Renegade Orchestra at Piper’s Opera House

The Renegade Orchestra describes itself as “The Beauty of a Symphony the Soul of a Rock Band” and at the Piper’s Opera House on April 6 they plan to present their dynamic show of rock covers and more all performed by an orchestra with an added rock band rhythm section.

“We call the sound of the group the opposite of elevator music” says the ensemble’s conductor Jason Eckl “We take some of the top bay area orchestral musicians and turn them loose on the greatest rock songs of all time from Hendrix to Metalica.” The group's setlist runs the gamut from 60’s rock to classic metal with a bit of ragtime gypsy jazz and more thrown in. To accomplish this the Renegade Orchestra employs both outstanding orchestra musicians and a powerhouse rhythm section consisting of guitar bass and drums.

One of the group’s leaders is Rebecca Roudman of the band Dirty Cello and the Renegade Orchestra brings a similar energy but with a lot more musicians on stage. “All of the musicians are amazing at what they do but instead of confining them to what is written in the music we turn them loose to improvise and rock out.” says Roudman. Members of the Renegade Orchestra have also performed with nearly every major orchestra in the Bay Area but also with bands like the Eagles Stevie Wonder Metallica Andre Bocelli Carlos Santana and more. 

Throughout the Renegade Orchestra’s history their show has developed into a vibrant spectacle including audience participation dueling violin solos musicians playing amongst the audience and the ability to sort of take requests. “We take requests from the audience but since we’re an orchestra we can’t play them at that show and instead play them at a future show usually at least 6 months later” says Eckl. At the Piper’s Opera House on April 6 the Renegade Orchestra will be performing a set of orchestral rock and roll made up of these audience requests.

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