Celebrity endorsement can be a stepping stone to success, especially in the social media era. A Toronto ensemble called Strings From Paris has caught the eye of another Toronto native, Drake, who reposted one of their TikTok videos.
The video covers his song Over, but with a difference. The ensemble of violinists and cellists took his hip-hop track and gave it a classical makeover. The results, and the reaction, speak for themselves. The TikTok video has been viewed over 1.9 million times. The Instagram version tops that at 2.8 million views.
While in-person attendance for traditional classical music is often a dicey undertaking, social media has revealed that the public — and a young demographic — has a taste for classical music sounds. One of the growing trends is to present a classical-ified version of a hit pop song.
Blurring The Genre Lines
The ensemble came together as a group of musicians trained in the classical tradition, but who wanted to explore the boundaries and break down genre barriers. They also looked to learn more about contemporary recording and production.
Strings From Paris was formed by violinist Aaron Paris in 2022. Along with Paris himself, the collective includes musicians Rhiannon Carter, Madeleine Kay, Brendan Rogers, Andrew Park and Adrian Irvine. The ensemble’s ultimate goal is to help make Toronto’s classical music scene more viable and accessible. That includes addressing the financial barriers preventing access to the expensive instruments required to work in the field. Their mandate is to cultivate a self-sustaining local classical music community that can spread far beyond its current borders, both musically and in terms of finding an audience.
“It’s a response to all the things I’ve seen wrong within classical culture and the things I’ve been trying to fight against my whole life — classical music being in this bubble that’s not open to change and evolving,” Aaron told The Toronto Star.
Certainly, the attention from the rap superstar hasn’t hurt their social media numbers, and has generated interest in their music.
“We’re besties with Drake now,” Paris joked.
Using the 30 to 60 second TikTok format, Strings From Paris has also covered Kendrick Lamar’s track Poetic Justic, as well as No Role Modelz by J. Cole, and Last Last by Burna Boy. So far, their strategy seems to be working. Both their upcoming concert dates on July 12 and 13 at the Spirit of York Distillery Co are, sadly, already sold out.
Will Drake lend his support to more classically trained artists in the future? We can only hope.
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