WINGER Frontman Featured In Symphony Magazine Interview - "I’ve Been Working In This Direction For Many Years"
October 21, 2009, 14 years ago
WINGER frontman Kip Winger is featured in a new article found in the September / October edition of Symphony Magazine. It is available below:
New Voices
Dylan Thomas Songs is one of three big, imaginative commissions scheduled for the Tucson Symphony’s 2009-10 season.
The eyebrow-raiser of the group is Ghosts, a piece by rocker Kip Winger scheduled for its world premiere on November 14, 2009. Winger doesn’t fit the typical profile of the symphonic composer; he’s founder and front man of the band Winger (1987-94, reformed in 2006), who also was lead singer of the Alan Parsons Project and, earlier, a bass player in Alice Cooper’s band.
But then, there’s not much about Winger that is typical. He has performed as a dancer, and says he originally wrote Ghosts as a work for ballet, “specifically for the choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, formerly of New York City Ballet and currently the director of his own company, Morphoses.” (The world premiere of the ballet version of Ghosts is set for February 9, 2010 at the San Francisco Ballet.)
Meanwhile, Winger explains, the Tucson Symphony’s composer-in-residence, Dan Coleman, had gotten a copy of the Ghosts score and showed it to Music Director George Hanson, who liked it and scheduled the 2009 world premiere. Because Winger has performed as a dancer, that kinetic experience led him to “imagine dance” as he was writing the music. And although he’s most famous as a rock musician, he says this new work isn’t really a departure for him. “I’ve been working in this direction for many years,” says Winger. “Given my professional background in pop music, I never had the time to go to school for composition. My approach was to study privately with various composers throughout the years, similar to the way it was done before the institution of music conservatories. I believe that different styles of music can co-exist—one can actually inspire another. I’m increasingly interested in orchestral music because of the vast landscape of emotion I can create.”
The world premiere of Ghosts music will be with the Tucson Symphony November 14th and 15th, 2009. Check out www.tucsonsymphony.org for information. 'Ghosts' is taken from Kip Winger's latest solo album, From The Moon To The Sun, released in 2008.
As previosuly reported, four clips from the band's new album, Karma, on his official MySpace page. Go to this location to check out the tracks 'Deal With The Devil', 'Pull Me Under', 'Witness' and 'Stone Cold Killer'.
Winger's forthcoming European tour in support to the new album’s release is as follows:
November
20 - Roma, Italy - Crossroads21 - Pinarella di Cervia (RA), Italy - Rock Planet
22 - Pavia, Italy - Thunder Road
24 - Paris, France - Maroquinerie
25 - Verviers, Belgium - Spirit of '66
26 - Weert, Holland - Bosuil
27 - Moscow, Russia - Plan B
28 - Ufa, Russia - Rock Club
30 - Ioannina, Greece - Venue TBA
December
1 - Athens, Greece - Gagarin (TBC)3 - Thessaloniki, Greece - Venue TBA
4 - Copenhagen, Denmark - The Rock
6 - Warsaw, Poland - Progresja
7 - Prague, Czech Republic - Exit/tbc
8 - Wien, Austria - Venue TBC
9 - Budapest, Hungary - A38
11 - Worblaufen, Switzerland - Tibis
12 - Madrid, Spain - Ritmo y Compas
March
22 - Bristol, England - O2 Academy 223 - Portsmouth, England - Wedgewood Rooms
24 - Manchester, England - Academy 3
26 - Dudley, England - JB’s
27 - Belfast, Ireland - Spring & Airbrake
28 - Glasgow, Scotland - Cathouse
30 - Newcastle, England - O2 Academy2
31 - Leeds, England - Rio’s
April
2 - Sheffield, England - Corporation4 - London, England - Islington O2 Academy
