Sting performs with The Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra at the Hartwall Arena on Friday.

THIS Friday 10 September sees celebrated British musician Sting performing with The Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra at Hartwall Arena.

Staged in support of the recent critical and commercial success of his album Symphonicities, the concert promises a selection of classical adaptations of some of the strongest songs from his back catalogue.

Winner of some 16 Grammy Awards throughout his distinguished career, Sting initially became known as the front man for new wave trio The Police in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Releasing five studio albums, the outfit swiftly became one of the most popular bands in the world, with the explosive chemistry of its members accounting for such smash hits as Roxanne, Message in a Bottle and Every Breath You Take. At the peak of the band’s popularity, the band went on hiatus; lasting until 2007 when they returned for a hugely successful world tour.

After releasing his first solo album The Dream of the Blue Turtles in 1985, Sting has gone on to record a further nine studio albums, punctuated with a number of live records and compilations. Known also for his involvement in charity work, he is a passionate supporter of Amnesty International and also founded the Rainforest Foundation Fund to help preserve the rainforests for future generations, as well as protecting the rights of indigenous peoples living in the Amazon.

No stranger to revisiting old material, his current album joins a number of previous reinterpretations of his own work throughout his career, including a Spanish and Portuguese language album, alongside guest appearances in a number of rap and pop singles that have sampled his original hits.

JAMES O’SULLIVAN
HELSINKI TIMES