Special symphony, special singer

Tonight will be a chance to see System of a Down's Serj Tankian in a way you may never have before.

Already known for bucking convention on stage, Tankian takes a new route with his concert film, "Elect the Dead" (Cinema Purgatorio).

Cinebarre's one-time showing in multiple theaters, including the one at 963 Houston Northcutt Blvd. in Mount Pleasant, will be the first and only one throughout the Southeast.

For just over an hour, the Grammy award-winning singer reveals a performance from March 2009 of his debut solo album of the same name. Partnering with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, six HD cameras capture the interpretation of the album by a full, 70-piece orchestra.

"It's kind of an epic musical concert film," said Christina Callison of Cinebarre. "Backed by an orchestra, it provides a very interesting and overwhelming sense of his work. And that rock voice, that strong rock voice, coupled with not heavy metal, but this beautiful symphony, provides a take that I don't think his fans have gotten before.

"It's presented like a behind-the-scenes look," she said. "You see all the performing, but you see him behind the scenes preparing for it and talking about it, too. You're getting to see him as just this artist that is sharing with his audience what this is and why he's doing. It's more than just the music."

Tankian rearranged all his music for the orchestra.

"I did not want to take away the frequencies of the strings with the high guitars, nor the depth of the cellos, bass and timpani with drums," Tankian said.

"I've seen many bands perform with orchestras, and it's not always special because they're playing their song the same way they would, and the orchestra is generally used as a glorified synthesizer. Not this time."

He wrote the music for the primary cello, viola, violin one and two and a brass melody. Then he collaborated with a Kiwi orchestrator, John Psathas, to coordinate all the arrangements for full orchestra.

"To do this, I had to strip down my tracks back to just piano and vocals or acoustic guitar and vocals and build everything back on with orchestral instruments. It took a long time but was well worth it," he said.

Along the way, he said he faced challenges he's never dealt with before as a rock performer.

"Hearing the one (start beat) of each bar performing with the orchestra," he cited as a challenge. "Most people don't realize that because the orchestra is a large body of musicians spaced over a large graduated stage, each sound in the orchestra reaches certain parts of the stage at different times. That was something to get used to. It makes you appreciate the job of the conductor."

By the end of the project, Tankian said he grew to appreciate more than just the conductor.

"Writing for orchestra allowed me to visualize and actualize more layers in the music," he said. "More harmonies, more dissonance, more dynamics. It has a lot more depth than writing with pop or rock instruments."

Tankian said his next solo recording will feature an orchestra. Additionally, he is writing a full classical/jazz symphony for release in 2011.

If you go

Who: Serj Tankian, singer with System of a Down.

What: 'Elect the Dead' Symphony concert film.

Where: Cinebarre, 963 Houston Northcutt Boulevard, Mount Pleasant.

When: One-night only screening at 8 p.m. today.

Tickets: Cash only; $8 at the door, $6 in advance (recommended). For advance tickets, contact christina@cinebarre.com or 628-1188.

More info: cinemapurgatorio.com or www.serjtankian.com.