Coldplay in Symphony — What Happens When a Full Orchestra Plays These Songs
Coldplay in Symphony is the United Soloists Orchestra's own live show: eighteen musicians reimagining Coldplay's biggest songs in full orchestral sound. It's not a tribute band playing to backing tracks — it's a real symphonic arrangement of hits like 'Yellow', 'Fix You' and 'Viva la Vida', played live on strings, brass and percussion.
What does an orchestra add to Coldplay?
An orchestra gives Coldplay songs a physical weight recordings can't match. Where the originals layer studio synths, our arrangement hands those parts to real strings, brass and woodwinds — so the build in 'Fix You' or the riff in 'Viva la Vida' swells around you in the room, played by eighteen musicians breathing together in real time.
The swell you can feel
On record, the emotional lifts in Coldplay songs come from layers of synths and studio production. Live, we hand those lifts to real strings and brass. When the strings climb under 'Fix You' or the brass opens up on 'Yellow', the sound doesn't come out of a speaker — it comes off the stage and fills the room.
It's the genre-fluid idea USO has built its whole identity on: in a single evening Tchaikovsky can meet Coldplay without either one feeling out of place. That's exactly why we insist on the phrase in symphony — this is the orchestra playing Coldplay, not a tribute act imitating the band.
"Kept us on our feet the second they commenced until the end — dancing!"
— from a March 2026 audience review; the show currently holds a 4.7 rating across 24 Google reviews.
Which songs are in the show?
The show runs through fifteen Coldplay songs, sequenced to rise and fall like a single arc. It opens with 'Clocks' and closes on 'A Sky Full of Stars', taking in 'Yellow', 'Paradise', 'The Scientist', 'Something Just Like This' and 'Viva la Vida' along the way — the exact setlist we publish on Spotify.
Here's the full running order — the same official Spotify setlist we curate for the show:
- Clocks
- God Put a Smile Upon Your Face
- Yellow
- Paradise
- Hymn for the Weekend
- Trouble
- My Universe
- The Scientist
- Something Just Like This
- Fix You
- Sparks
- In My Place
- Viva la Vida
- A Sky Full of Stars
- Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall
The order isn't random. We open on the hypnotic piano of 'Clocks', save the biggest singalongs — 'Viva la Vida', 'A Sky Full of Stars' — for the final stretch, and let quieter moments like 'The Scientist' breathe in between.
How is it arranged?
Every chart is written from scratch by USO's founder and Music Director, Arseniy Shkaptsov. He takes Coldplay's original recording apart — vocal line, piano, guitar riffs, synth pads — and reassigns each part to the instruments of a live orchestra, deciding what the strings carry, where the brass lifts, and how the rhythm section and orchestra lock together.
If you want the full craft story — how a pop recording becomes a page of orchestral score, bar by bar — we wrote a separate piece on it: how Arseniy Shkaptsov arranges pop songs for orchestra. Every Coldplay chart in this show is his original work, written specifically for the United Soloists Orchestra and its eighteen players.
Where can you see Coldplay in Symphony live?
You can next see Coldplay in Symphony live at the open-air Rotonda in Locarno on 2 August 2026, an evening show that's free with registration. The production also tours: past dates have filled churches and halls in Basel, Bern, Luzern, St. Gallen and Locarno, with city-adapted editions in Zürich, Torino and Geneva.
The next date is Coldplay in Symphony at the Rotonda in Locarno on 2 August 2026 — an open-air summer evening, free with registration. It's an easy first taste if you've never heard the show. Ticketing varies by date, so always check each event page for the current details.
Before that, the production toured Switzerland through 2024, including two Locarno dates (the May 2024 show and an October return) and stops in Basel, Bern, Luzern and St. Gallen. City-adapted editions have also played Zürich, Torino and Geneva.
New shows are added through the year — the full, up-to-date list lives on the USO events page.
Frequently asked questions
Is Coldplay in Symphony a tribute band?
No. It's the United Soloists Orchestra performing original orchestral arrangements of Coldplay's songs live — real strings, brass, woodwinds and a rhythm section. There are no backing tracks standing in for the music; the arrangements are written and conducted by the orchestra's own Music Director.
How many musicians play in Coldplay in Symphony?
Eighteen. The show is built for a chamber-sized symphonic ensemble plus a rhythm section — large enough to fill a hall with sound, tight enough to keep every detail of the arrangements clear.
How long is the show?
About 90 minutes: fifteen Coldplay songs sequenced as one continuous arc, from 'Clocks' to 'A Sky Full of Stars'.
Is Coldplay in Symphony family-friendly?
Yes. It's an all-ages symphonic concert. The songs are familiar, the volume is that of a live orchestra rather than a stadium rock show, and open-air dates like the Rotonda in Locarno are especially relaxed for families.
Which cities can I see it in?
The next date is the Rotonda in Locarno on 2 August 2026. USO has also brought Coldplay in Symphony to Basel, Bern, Luzern, St. Gallen, Zürich, Torino and Geneva; new dates appear on the events page.
Come hear it live
The only real way to understand what an orchestra does to these songs is to be in the room when the strings swell. Come hear Coldplay in Symphony live at the Rotonda in Locarno on 2 August 2026 — it's free with registration — or find another date on the events page.
Written by Arseniy Shkaptsov, founder, Music Director and arranger of the United Soloists Orchestra. He arranges and conducts Coldplay in Symphony himself. He studied at the Central Music School in Moscow, the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano and the ZHdK in Zurich; his mentors include Neeme and Paavo Järvi and Daniele Gatti.