VIDEO: Jon Anderson of YES Performs With CYO

Jon Anderson has recorded about 30 albums as a member of the British progressive rock band Yes and as a solo artist, and he’s appeared on many more albums – and the albums he has made have sold around 40-million copies. Anderson’s voice, a naturally high tenor, is one of the most distinctive in rock history. And he’s hanging around in Cleveland right now, for a full week.

He performed in Cleveland in 2004 as guest artist with the Contemporary Youth Orchestra as part of CYO’s Rock the Orchestra series – the annual concert CYO performs that is dedicated to the music of a rock artist. Others CYO has worked with in the 10-year-old series include Graham Nash, Styx and Pat Benatar. Anderson returns to do a second concert with CYO on Mon 5/24‘, called State of Independence, featuring 19 of Anderson’s songs, four of which will be world premieres.

The concert takes place at 8PM at Severance Hall – CYO’s first appearance there. For tickets, call 216-231-1111 or visit http://www.clevelandorchestra.com. The concert will be taped for a concert special to be broadcast on HDNet in the fall, and for release on CD and DVD. Cool Cleveland correspondent David Budin met with Anderson this week, before rehearsals began, to talk about the concert, music education and other topics close to Anderson’s heart.

Watch video interview with Jon Anderson here