Watch David Perrico (Trumpet/Conductor of Pop Symphonic) as he's interviewed on WKBN Channel 27, Youngstown Ohio, discussing their upcoming concert featuring POP SYMPHONIC in collaboration with The Youngstown Symphony on Feb 14, 2024, 7:30pm @ Powers Auditorium, DeYor Performing Arts Center. In this interview, you'll hear Perrico talk about growing up in Youngstown, and what it's like to go home again!

Tickets to the concert are available NOW on the DeYor Performing Arts Center website:

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – David Perrico, the Las Vegas-based bandleader and director of the house band for the NFL’s Raiders, will return to Youngstown for his first hometown concert.

Perrico and 13 musicians and vocalists from his Pop Strings Orchestra will take center stage Feb. 14 at Powers Auditorium, accompanied by the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra.

Pop Strings, which performs regularly in the casino city, is known for its energetic orchestral versions of pop and rock songs. The Valentine’s Day concert will mark the first time Perrrico will bring the show to Youngstown – or any city.

The acclaimed trumpet player grew up on the West Side and graduated from Chaney High School and attended the Dana School of Music at Youngstown State University. He has lived in Las Vegas for 20 years, where he owns a music production company.

It’s been 30 years since he’s played in Youngstown – it was in his college years – although he did take part in the Tony Leonardi memorial concert in August at YSU. The late Leonardi was a well-known jazz professor at YSU and taught Perrico and countless other musicians.

Perrico is known for putting a Las Vegas spin on modern songs, using a 70-piece orchestra and at least a half-dozen vocalists.

“It’s a symphony that plays like a band,” he said in a phone interview. “We count off and go. It creates excitement, and it’s a lot of fun.”

For his Youngstown concert, which will start at 7:30 p.m., he will bring two singers, a rhythm section and a string section.

The set list of at least 17 songs will include a Bruno Mars medley, Bon Jovi’s “Living on a Prayer” and songs by AC/DC, Earth Wind & Fire, Michael Jackson, Led Zeppelin and the opera “Pagliacci,” among others.

He described what the audience can expect.

“We’ll get them comfortable with some familiar music in the first half,” he said. “In the second half, I will talk about Youngstown. I still consider it home. I live in Las Vegas, but a part of me is connected to Youngstown, and my family and friends are there.”

The highlight will be “Youngstown, SteelTown,” his seven-minute tribute to the city released last year. To see the video, click HERE.

Physical copies of Pop Strings music, including the album that includes “Youngstown, SteelTown,” will be available to purchase.

Perrico and YSO officials had been talking about doing the concert for a year. They hammered out the details when he was in town for the Leonardi concert.

Perrico has always maintained his connection to his hometown and said he’s thrilled for the opportunity.

“I stay in touch with a lot of people from Youngstown,” he said. “They visit me when they come out to Vegas. A lot came to Reynolds Hall [in Las Vegas] when we recorded the Youngstown song.

It will be the first time Perrico and his ensemble will travel to perform with a regional orchestra, but it likely won’t be the last. Perrico said he would like to make such appearances part of his plan going forward.

His is a style loosely based on that of Doc Severinsen, the former NBC bandleader and trumpeter who became famous in the ’70s as leader of “The Tonight Show” band. “He was one of my idols,” Perrico said. “I loved what he did his whole career as a soloist and conductor of pops concerts. The difference between mine and other pops orchestras is I’m doing bands like AC/DC and Journey, true to the originals but accentuated with my arrangements.”

In 1994, with his undergrad days at YSU drawing to a close, Perrico left Youngstown to go on the road with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. The stint was meant to be a temporary one, as a substitute for vacationing band members, but it became full time and was the start of his music career.

He and Pop Strings have since become a fixture in Las Vegas. The orchestra has maintained residencies at several major casino venues, including Caesars Palace and the MGM Grand, and also at the Smith Center for the Performing Arts. Perrico also owns DPG Enterprises, which employs 100 musicians and manages 20 bands.

With his instantly recognizable hat, Perrico performs at all Las Vegas Raiders games. Perched on a stage in the new team’s new Allegiant Stadium, he and his ensemble play for the crowd before the opening kickoff, at halftime and after every Raiders score.

Perrico and Pop Strings have performed at corporate events in Vegas with members of the team’s Raiderettes cheer squad.Tickets for the Youngstown concert range from $35 to $85 (plus applicable fees) and will go on sale Friday, Dec. 22, at the DeYor Performing Arts Centre box office, downtown; by phone at 330 259 9651; and online at experienceyourarts.org. Discounts are available for YSO season ticket holders and students.

Click the image above (or the button below) to watch the KTNV Las Vegas news story featuring 2 local, young singers who are getting the opportunity to perform on stage at The Smith Center alongside David Perrico & Pop Strings Orchestra at their Christmas Show this upcoming weekend, Dec 1st, 2023! 

David Perrico Pop Symphonic 70-piece rock symphony performing "Don't Stop Believin" featuring the Raiderettes! 7-14-23 The Smith Center Reynolds Hall Las Vegas.​

The David Perrico Pop Symphonic rocked out The Smith Center in downtown Las Vegas last Friday night, with some assistance from the Silver and Black.

Perrico, composer and showman for the 70 member group, serves as the leader of the Raiders House Band on gamedays – renewing the tradition of live musical stylings at Raiders games that dates back to the 1960s when Del Courtney formed the first Raiders band.

He has now branched out to create a rock-orchestra, The Pop Symphonic, which debuted in Reynolds Hall at Smith Center to a full crowd. During the performance, 34 Raiderettes made an appearance on stage for an Beethoven-esque rendition of "You Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC.

The orchestra was also fueled by a performance from three-time Super Bowl champion... <read more>

David Perrico's interview with Jillian Lopez on Las Vegas Now, discussing Pop Symphonic's  (68-piece featuring the Raiderettes) upcoming concert at The Smith Center on July 14th.

Get tickets here:

David Perrico & Raiderettes Director Tiphanie Mcniff were featured on The MORE SHOW Las Vegas on Thursday, June 1, as they talked about Pop Symphonic's upcoming performance at The Smith Center on July 14th. Click on the video to watch!

The Smith Center NEWS BLOG, originally posted 4/21/23

After 10 years of selling out Myron’s concerts with his Pop Strings Orchestra and its rollicking pop covers, “I’ve learned what works and what doesn’t work,” says acclaimed trumpeter-composer David Perrico.

For instance, Perrico — known nationally as music director for the Las Vegas Raiders — saw how audiences at his holiday show lit up at a surprise visit from the Raiders’ cheerleaders, the Raiderettes.

And when Perrico filmed a music video at The Smith Center’s spacious Reynolds Hall, he saw how glorious the stage looked when filled with a full symphony.
“Everyone was so jazzed about it,” he recalls. “I thought, ‘maybe we could do a show in here.’”

Building on this vision, Perrico will deliver an epic performance as he’s never done before on July 14 in Reynolds Hall.
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Transforming his traditional ensemble into the Pop Symphonic, Perrico’s large-scale show will feature a tremendous, 68-piece orchestra of top Las Vegas musicians – as well as eight powerhouse vocalists.

To thrill audiences of all musical tastes, the set list will span classical, pop, Latin, ‘70s and ‘80s rock and more, including hits by Foreigner, Elton John, Michael Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Beyoncé.

The show will also feature celebrity guests… Plus performances by all 32 of the Raiderettes led by Tiphanie McNiff.

“I want to keep this pure Vegas, and I want to give the audience something they can’t see at home,” Perrico says. “It’s a party. I want it to be fun.”

VIRTUOSOS, CELEBRITIES AND RAIDERETTES – OH MY

Perrico vows this show will feature Las Vegas’ most glittering talent.

His Pop Symphonic will showcase musicians who perform with headliners such as Rod Stewart, Shania Twain, Aerosmith and Andrea Bocelli.

“These are all virtuoso musicians,” Perrico assures.

Audiences will also enjoy surprise, big-name artists who have performed at Raiders games, he adds.

Bringing in the Raiderettes proved an easy decision, he notes, as he already customizes music for their dances at Allegiant Stadium.

“They like working with a live band — any dancer will say that,” Perrico says. “I also think the Raiderettes strengthens our presence of the Raiders in the community.”

MAKING CLASSICAL MUSIC FOR THE MASSES

Perrico keeps one goal in mind with his symphonic versions of rock and pop anthems.
He wants to make orchestral music accessible for the general public.

“When you start getting into heavier stuff like Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev, people appreciate it, but might not connect with it,” he explains.

So, he plans to pack his upcoming show with “songs that people can sing,” he says, including symphonic adaptations of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” and Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer.”

“My goal is to always connect with the audience,” he says. “This will be very high energy.”
Perrico hopes this will lead to an ongoing series of Pop Symphonic concerts, with themes spanning Disney, The Godfather and James Bond.

“I’m excited, the musicians are excited and the Raiderettes are excited to come together and have this really fun night of music,” he says.
David Perrico Pop Symphonic – Featuring the Raiderettes runs at 7:30 p.m. on July 14. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

Pop Symphonic in Jazziz Spring 2023 Issue. Click on the image above to view full-size!

​Original posted  on JAZZIZ Thursday, Jan 9, 2023
by MATT MICUCCI

Award-winning trumpeter/composer David Perrico introduces the world to his latest creation: the spectacular 68-piece orchestra Pop Symphonic.

Classically-trained trumpeter and award-winning conductor/composed/arranger David Perrico is one of the most in-demand musicians on the Los Angeles scene and has been wowing audiences with his bands, including his acclaimed Pop Strings Orchestra and as the Music Director of the NFL Las Vegas Raiders. With his latest album, Sidewalk, he introduces his latest creation, Pop Symphonic, a 68-piece orchestra including 60 of Las Vegas’s finest musicians and eight power-house vocalists.

This spectacular ensemble unleashes the muscular side of its sound on its powerful title track, a symphonic fusion of many genres including pop, jazz and classic rock, complete with stylistic nods to such greats as Chuck Mangione and Maynard Ferguson. This track, which you can hear via the player below, opens the album’s program of ten original compositions and orchestrations signed by Perrico himself, traversing a wide range of moods and emotions and written specifically for a 21st-century Pops Orchestra.
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David Perrico Pop Symphonic’s Sidewalk is available now and you can order it HERE. You can also find out more about the record in our recent JAZZIZ Podcast conversation with Perrico. Listen to it here.