The Beatles: Rock Band / 09.09.09

The Beatles: Rock Band Sing-Along to Premiere at Boston Pops 125th Season Opener Tonight

05-04-2010

Cambridge, Mass. – May 4, 2010 – Apple Corps, Ltd., MTV Games and Harmonix, the world’s leading developer of music-based games, today announced that a medley of some of The Beatles’ most iconic songs, set to visuals from The Beatles: Rock Band, will be featured as a sing-along to close each Boston Pops concert of the orchestra’s 125th season.

The Boston Pops’ 125th season kicks off tonight at Symphony Hall in Boston. The Opening Night concert, led by Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart, will celebrate the extraordinary career of Arthur Fieldler, revered Pops founder and conductor from 1930 to 1979. The concert ender will extend an interactive opportunity to the entire audience with a fully orchestrated sing-along featuring some of The Beatles’ iconic songs, synched to award-winning game graphics created by Harmonix for The Beatles: Rock Band, projected above the orchestra on the Pops’ 44-foot-wide screen. Tonight will feature a special performance from Harmonix employees, who will lead the audience in the inaugural performance of The Beatles: Rock Band Sing-Along.

The Beatles: Rock Band Sing-Along connects the present to the past. Arthur Fiedler was among the first to recognize the incredible musical force The Beatles would become. After returning from a trip to Liverpool in 1964, he began creating popular orchestra arrangements of Beatles songs for the Boston Pops, many of which were recorded for 1969’s Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops Play The Beatles.

The Beatles: Rock Band Sing-Along will feature beloved favorites “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band/With a Little Help From My Friends,” “Twist & Shout” and “Yellow Submarine.”

“We are honored to be a part of the Boston Pops historic 125th season,” said Eran Egozy, Harmonix co-founder and CTO. “This effort is bridging the past with the present by setting the iconic music of The Beatles, orchestrated by the Pops, to The Beatles: Rock Band visuals in one of the most celebrated halls in the world.” 
 
The Beatles: Rock Band, released in September 2009,marked the first time Apple Corps, along with EMI Music, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Harrisongs Ltd and Startling Music Ltd presented The Beatles’ music in an interactive video game format. The Beatles: Rock Band is published by MTV Games and developed by Harmonix, the world’s premier music video game company and creators of the best-selling Rock Band. In addition, Giles Martin, co-producer of The Beatles’ innovative LOVE album project, provided his expertise and served as Music Producer for this groundbreaking Beatles project.

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About Apple Corps. Ltd. Apple Corps Ltd. was founded by The Beatles in 1968 to look after the group’s own affairs. The London-based company has administered the catalogue of The Beatles releases of the 1960s that have sold to date more than 600 million records, tapes and CDs. Since the 1990s, Apple has piloted new Beatles projects that have become benchmarks for pioneering accomplishment and which have included The Beatles Anthology projects, the 28-million selling album The Beatles 1 and The Beatles LOVE show and CD. Further information on The Beatles’ projects can be found at www.thebeatles.com.

About MTV Networks MTV Networks, a division of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is one of the world’s leading creators of entertainment content, with brands that engage and connect diverse audiences across television, online, mobile, games, virtual worlds and consumer products. The company’s portfolio spans more than 150 television channels and 400 digital media properties worldwide, and includes MTV, VH1, CMT, Logo, Harmonix, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Nick Jr., TeenNick, AddictingGames, Neopets, COMEDY CENTRAL, SPIKE, TV Land, Atom, GameTrailers and Xfire.

About MTV Games MTV Games is dedicated to creating, marketing and publishing high-quality, innovative interactive products that are relevant to the MTV audience and complement the core values of the MTV Networks brands.

About Harmonix Music Systems, Inc. Harmonix Music Systems, Inc., based in Cambridge, MA, and established in 1995, is the leading developer of ground-breaking music-oriented videogames. Harmonix was founded by Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy, who formed the company to invent new ways for non-musicians to experience the unique joy that comes from making music and have pioneered music and rhythm gaming in the United States. For more information please visit: www.harmonixmusic.com.

© 2010 Harmonix Music Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Harmonix, Rock Band, Rock Band 2 and all related titles and logos are trademarks of Harmonix Music Systems, Inc., an MTV Networks company. Rock Band, Rock Band 2, and The Beatles: Rock Band are developed by Harmonix Music Systems, Inc. MTV: Music Television, MTV Games and all related titles and logos are trademarks of MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.