Symphony Orchestra plays alongside rock legend Rick Springfield

Samo’s Symphony Orchestra is set to perform with rock legend Rick Springfield on March 30 at the Saban theater. The ensemble will perform various new songs from his newest album, “Snake King,” as well as some of his older hits, including 1981 classic “Jessie’s Girl.” At 2018’s Artists For The Arts (AFTA) concert, musician Rick Springfield performed with many Samo orchestra and band students. Now, he’s coming back to Samo with a new challenge.Springfield’s agent contacted Orchestra Director Joni Swenson after the 2018 AFTA concert asking if the orchestra would be open to performing alongside him to promote his album. Swenson accepted the offer, and the orchestra began preparing for their chance to play alongside this famous musician.“I’m super excited to play in this completely different environment,” Amelie Vorontsova (’21) said.On March 14, Symphony students Arya Shapouri (’19), Layla Shapouri (’21), Grace Alexander (’19) and Lily Stern ('20) performed “Jessie’s Girl” with Springfield on KLOS-FM radio as an on-air advertisement for the show, and for Springfield's new album "The Snake King." “The Snake King” was released on Jan. 26 of this year, since then he has been touring all over the U.S. and has played with many professional orchestras. Samo’s Symphony is the first and only high school ensemble to accompany Springfield on his tour.“He’s played with the Portland Symphony, the National Symphony, the Denver Symphony and different orchestras from around the country, but this is the first time he’s [playing] with a high school group,” Swenson said.Swenson remembers Springfield as a charming person who got along well with everybody. “He was really nice; he was very appreciative of the students, he had a great rapport with the students and he stayed after the concert and took pictures with them,” Swenson said.The concert is shaping up to be a memorable experience for the students; they have played mostly orchestral music over the years and many have not played in such a modern setting. With this concert, the students have the opportunity to broaden their horizons.“It’s something that I’ve not really done before, playing in this modern environment. I hope it’s as fun as I think it will be!” Arya Shapouri said.