NEW ORLEANS (NOLA NOW) - After winning a Grammy for the first time ever, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra is reaching a whole new audience.
The LPO won the prize for “Best Regional Roots Music Album,” thanks to a live collaboration with the Lost Bayou Ramblers.
“I think it’s the ultimate stamp of approval. You’re receiving an accolade from your peers,” said Anwar Nasir, LPO Executive Director. “And for us, as the LPO, we want to be the orchestra of this community, of this region. So to win in that category is really special for us.”
Nasir says being the orchestra of this community means reaching new ears with its music.
“What we have here in New Orleans, and in the state as a whole, is just a rich tradition in the history of music,” Nasir said. “So we wanted to make sure that the artists from here don’t feel like they have to go and leave New Orleans or leave the city or the state to have their music played with an orchestra.”
ADVERTISEMENT
It’s a bold vision that has led to genre-bending collaborations with local artists like Tank and the Bangas and Dawn Richard, and this season, the LPO’s symphonic sounds will blend with more New Orleans talent.
“I’ve always been like, man, like, I wonder what I would look like in front of an orchestra,” New Orleans rapper Alfred Banks said.
Banks, a Grammy-nominated New Orleans rapper, will soon make his debut with the orchestra in May.
“It’s a dream come true. I’ve always wanted to do this, and I’ve always felt that I was capable of doing it and ready to do it,” Banks said. “So finally, I’m just glad it’s happening in this very this form of my career and my life.”
For more than a decade, Banks has captured crowds with his catchy lyrics across the country and here at home. But now the rapper says he’s ready to bring New Orleans hip-hop to a brand new stage.
ADVERTISEMENT
“It’s going to be me baring my soul in a lot of ways. And also, we’re going to dance, we’re going to have fun, you know? I mean, so that is going to be it’s going to be all the gantlet of emotions. So it should be a good time for sure,” Banks said.
Merging his authentic voice with classical arrangements of his rap songs, Banks hopes his performance helps break barriers between two very different worlds of music.
“Some of the people that go to these shows that have no idea who I am and don’t listen to hip-hop and getting exposed to hip-hop for the first time,” Banks said. That’s what I’m looking forward to.”
Last year, Big Freedia became the first bounce artist to perform with the orchestra, and this season, the “Queen Diva” returns for an encore.
“Everybody knows who Big Freedia is, and I think that we had kind of shown and proved that we can create something that’s really magical and be a little bit more adventurous,” Nasir said. “We want to make sure that people are seeing what we’re doing in these collaborations with the Alfred Banks, with the big Freedia’s, but also that we can do that and still do Tchaikovsky and Brahms and Beethoven. So that way people understand that an orchestra in this day and age can be something to all people.”
Nasir says the LPO will continue to bounce along with its goal to educate through music and connect with diverse audiences.
“I think that for us, you know, we’re a city that’s known for music and have always been known for music. So for the lpo is really thinking about how do we continue to grow and be seen as a part of the overall cultural fabric of the city,” Nasir said. “Just to be there for everyone to be able to laugh, to cry, to feel the goodness that music can do for the soul.”
Visit the LPO’s website for upcoming events and performances.
Copyright 2024 WVUE. All rights reserved.