'Heroes Symphony' Honors David Bowie at This Year’s Glastonbury Festival

Legendary musician David Bowie will be honored at this year's Glastonbury Festival with a unique orchestral performance of Philip Glass' mid-1990s composition, Heroes Symphony. It is being billed as the first-ever classical music headliner at Glastonbury, the annual five-day contemporary arts festival held each summer in Somerset, England.

Glass originally wrote the piece as a tribute to Bowie's influential 1977 album "Heroes". The 45-minute "symphonic meditation" will be conducted by Charles Hazelwood and performed by his orchestra, Army of Generals, along with members of the British Paraorchestra. The concert will occur just before midnight at Glastonbury's Park Stage on June 25.

Festival organizer Emily Eavis shared her excitement for the upcoming event to the Belfast Telegraph, citing Bowie's turn-of-the-21st-century Glastonbury Festival appearance that is widely viewed as one of his finest performances:

"We are delighted that David Bowie's life will be celebrated by Glastonbury's first-ever classical music headliner." [...] "Bowie's performance of 'Heroes' in his 2000 'Pyramid' set was one of the all-time moments in our history and it just feels so right that we will relive it again on Saturday night through the brilliance of Philip Glass' symphony."

Glass' Heroes Symphony (a.k.a. Symphony No. 4, "Heroes") was recorded and released as an album by Dennis Russell Davies and the American Composers Orchestra in 1996. Glass previously premiered a Low Symphony (based on Bowie's other 1977 work, Low) in 1992.

After an impactful and prestigious career, Bowie died this past January after an unpublicized battle with liver cancer. The musician, artist and actor was 69 years old.

Glass told NME of his enthusiasm regarding the reverent tribute:

"When Charles told me of his plan to take my Heroes Symphony to Glastonbury, I was delighted. It's very exciting to think of it playing -- at the midnight hour -- out across the parkland; a true celebration of Bowie."

Below, listen to Bowie's "Blackstar" from his final album by the same name.

Glastonbury's Bowie display of Heroes Symphony will be accompanied by a custom laser light show from artist Chris Levine.

TagsDavid Bowie, Philip Glass, Glastonbury Festival, Charles Hazelwood, Army of Generals, British Paraorchestra, Blackstar