Guitarist
Composer
& Educator

The Baldassarre Rock Orchestra is a 70’s classic rock symphonic circus where the power of rock and classical music unite in a spectacle of sound, lights, and entertainment!

This is a 9-piece rock orchestra led by the award-winning guitarist and composer Carl Baldassarre and his band which features the world-renowned string quartet OPUS 216 and the incomparable Mark Boals on lead vocals. Expect to hear symphonic arrangements of some of your favorite 70’s classic rock songs by The Beatles, Elton John, Grand Funk, Three Dog Night, Alice Cooper, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and more as well as some of Baldassarre’s original rock and classical music. This is truly a one-of-a-kind journey into the fantastic. You won’t want to miss it.

A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Carl Baldassarre experienced early success as a guitarist for the rock band Abraxas. He has amassed a significant and diverse recording catalogue in many genres having worked with many celebrated rock and classical musicians including the London Symphonic Chamber Orchestra and members of Tower of Power, Tears for Fears, Genesis, Kiss and many more.  

To Grammy Award voting members: we’re grateful for your consideration! Excited to announce we’ve received official recording industry recommendation as a 2024 Grammy nomination contender. Album of the Year (Grand Boulevard) and Best Rock Song (“You’re Wrong”). Step 1 is contention for nomination. Step 2 nomination. Step 3 Grammy Award. First step complete!! Thanks to all participating musicians, engineers, and producers. And special thanks to Erick Anderson for his Billboard Magazine Annual Contender Issue design.

Grand Boulevard is a 16-track album (55 Minutes) that runs the gamut of musical genres, incorporating guitar rock, funk, ballads, R&B, reggae, and orchestral pop, all featuring Baldassarre as chief axeman and composer.

Composed primarily during the isolation of covid at world-famous Abbey Road Studios in London, Grand Boulevard is produced by Phil Naish, who has produced several Grammy Award-winning albums.

The album is receiving early raves from the press with the UK’s Fireworks Magazine declaring the album to be “flawlessly crafted, genre-spanning and offering something for everyone.  Highly impressive!”  Progsheet enthused that the album is “bursting with strong, catchy compositions and memorable guitar acrobatics…” The UK’s Powerplay avowed, “This Grand Boulevard has roses along the way”.