Last week, Trey Anastasio revived his orchestral live show with a performance alongside the Nashville Symphony Orchestra at Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Structured much like his performances with Phish and Trey Anastasio Band, the show was comprised of two sets and an encore, and included symphonic renderings of some of his greatest compositions. But while his musical tastes are notably diverse and stylistically broad, Anastasio’s educational background lies in classical composition. Since 2001, the Phish guitarist has worked with a several highly-regarded symphonies nationwide, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, and the National Symphony Orchestra, composing orchestral arrangements of his Phish material and leading the ensembles on guitar.
Most recently, in the Fall of 2014, Trey performed a series of orchestral concerts to showcase his newest composition, “Petrichor,” which has since been adapted for the Phish canon (on 2016’s Big Boat) and served as the centerpiece for the 2016-2017 New Year’s Gag. Trey Anastasio returned to the song’s roots for Thursday night’s show with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra for a 15+ minute “Petrichor.” Thrilled with the outcome of last week’s orchestral performance, Trey Anastasio has shared a recording of “Petrichor” on Facebook with the following note:
“Many thanks to conductor Steven Reinike, my dear friend orchestrator and arranger Don Hart, Nashville Symphony, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and to all the people who came out and made these last two orchestral shows so special! Thank you!
Unfortunately, I’m unable to share recordings of these performances, but I would like to share the orchestral recording of ‘Petrichor.'”