Mercury Soul · Combining Classical Music And Electronica

Sights and Sounds from the Underground

4-22-22 Mercury Soul @ Saint Joseph's Society for the Arts

About

Mercury Soul’s events spectacularly merge club culture and classical music in stunning spaces with world-class production. Whether presenting ‘godfather of techno’ Juan Atkins with a string orchestra at a club or exploring the history of ambient music in a cathedral, Mercury Soul brings diverse audiences together in fluid, social environments.

Anchored by its San Francisco club series, Mercury Soul also produces events around the country with organizations such as the Chicago Symphony and the New World Symphony. This California nonprofit also runs an education program that brings teenagers into kinetic shows to experience classical music and DJs. As a production consultant to arts organizations such as the DeYoung Museum or California Symphony, Mercury Soul builds creative digital content for new audiences.

What we do

Mercury Soul engages a new generation of music-lovers through performances combining classical music and electronica in alternative venues with immersive stagecraft and elaborate production.

In The Press

“[Mercury Soul] aims to present ‘classical music in new ways to a new generation.’ Pairing the orchestra with electronic music and bringing both to new audiences is a noble pursuit, and Bates… should be applauded.”

WASHINGTON POST

“Mercury Soul brings classical music into [the club], blending it in with the beats of DJs, and making it relevant to the club crowd. The encounter of the old with the new worked seamlessly.”

SFIST

“At a time when symphony orchestras nationwide are trolling for audience magnets — the type of new material that can lure members of generations X & Y along with older subscribers — Bates just might have that bait.”

THE LOS ANGELES TIMES

“In spite of his young age, one can already perceive in Shwartz the lineage of the true ‘maestros.’”

THE MIAMI HERALD

“Patterson’s visual additions were at once properly subdued and brilliant, elevating music and text into a complete and sensory experience.”

THE ATLANTA CONSTITION-JOURNAL

“Many artists in one of these worlds have dabbled in the other. But Bates is the first to carry on two careers in tandem, and win credibility in both arenas.”

SYMPHONY MAGAZINE