Ben Folds with yMusic

Dynamic pianist, bandleader, arranger, producer, composer, stadium-filler, and televised vocal judicator: Ben Folds isn’t a traditional pop headliner. His latest album, So There, is a refreshing release succinctly divided between eight “chamber rock” tunes – written and arranged with alt-chamber instigators yMusic – and Folds’ original 21-minute “Concerto for Piano and Orchestra,” co-commissioned by the Nashville Ballet and the Minnesota Orchestra.

No stranger to collaborations with eccentric, creative powerhouses, the New York-based 6-piece yMusic’s “flexibility … puts them at the forefront of a rapidly changing performance culture. The group has set the bar high” (New York Times). Audience-goers may recognize floutist Alex Sopp, also of The Knights, and violinist Rob Moose, who joined Gabriel Kahane last summer in Caramoor’s Venetian Theater and has performed with Orchestra of St. Luke’s.

“For Folds, who constantly hones his craft by taking unexpected paths, So There extends a career-long flirtation with modern orchestral composition to its logical next step.” – NPR