Orchestra Nova: playing classical music with their new wetsuits

Orchestra Nova has created "Surf", one of the four key pieces of classical music dedicated to Mother Nature. The orchestral music group formerly known as San Diego Chamber Orchestra promises to leave spectators in a suspended state of mind.

"Surf", commissioned by Orchestra Nova and composed by Joseph Waters, takes guests on a wild ride, starting at the bottom of the ocean, rising up to feel the exhilaration of surfing high atop the ocean’s best waves, enjoying a calm moment, then encountering another big wave and experiencing the turbulence of the washing machine, to end with a serene sense of enlightenment and fulfillment.

Violinist Lindsay Deutsch and saxophone player Todd Rewoldt, virtuosos of the highest order, are guest artists that play as dueling surfers.

Waters also joins as guest artist on electronics, along with Joel Bluestone, percussionist and Justin DeHart, percussionist. "Surf" is also accompanied by a special commissioned video by Zuriel Waters.

"Like much of my recent work, 'Surf' has one foot in classical and the other in rock. Doing a rock piece for orchestra can be an extremely cheesy affair - destroying the rawness of rock and the nuance of classical and leaving one with a saccharine hangover", says Joseph Waters.

"The ocean and surfing are deeply embedded in San Diego culture. Surfing transcends age, class and education. Go to any of the beaches from dawn to dusk and there they are - sitting on their boards between sets, waiting for the chance to negotiate the moment with tons of water squeezed up into a majestic hurling fist. It's thrilling, dangerous, deeply engaging and transformative", he adds.

Discover the best surf music bands ever and the ultimate surf songs.

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