Watch the Sonus Ensemble put a classical spin on Nickelback's 'Photograph'

Nickelback will be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at this year's Juno Awards in Edmonton on March 13. To celebrate the band's achievement, CBC Music presents Nickelback Sessions, a series of four new and surprising covers of classic Nickelback songs. 

This week's cover is a moving classical version, full of sweeping gestures and big crescendos. The arrangement is performed by the Sonus Ensemble and directed by Canadian composer and producer Kevin Fox. "Photograph" is an iconic tune, one of Nickeback's biggest hits — and fodder for a million memes  — so Fox had his work cut out for him. "To take a rock song and arrange it for a classical ensemble introduces a slew of emotions," Fox says. 

And the emotions run high in this version. It takes the roots of a laid-back rock song that everyone and their mother knows, and turns them into a stirring, sentimental rendition. You'll be swept away by the richness and depth, as English horn, clarinet, violin, flute, harp, timpani and eight other instruments meld together to take you on a lush and layered journey. It's incredibly unexpected and sounds nothing like a rock song, but the original is still instantly recognizable beneath the fanfare. At moments, the instruments even sound like lead singer Chad Kroeger's voice.

Feel all the tingly feels as you watch the Sonus Ensenmble, directed by Kevin Fox, cover "Photograph" in the video above. 

Simu Liu is back to host the 2023 Juno Awards on Monday, March 13, at 8 p.m ET. Tune in on CBC, CBC Gem, CBC Radio One, CBC Music and CBC Listen, and stream globally on cbcmusic.ca/junos.