Take your typical rock band – guitar, keyboard, bass, drums and vocals – and replace the guitar and keyboard with a string quartet and – voila! – you have:
The Classical Rock Show!
This show features the Mannheim Virtuosi String Quartet (MVSQ), performing on acoustic and electric instruments, with Ross Daly on 4 and 5-string violins and viola, Angela Cox-Daly on violins, Andrea Weber Steckly on 4 and 6-string violins and Cathy Anderson on cellos. Completing this phenomenal band, we have Robert Laporte on drums and lead vocals, and Andrew Dolson on guitar and lead vocals. The string quartet also provides backup vocals when needed. Special guests are added to the show as required.
From Aerosmith to Zeppelin, The Classical Rock Shows covers your favourite classic rock hits from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. They also cover other styles including Disco, Pop, Funk, Bluegrass, Jazz and Blues to name a few, and have a wonderful Christmas show: A Jazzy Little Christmas!
The Classical Rock Show can perform as:
- 2-piece: 2 Violins
- 3-piece:2 Violins & Cello
- 4-Piece: String Quartet (2 Violins, Viola & Cello)
- 5-Piece: String Quartet with Drums (vocals optional)
- 6-Piece: String Quartet with Drums and Guitar (with vocals)
- Larger Band: add special guests as required
Angela & Ross: Electric Violins |
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Video Samples:
Here is a highlight video of live outdoor concerts in 2022 & 2023 at Rockway Gardens, Kitchener, Ontario
0:00 – 1:16 Turn the Beat Around
1:16 – 2:21 Eye Of The Tiger
2:21 – 3:01 Under My Thumb
3:01 – 3:38 Let’s Spend The Night Together
3:38 – 4:21 Moondance
4:21 – 4:48 Over The Rainbow
4:48 – 5:29 Thunderstruck
5:29 – 5:49 Sweet Caroline
5:49 – 7:12 Roll Over Beethoven
Below are some video clips from a performance at the Meaford Concert Hall (Meaford, Ontario). This particular show called for a string quartet and drums only and performed a wide variety of styles of music. Enjoy!
Eleanor Rigby (The Beatles)
Meet The Band:
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Angela Cox-Daly
Violin (acoustic & electric) See: Angela Cox-Daly |
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Ross Daly
Viola, Violin (acoustic & electric) See: Ross Daly |
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Andrea Weber Steckly
Violin (acoustic & electric) See: Andrea Weber Steckly |
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Bruce Skelton
Violin (acoustic & electric) Bruce studied at the University of Michigan where he obtained his Bachelor of Music in Performance, studying with Jacob Krachmalnick. In addition to his work playing and managing The Leith Quartet, he regularly freelances in the Kitchener-Waterloo area and leads a very active teaching career, both in private lessons as well as with the K-W Community String School. |
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Cathy Anderson
Cello (acoustic & electric) See: Cathy Anderson |
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Ben Bolt-Martin
Cello (acoustic & electric) Ben is a graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University (1996) in orchestral performance, studying with Paul Pulford of the Penderecki Quartet and also of the University of Western Ontario (2004), studying with Tom Wiebe of the Duke Trio. He has also studied with Wolfgang Laufer of the Fine Arts Quartet and Bryan Epperson of the Canadian Opera Company orchestra. Ben is principal cello with the Stratford Shakespearean Festival of Canada, plays with the Festival Quartet of Stratford and is director of Instrumental Chamber Ensembles at University of Waterloo. Ben has recorded incidental music for numerous stage productions, primarily for the Stratford Festival, but also for Shaw, the Grand Theatre (London, Ontario) and Walnut St. Theatre (Philadelphia). He is featured on The Glass Menagerie/Orpheus Descending: Theatre Music of Marc Desormeaux and Every Three Children — For the Children of Africa by Carol Ann Weaver and most recently Notes Towards featuring the music of Timothy Corlis, Leonard Enns and Heather Dawn Taves. |
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Adam Bowman
Drums & Percussion Adam has been a mainstay in both the Canadian and international music scenes for more than two decades. As a touring musician, Adam has been heard on stages across five continents with artists such as Juno-award winners Kellylee Evans and Carlos Morgan, Canadian independent music trail blazer Ember Swift, improvising guru VINX and country-folk songstress Dawn Langstroth, among many others. In the studio, Adam has become the drummer of choice for producers and songwriters on a variety of recordings. 2015 saw Juno-nominations for Eccodek’s Singing in Tongues album, and Alysha Brilla’s Womyn album. In 2018, Alysha’s Rooted album received another nod. Currently, Adam can be heard playing with Elise LeGrow, John Orpheus, Jeff Eager and as part of the Nights of Grief and Mystery ensemble featuring Gregory Hoskins and Stephen Jenkinson. Adam also provides percussive and electronic accompaniment for modern and contemporary dance classes with IMAGEO artworks & Dancetheatre David Earle. As a teacher and facilitator, Adam works with several community organizations including the New Horizons Band for seniors, and the not-for-profit organization Art Not Shame working at the intersection of creative expression and mental well-being. He has spearheaded his own FunkBucket program, featuring bucket drumming experiences in high schools, universities, festivals, classes for adults and other private functions. Adam is currently the drumset instructor at The University Of Guelph. Career Highlights and Notable Performances
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Robert Laporte
Drums, Percussion & Lead Vocals Robert “Rock” Laporte was fortunate to be born in Windsor, Ontario; a hotbed of live music and the biggest names in entertainment (Jazz/Motown, Rock and Roll, Blues, Psychedelic, R&B) that were appearing in Windsor and Detroit theatres, clubs, and concert halls. A career in music was always in the cards for Robert. He fell in love with music as a small child and picked up the drumsticks in 1967. Practice/practice continued and he joined a high school immediately. He played regularly in the Detroit and Windsor and all over Ontario with bands Sardonicus and Wynbridge, both classic rock vocal groups. They soon backed Detroit bands Teegarden and Van Winkle, and Bob Seger’s Silver Bullet Band, in 1975. Robert relocated Wynbridge to Toronto in 1976, joined IBM Canada in 1978 and enjoyed a long career, and immediately went back full time to music after retiring in 2011 from IT. He continues to celebrate his passion and is in his fiftieth year of playing drums, singing; being in bands. Also songwriting and a self – published book of Poetry (Off the Top of my Head(2015)). He continues to play weekly with talented local musicians in the GTA/HGA. He also enjoys being asked to sit in to drum, sing or play percussion with local acts, and mentoring the next generation of talent. |
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Andrew Dolson
Lead Vocals & Guitar (when we let him play it!) Twenty-six-year-old Andrew Dolson is a singer and guitarist from Waterloo, Ontario. He discovered his passion for guitar and music in high school and graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University with a music degree in both classical guitar and vocals. In 2016 Andrew began singing and playing with Liona Boyd who invited him to be her new musical partner. They launched their duo by performing at a fundraising gala for the Toronto Wildlife Center, followed by a Christmas tour and have been performing across Canada ever since. Earlier this year Liona and Andrew performed at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach. The story of how Liona discovered Andrew by messaging him when he was who was halfway up a cliff in Milton is yet another fascinating anecdote from Liona’s autobiography. |
Sample Song List – Classic Rock Artists & Bands: There are many more tunes on the list!
| Aerosmith: | Back In The Saddle Dream On Sweet Emotion Walk This Way |
| Animals, The: | C. C. Rider House Of The Rising Sun |
| Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO): | Roll On Down The Highway Takin’ Care Of Business You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet |
| Beatles, The: | Come Together Hard Day’s Night, A Eleanor Rigby I Saw Her Standing There Penny Lane Something Strawberry Fields Forever |
| Ben E. King: | Stand By Me |
| Bill Withers: | Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s Gone |
| Billy Idol: | Mony Mony |
| Billy Joel: | Honesty It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me Piano Man |
| Blood, Sweat & Tears: | Spinning Wheel |
| Bob Seger: | Old Time Rock ‘n Roll |
| Boz Scaggs: | Boz Scaggs |
| Carole King: | Tapestry |
| Cat Stevens: | Another Saturday Night First Cut Is The Deepest, The Moonshadow Morning Has Broken |
| Cheap Trick: | I Want You To Want Me Surrender |
| Cold Play: | Scientist, The Viva La Vida Yellow |
| Cream: | Sunshine Of Your Love |
| Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR): | Bad Moon Rising Born On The Bayou Proud Mary Susie-Q |
| Deep Purple: | Smoke On The Water |
| Doobie Brothers, The: | Listen To The Music |
| Doors, The: | Light My Fire |
| Eagles: | Hotel California New Kid In Town Victim Of Love |
| Electric Light Orchestra (ELO): | Evil Woman |
| Elton John: | Bennie And The Jets |
| Eric Clapton: | I Shot The Sheriff Tears In Heaven Wonderful Tonight |
| Eurhythmics: | Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) |
| Grand Funk Railroad: | Some Kind Of Wonderful |
| Guess Who, The: | American Woman These Eyes |
| James Gang, The: | Funk #49 |
| James Taylor: | Fire And Rain |
| Jim Croce: | Bad, Bad Leroy Brown Time In A Bottle |
| Jimi Hendrix: | Purple Haze |
| Joan Jett & The Blackhearts: | I Love Rock ‘n Roll |
| John Cougar Mellencamp: | Hurts So Good |
| John Lennon with The Plastic Ono Band: | Imagine |
| Kansas: | Dust In The Wind |
| KC & The Sunshine Band: | Play That Funky Music White Boy |
| Kiss: | Rock An Roll All Nite |
| Led Zeppelin: | Stairway To Heaven |
| Lynyrd Skynyrd: | Sweet Home Alabama |
| Marvin Gaye: | I heard It Through The Grapevine |
| Monkees: | I’m A Believer |
| Moody Blues, The: | Nights In White Satin |
| Neil Diamond: | Sweet Caroline |
| Otis Redding: | (Sittin’ On The) Dock Of The Bay |
| Police, The: | Every Breath You Take Message In A Bottle Roxanne |
| Procul Harum: | A Whiter Shade Of Pale |
| Queen: | We Are The Champions We Will Rock You |
| Rod Stewart: | Forever Young Hot Legs Maggie May You’re In My Heart |
| Rolling Stones: | Brown Sugar Honky Tonk Woman Miss You |
| Roy Orbison: | Pretty Woman |
| Santana: | Black Magic Woman / Gypsy Queen |
| Spencer Davis Group: | Gimme Some Lovin’ |
| Steppenwolf: | Born To Be Wild Magic Carpet Ride |
| Steve Miller Band: | Joker, The Take The Money And Run |
| Stevie Wonder: | Superstition |
| Supertramp: | Breakfast In America Bloody Well Right Dreamer Give A Little Bit |
| Troggs, The: | Wild Thing |
| Van Morrison: | Brown Eyed Girl Moondance |
| Who, The: | Baba O’Riley |
| Wilson Pickett: | Midnight Hour Mustang Sally |
