Sting plays his song "Shape Of My Heart" live in concert with the San Francisco Symphony before a sold-out crowd at Davies Symphony Hall on February 15, 2024. Shape Of My Heart appeared on Sting's fourth solo album, Ten Summoner's Tales (1993), with a new version released on his album My Songs (2019). Sting is a Grammy Award winning British singer-songwriter from Newcastle, England who was a founding member of the band The Police. This was one of only a handful of shows Sting is playing with symphony orchestras, including an upcoming show with the Philadelphia Orchestra on March 8 and 9. Joining him onstage were Edwin Outwater (conductor), Rob Mathes (music director, piano, and keyboards), Wyatt Underhill (concertmaster / violin), Ben Butler (guitar), Kaveh Rastegar (bass), Nate Laguzza (drums), and the musicians of the San Francisco Symphony.
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Shape Of My Heart lyrics:
He deals the cards as a meditation
And those he plays never suspect
He doesn't play for the money he wins
He don't play for respect
He deals the cards to find the answer
The sacred geometry of chance
The hidden law of a probable outcome
The numbers lead a dance
I know that the spades are the swords of a soldier
I know that the clubs are weapons of war
I know that diamonds mean money for this art
But that's not the shape of my heart
He may play the jack of diamonds
He may lay the queen of spades
He may conceal a king in his hand
While a memory of it fades
I know that the spades are the swords of a soldier
I know that the clubs are weapons of war
I know that diamonds mean money for this art
But that's not the shape of my heart
That's not the shape, shape of my heart
And if I told you that I loved you
You'd maybe think there's something wrong
I'm not a man of too many faces
The mask I wear is one
But those who speak know nothing
And find out to their cost
Like those who curse their luck in too many places
And those who fear are lost
I know that the spades are the swords of a soldier
I know that the clubs are weapons of war
I know that diamonds mean money for this art
But that's not the shape of my heart
That's not the shape of my heart
That's not the shape, the shape of my heart
Written by Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner a/k/a Sting / Dominic James Miller
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Sting official bio:
Composer, singer-songwriter, actor, author, and activist Sting was born in Newcastle, England, before moving to London in 1977 to form the Police with Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers. The band released five studio albums, earned six Grammy Awards and two BRIT Awards, and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2003.
One of the world’s most distinctive solo artists, Sting, managed by Martin Kierszenbaum/Cherrytree Music Company, has received an additional 11 Grammy Awards, two BRIT Awards, a Golden Globe, an Emmy, four Oscar nominations, a Tony nomination, Billboard Magazine’s Century Award, and MusiCares 2004 Person of the Year. In 2003 he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for his contributions to music. Also a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, he has received the Kennedy Center Honors, American Music Award of Merit, and Polar Music Prize. Sting has been awarded honorary doctorates of music by the University of Northumbria, Berklee College of Music, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, and Brown University at its 250th commencement ceremony. Throughout his illustrious career, Sting has sold 100 million albums from his combined work with the Police and as a solo artist.
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Edwin Outwater official bio:
Edwin Outwater regularly works with the world’s top orchestras, institutions, and artists to reinvent the concert experience. His ability to cross genres has led to collaborations with Metallica, Wynton Marsalis, Renée Fleming, and Yo-Yo Ma. He is music director of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and music director laureate of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony.
Recent appearances include performances with New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, Seattle Symphony, and the New World Symphony, as well as the Royal Philharmonic in a multi-concert series opening the Steinmetz Hall in Florida. He also served as a producer and musical advisor for the National Symphony Orchestra’s 50th Anniversary Concert at the Kennedy Center. In December 2022, he premiered A Christmas Gaiety at the Royal Albert Hall with Peaches Christ and BBC Concert Orchestra.
Mr. Outwater holds a long association with San Francisco Symphony since making his debut in November 2001. In the 2022-23 season, he led the first Symphony performances of Gabriel Kahane’s emergency shelter intake form in collaboration with the composer and a program with Seth MacFarlane. He was formerly San Francisco Symphony Resident Conductor, Director of Summer Concerts, and Music Director of San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra.