SMU music director Thomas Keck wanted to see his favorite drummer of the former ‘80s band The Police when he performed in Utah last year, but he missed his concert. So this year, he is going to get the chance to see Stewart Copeland perform with the SMU Meadows orchestra.

“I just always wanted to see it,” Keck said.

The SMU Meadows School of the Arts will be awarding its 2024 Meadows Award to Copeland. He will be leading the Meadows Symphony Orchestra in a rearrangement of some of his former band’s most popular songs, called “Police Deranged for Orchestra,” on the night of April 16 in the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, followed by a Q&A for SMU students on April 17.

“I can’t wait to join the Meadows Symphony Orchestra on stage,” Copeland stated in a press release.

Copeland is known not only for his work with The Police, but also for being a film composer. Some of the shows he has composed for include “South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut,” and “Rumble Fish.”

When it comes to songs by The Police, “Stewart has taken these hit songs and adapted them for orchestras,” John Bryant, an adjunct assistant professor of drumset studies at SMU discussed.

Copeland will receive the Meadows Award to honor his musical contributions and ability to make his music easily adaptable to other genres, such as symphony orchestras.

“The Meadows School is recognizing Stewart Copeland with the Meadows Award not only because of his prodigious gifts as a musician and composer, but also because of the unfailing dedication to artistic innovation and experimentation that has fueled his multidisciplinary career for nearly five decades,” Samuel S. Holland, Algur H. Meadows dean at the Meadows School of the Arts, stated in a press release.

SMU graduate student Jenna Zelaskois is excited to perform with Copeland because of his experimentation in composing and rearranging music. Zelasko started rehearsing for the show last week and will be playing a trumpet in the show.

“The rehearsals are going well, the ensemble is really starting to listen to each other and get a feel for the music,” Zelasko said. “I’m very excited for the concert and I’m looking forward to making great music with my colleagues and Stewart Copeland.”