When the touring show “Beatles vs. Stones – A Musical Shoot Out” comes to the Arlington Music Hall at 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 2, the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts String Quartet will join the professional musicians on stage to add some orchestral texture to the evening.
The show pits Rolling Stones tribute band Jumping Jack Flash against rival Brit boys Abbey Road in an all-out musical showdown for rock dominance. The string quartet will perform seven songs with the bands.
Booker T. Washington High students Messiah Ahmed (Violin I), Diana Zavala (Violin II), Damian Garcia (Cello) and Molly Martinez (Viola) will join the bands for the songs “Eleanor Rigby,” “Yesterday,” “A Day in the Life,” “Hello Goodbye,””Hey Jude,” “As Tears Go By,” and “Ruby Tuesday.”
In addition to performing with the school’s Varsity String Orchestra, all quartet members play with the Dallas Symphony Young Strings Program and the Dallas Regional All-Honors Orchestra. The young musicians have received consistently superior ratings at the state level of solo and ensemble competitions.
The producers of “Beatles vs. Stones” approached Booker T. Washington High Director of Orchestras Michael Jacko looking for a talented ensemble which could hold their own with a rock band in front of an audience. The show commonly uses a local quartet to augment the production while on tour.
