You may be seated in a theatre with thousands of people but Saskatchewan performer Jeffery Straker wants you to feel like you’re at home in your living room.

On Saturday Oct. 20, 2018, Jeffery Straker will take to the stage with the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra for an evening of his music on a grand scale. And while the theatre and the sound may be large, he wants to keep it very personal.

“I like to create an intimate atmosphere with the audience,” says Straker. “We chat between songs. I like to have a real back and forth with the crowd, make it feel like one of my house concerts.”

Straker’s songs will be given new life by the power of a full orchestra. There will be a mix of songs from his catalogue of hits and a couple of new ones that have been arranged just for the SSO.

“It can be a bit overwhelming,” explains Straker. “I normally play solo on the piano or with a small band. Playing with a full orchestra is a little like black magic. I don’t get to hear the full score until rehearsal with the orchestra the day before. It can take your breath away!”

“Playing with a full orchestra is a little like black magic.”

Straker last joined the SSO on stage in 2013 and since then has launched two “top 10” charting albums and toured across Canada, Latin America and Europe. He says there’s nothing like joining musicians here at home.

“There’s an awful lot of trust that is going back and forth between us on the stage. We have to be in the moment, breath and phrase with each other,” says Straker. “You have to lean into the experience that everyone has on the stage and there’s no problem with that because these guys are amazing players.”

Click here for more information and to buy tickets.

 

Prairie Pops Series

Jeffery Straker & Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra

Saturday Oct. 20, 2018

7:30 p.m.

TCU Place