'Symphonix Rock Orchestra' - Old Saint Paul’s Church, Edinburgh Fringe Festival Saturday 12th August 2023

Technically, this was a Fringe show, but it felt like a gig and, in reality, it was actually so much more, with over twenty top-quality performers, including choir, orchestra and rock band, on stage in front of a sold-out crowd.

Symphonix Rock Orchestra was founded last year by its Musical Director and lead vocalist, Neil Thompson. Neil has a background in contemporary choir and classical music and he has recruited some of the finest graduates from musical and theatrical schools in Scotland to perform contemporary rock classics in an ensemble cast. On this night, Symphonix comprised a conventional rock band (singer, drums, guitar, bass), an eight-person choir (7 ladies and 1 dude), a string quintet, four-piece brass section and a percussionist. It’s been carefully curated and they’ve clearly been rehearsing hard as it all blended together wonderfully.

The fully-assembled orchestra presents quite a striking visual and you know it’s a proper rock show as everyone is dressed in black, with kilts for the band and a variety of exotic costumes for the ladies. The trumpet players initially take the lead role in the opening number which, perhaps slightly surprisingly, is the jazz standard ‘Feeling Good’ but it’s a customized rocked-up version and segues neatly into the majestic pomp of Led Zeppelin’s ‘Kashmir’ which, of course, is perfect for this format. The choir really come into their own on a beautifully orchestrated performance of Toto’s ‘Africa’ before a talented young lady named Teihgan steps out from their ranks to deliver a very strong lead-vocal on ‘Purple Rain’.

Many of the songs on the set-list are combined seamlessly into medleys to fit with the orchestration and happily, Symphonix mostly steer well clear of regurgitating the over-played cliches of the classic rock catalogue from the last century and instead liberally sprinkle in more contemporary numbers from bands like Coldplay and The Killers alongside a quite stunning montage from Muse. They’re also not afraid to give the rock orchestra treatment to a condensed selection of dance classics such as ‘Le Freak’, ‘Lady Marmalade’ and ‘Titanium’, with Teihgan again taking centre-stage, and even a hardened “disco sucks” grouch like me was impressed with how well it actually worked.

The finale is a striking symphony incorporating music from Rage Against the Machine, Blur, Metallica, Nirvana, AC/DC and White Stripes amongst others, which prompts a suitably theatrical standing ovation from a genuinely impressed audience. This was actually their second sold-out show of the day and I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the fans from the matinee performance had hidden in the toilets to sneak back in for another shot.

Musically, there’s a lot going on at any given time on-stage but it is very skilfully done. It is also a visually attractive spectacle, enhanced on this occasion by performing in Old Saint Paul’s Church which dates back to 1689 and is both atmospheric and acoustically stunning.

Symphonix Rock Orchestra was launched last year with a performance at the Barrowland Ballroom in Glasgow’s East End. They don’t perform often, which is perhaps understandable given the logistics and the fact that the actual performers are in high-demand for a variety of musical endeavours, but they are due to perform shows at The Gaiety Theatre, Ayr and Eastwood Park Theatre, Giffnock in the next few weeks so, if you fancy rocking out in a slightly different way, you should do yourself a favour and get along to support one of Scotland’s new musical national treasures, if you possibly can.