About Don
Mr. Don Ruzek on electric and acoustic guitars, keyboards and backing vocals. Don’s father was a symphonic musician. Don started playing guitar at age 6 and played clubs and events throughout high school in a rock trio. In the 80's, Don was a full time player with the band “Ten Ten” on guitar and keyboards, recording albums for Chrysalis Records and touring North America and Europe. He took a hiatus until 2015 when he started playing and writing music again and eventually released an instrumental Progressive Rock album called X Paths on Luminol Records in 2021. Outside of TSO, Don plays in his original music band, Ruzek and also with Phill Profitt & His Fast Fortunes. When not playing music, Don and his wife are art lovers frequenting the DIA, and also work with wildlife rehabilitation in their community.
About The Band
TSO Lineup
News & Events
The Sympathy Orchestra was founded in 2009 by Scott Rochon. The band has been playing live in the metro Detroit music scene (and sometimes beyond) since 2010. Eduardo Perez returned in November of 2021. Don Ruzek returned in April of 2022. Thank you to all of the TSO fans, friends and family for their ongoing support.
Eduardo Perez - Vocals, Bass And Keyboards
Don Ruzek - Guitars, Keyboards and Vocals
Scott Rochon - Drums, Percussion And Samples
Photo Gallery
About Eduardo
Mr. Eduardo Perez on lead vocals and bass and Keyboards. In addition to his wonderful bass playing and vocals, Eduardo brings a wealth of performing experience to the stage. Outside of TSO, you can also find Eduardo in the classic rock band The Motor Zs and when he returns to his native Brazil, in the Apple Band , which he was a founding member and has performed with them for many, many years.
About Scott
Mr. Scott Rochon on drums, percussion and Samples. Scott started playing the drums at age 15. After playing and performing with various original and cover bands from the mid 1980’s onward, Scott founded The Sympathy Orchestra in 2009. When he is not busy with TSO, Scott composes original instrumental music, focusing mainly on long form, conceptual pieces. In addition to his own music, Scott also composes music for Eldon McGraw Media.
Mar. 13, 2023 - Tonight's rehearsal was spectacular! The existing songs are sounding great and we picked a bunch of new songs that we will be playing for you all in the not too distant future.
Feb. 25, 2023 - We are excited to announce the power trio version of The Sympathy Orchestra. In addition to festival shows, we are also planning a return to the clubs, with some of our shows having themed set lists. The song selection will be the same that you have come to expect from us. We have added many new and exciting songs and of course, a few surprises. Stay tuned...We will be announcing the first scheduled shows very soon. We are looking forward to seeing everyone again in 2023.
Jan. 1, 2023 - Happy New Year from all of us to all of you. We are looking forward to seeing you in 2023. Stay tuned for upcoming show announcements.
Nov. 1, 2022 - We are taking some time off for the holidays. We will see you all in 2023.
Oct. 2, 2022 - Thank you to everyone who came out to the Family House Fall Festival yesterday in Toledo. Thank you to Mandy for asking us to be part of this wonderful event. We are looking forward to next year's festival.
Sept. 10, 2022 - Thank you to everyone who came out to see us at BridgeFest in Port Huron today. We had a wonderful time
entertaining you. Thank you to Brad for having us be part of the event. We hope to see all of you again next year.
Sept. 5, 2022 - This Saturday, we will be in Port Huron playing at BridgeFest 22. Our set is from 1:45pm to 2:30pm. The event is FREE and there are two stages with lots of great entertainment. Come early and stay late!
June 12, 2022 - We are honored to be taking part in the Family House Fall Festival on October 1, 2022. This event is taking place in the parking lot of The Toledo Club from 2pm until 8pm. This show benefits the Family House, which is a homeless shelter in Toledo. More details to come. Stay tuned.
June 5, 2022 - Where can we start? What an absolutely amazing audience yesterday at The Old West End Festival in Toledo. Thank you so much for all of the love and support that you gave us. We love playing for all of you. The Old West End has become an adopted home town for us. You always make us feel so welcome. Thank you to Scott and Melissa Ramsey for once again booking us. Thank you to Jay for once again making us sound so good. We are looking forward to seeing everyone at next year's festival.
May 22, 2022 - The Epic Rehearsal Weekend is now in the books. We will have some exciting new songs, along with some old favorites at The Old West End Festival.
May 21, 2022 - The first of two epic rehearsals this weekend. Fine tuning for the festival just two weeks away.
May 10, 2022 - Our appearance at this year's OWE Festival in Toledo has been confirmed. We will be playing in the Arboretum Gazebo on Saturday June 4th from 6pm to 8pm. This is a family friendly show. We hope to see you at this wonderful event.
April 27, 2022 - After an extraordinary series of events, we are pleased to announce the new TSO Lineup. Mr. Jim Rowan has returned on Lead Vocals. Mr. Eduardo Perez returns on Bass and Vocals. Mr. Don Ruzek returns on Electric and Acoustic Guitars and Mr. Eric Weiss joins on Keyboards and Guitar. The ever-present Mr. Scott Rochon will be on Drums and Percussion.
January 1, 2022 - Happy New Year!
December 25, 2021 - Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from all of us in The Sympathy Orchestra to all of you.
November 25, 2021 - Wishing all of our family, friends and fans a happy and safe Thanksgiving.
November 9, 2021 - Scott collaborated with Eldon McGraw at Eldon McGraw Media on a video of drone footage of northern Michigan. Eldon produced the video and Scott composed the music. You can watch the video "Northern Michigan Scenes" here. Please check out Eldon Mcgraw Media at their website www.eldonmcgrawmedia.com They do fantastic Multi Media work.
October 23, 2021 - We have decided to take the next few months off to concentrate on the holidays, school and side projects. We will be back in plenty of time for Festival Season next year.
September 13, 2021 - Thank you to all of the wonderful people who came out to our concert at the Agnes Reynolds Jackson Arboretum in The Old West End last night. Thank you to Daniel Finkel for booking us. Thank you to Glass City Kitchen and Bath for sponsoring the show. We had an amazing time performing for all of you. We hope to see you again next year.
September 5, 2021 - The final tune up before next week's show in Toledo. It went very well. Afterwards, we packed up some of the equipment and then enjoyed an after rehearsal dinner together.
August 22, 2021 - An epic rehearsal today. 4 hours and 36 songs! We made our final selections for the set list in Toledo in 3 weeks. Two rehearsals to go until the big show.
July 17, 2021 - Wow! What an amazing audience last night at the Shiawassee River Fest. Thank you for making us feel so welcome and for the wonderful and bountiful cheers after each song. Thank you to Robert Muccino for the fantastic sound and thank you to Brad Jacob for booking us. We hope to be back again next year.
July 11, 2021 - Last rehearsal before the Shiawassee River Fest show. Every thing went extremely well. We are very excited to be back in front of a live audience after such a long layoff.
June 20, 2021 - Rehearsal: The set is shaping up very nicely. We can't wait to get back to playing live. Less than a month away from the Shiawassee River Fest. We hope to see you there.
June 13, 2021 - Rehearsal: We continue to shake off the rust. We played much better than we had the previous week.
June 6, 2021 - Rehearsal: Our first since last September and our first indoor rehearsal in over a year. We played pretty well considering the layoff.
April 19, 2021 - Gig scheduled for the Old West End Summer Concert Series. See our Concert Dates Page for more details.
April 11, 2021 - Gig scheduled for the Shiawassee River Fest. See our Concert Dates Page for more details.