xerox Presents Symphonicity: Sting Performing His Most Celebrated Songs Featuring the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra Conducted by Steven Mercurio

LONDON, May 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Live Nation announced today that Sting, accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, will extend his world tour to Europe and the UK this autumn. The Symphonicity tour, commencing in Vancouver on June 2, followed by sold-out performances across North America throughout the summer, will find Sting performing his most celebrated songs re-imagined for symphonic arrangement. The Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra will be conducted by Maestro Steven Mercurio (Pavarotti, Bocelli).

Presented in a variety of settings, the European tour will begin September 3 at Oslo's Konserthus followed by a September 5 performance at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen.  On October 5, Sting, accompanied by Northern Sinfonia Orchestra, will perform a special concert in his hometown at The Sage Gateshead. Also announced today are performances at other prestigious venues such as London's Royal Albert Hall on October 1, Teatro Verdi in Florence on October 25, Teatro Arcimboldi in Milan on November 2, and Santa Cecilia in Rome on November 10.  Additionally, September will find the tour making stops in Stockholm, Helsinki, Berlin, Koln and Paris, followed by concerts in Dublin, Nantes, Antwerp, Hamburg, Frankfurt and Stuttgart throughout October, with additional performances in Turin and Vienna in November.

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 reinterpreted with brand new orchestrations arranged by Jorge Calandrelli, David Hartley, Michel Legrand, Rob Mathes, Vince Mendoza, Steven Mercurio, Bill Ross, Robert Sadin, and Nicola Tescari. Selections, created especially for this tour, will include fan-favorites such as "Roxanne," "Next To You," "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" and "Every Breath You Take," to notable songs from Sting's enduring solo career – "Englishman in New York," "Fragile," "Russians," "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You," "Fields of Gold," and "Desert Rose."  

To accompany Sting's highly-anticipated world tour, Deutsche Grammophon will release a companion CD, Symphonicities, this summer. The new studio album serves as the ultimate commemoration of the live concert experience, with the first single, "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" to be released digitally on Monday, May 24th. Additional highlights include fan-favorites culled from The Police songbook such as "Roxanne" and "Next To You," as well as songs from Sting's enduring solo career including "Englishman in New York," "I Burn for You," "Why Should I Cry for You" and "She's Too Good For Me," among many others.  Symphonicities is produced by Rob Mathes and Sting, and mixed by Elliot Scheiner (Steely Dan, Fleetwood Mac) and Claudius Mittendorfer (Interpol, Franz Ferdinand).  

Sting's interest in collaborating with an orchestra began in 2008 following an invitation to perform with the legendary Chicago Symphony Orchestra. After reworking selections from his expansive catalog, Sting joined the orchestra in a performance that left an indelible mark on him.  Eager to explore the possibilities of further symphonic collaboration, Sting was excited when the Philadelphia Orchestra asked him to join them in commemoration of the 153rd anniversary of the Academy of Music.

"Performing with both the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Philadelphia Orchestra was truly a highlight of my career. I'm delighted by this new opportunity to tour with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, having a whole new palate of musical colors to work with and reinventing the songs that have been the staples of my live performances for over thirty years," commented Sting.

The Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra has previously performed with internationally-renowned artists ranging from opera luminaries Andrea Bocelli, Bryn Terfel, Renee Fleming, Kiri Te Kanawa and the late Luciano Pavarotti to popular cultural icons including Burt Bacharach, George Benson, Michel Legrand, Diana Krall, Tina Turner and Randy Newman.  The 45-piece orchestra will be featured on all North American concert dates of the tour.

Sting will also be joined by a quartet comprised of Dominic Miller (Sting's longtime guitarist), David Cossin (a multi-percussion specialist in new and experimental music and featured member of the Bang on a Can All-Stars), Jo Lawry (vocalist) and Ira Coleman (bassist).

Sting's first venture into the classical realm began with the 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. After completing the enormously successful Police reunion world tour, Sting returned to pursue his passion for uniting musical genres with his most recent release "If On A Winter's Night..." which debuted at #1 on Billboard's classical chart.

The tour is promoted by Live Nation and produced by RZO Entertainment, Inc. in association with Universal Music Classical Management & Productions and presented by Xerox.

"We are thrilled to be a part of bringing this exciting and unique tour with Sting to the world," said Arthur Fogel (CEO/Chairman Live Nation Global Touring). "The arrangements, combined with Sting's brilliant songwriting and musicianship, will no doubt result in a magical evening of music."

Our global sponsorship of Sting's 2010 world tour offers an opportunity for Xerox to showcase not only Sting's legendary talents but also the real business of entertainment," said Christa Carone, vice president, Marketing and Communications, Xerox.  "Every great performance depends on a smoothly run backstage and that's the role Xerox plays behind the scenes with our customers today. Our technology and services will support the needs of the tour so that they can focus on what they do best: giving Sting's fans around the world a magical evening of music."

American Express® Cardmembers will have the exclusive opportunity to purchase advance tickets to Sting's Symphonicity Tour,  featuring the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, Conducted by Steven Mercurio, presented by Xerox for concerts in Italy, the UK, France, and Spain. Tickets for the performances in London, Newcastle, Florence, Milan and Rome will go on sale to card members beginning Monday, May 24th through Thursday, May 27th. Tickets for these events go on sale to the general public on Friday, May 28th.

Xerox Presents Symphonicity:  STING Performing his most celebrated songs Featuring the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra Conducted by Steven Mercurio

*The Sage Gateshead performance features Northern Sinfonia Orchestra.

The tour will also make stops in Antwerp, Berlin, Dublin, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Helsinki, Koln, Nantes, Paris, Stockholm, Stuttgart, Turin and Vienna with additional cities and venues to be announced.

For complete Tour and Ticket information, Fan Club Memberships, Merchandise and more, visit:

www.sting.com & www.livenation.com

Join the Fan Club for presale ticket access and more!

Visit Sting.com for more information on the European tour, tickets and VIP packages!

For official press materials, high resolution photos & more, visit:

www.sting.com/PR

About Live Nation Entertainment

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE: LYV) is the largest live entertainment company in the world, consisting of five businesses: concert promotion and venue operations, sponsorship, ticketing solutions, e-commerce and artist management.  Live Nation seeks to innovate and enhance the live entertainment experience for artists and fans: before, during and after the show.  In 2009, Live Nation sold 140 million tickets, promoted 21,000 concerts, partnered with 850 sponsors and averaged 25 million unique monthly users of its e-commerce sites.  For additional information, visit www.livenation.com/investors.

About Xerox

Xerox Corporation is a $22 billion leading global enterprise for business process and document management. Through its broad portfolio of technology, services and outsourcing offerings, Xerox provides the essential back-office support that clears the way for clients to focus on what they do best: their real business.  Headquartered in Norwalk, Conn., Xerox provides leading-edge document technology, services, software and supplies for production and office environments of any size. Through ACS, A Xerox Company, which Xerox acquired in February 2010, Xerox also offers extensive business process outsourcing and information technology outsourcing services, including data processing, HR benefits management, finance support, and customer relationship management services for commercial and government organizations worldwide. The 130,000 people of Xerox serve clients in more than 160 countries.  For more information, visit http://www.xerox.com or http://www.xerox.com/news. For investor information, visit http://www.xerox.com/investor.

SOURCE Live Nation