Roll over, Beethoven, BPO's rockin'

The Buffalo News

By Tom Buckham
News Staff Reporter

After what happened Tuesday in Kleinhans Music Hall, Beethoven must really be rolling over.
Surrounded by frenzied Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra fans, three shirtless guys stood up in the balcony to mug for the camera – the letters B, P and O painted on their chests – while the rock anthem "Hey" thumped over the sound system.
Down below, a white-haired Philharmonic aficionado in a tuxedo dived from the stage into a group of beefy mosh dancers who then passed him overhead. 
So the temple of Mozart and Mendelssohn has come to this?
Relax, Philharmonic patrons.
Stop spinning in your grave, Ludwig.
It was only make-believe – advertising executive James A. Gillan's scheme to broaden the orchestra's audience appeal by mixing elements of a Bills home game, a rock concert and a Philharmonic program in television ads that will begin airing August 15.
Gillan, president and creative director of Paragon Advertising, pitched the idea to the Philharmonic months ago.  He also volunteered his services.
"The idea was to present the orchestra and the concert-going experience as something for people of all ages and musical tastes in a way nobody would expect," Gillan said.
"We loved it," said Melissa Mertz, Philharmonic marketing co-director.
In June the musicians were filmed playing an orchestral version of "Hey," the one-word wonder from Rock 'n' Roll Part 2, a 1972 album by Gary Glitter.
It is often heard in sports arenas, piped over the sound system to pump up the home crowd during pauses in the action.
Sporting hats and sunglasses, the musicians hammed it up for the camera.  Bass fiddles spun, and the brass section rocked in unison.
For the audience segments, Gillan got radio station 97 Rock, whose deejay Larry Norton stars in the ads, to broadcast a call for extras.  About 400 people braved afternoon rainstorms to clap and cheer for the BPO, without pay.  After the filming by Keystone Productions, they were treated to beer.
Gillan said he wants the 60-second and 30-second spots to have the look of a music video.
"The whole thing has been hilarious," said Joseph E. Goodell, Philharmonic executive director, chuckling over the action in the Kleinhans mosh pit.
The Philharmonic may be on to something.  At a recent orchestra league conference, Ms. Mertz said, four other orchestras asked to borrow the ads to use as their own public service announcements.
But will the spots sell tickets, helping the orchestra continue to bounce back from its recent financial troubles?
"Hey," you never know.