When the Rodgers and Hammerstein organization first got whiff of a New York rock band performing somewhat "alternative" versions of songs from the 1959 musical "The Sound of Music", they ordered their legal team to put a stop to it. However, the two ended up working together, with the group eventually given the all clear, to take the classic songs into the 21st century.

Peter Kiesewalter, founder of the Brooklyn Rundfunk Orkestrata, was understandably nervous, when the custodians of "The Sound of Music" catalogue got in touch.

But after representatives of the Rodgers and Hammerstein organization heard Kiesewalter's take on the iconic songs, "The Hills Are Alive" was given a green light.

Peter Kiesewalter, founder of the Brooklyn Rundfunk Orkestrata, said, "They came up to me and said, 'OK, you have to film this, you have to record it. This is exactly what "The Sound of Music" brand needs to launch into the 21st century."

A CD is due for release in March, while a spring tour is taking shape.

Though it took the audience at a recent New York show a little while to make sense of what was happening, by the end of the concert, the audience was enthralled.

Peter Kiesewalter, founder of the Brooklyn Rundfunk Orkestrata, said, "We're playing this music through the filter of rock n' roll, R 'n' B and hip-hop and jazz and country. And just set the record straight right away. I know there's a lot of 'Sound of Music' purists out there who will be absolutely horrified and that's OK. I'm not for a second suggesting that this is the way it should be done or if a revival of 'The Sound of Music' should have electric guitars in it, but I'm just playing this music from a different perspective."

BRO's version of "Do Re Mi", takes its cue from the Jackson 5's hit song "ABC". "The Lonely Goatherd" on the other hand, gets a somewhat heavier dose of Led Zeppelin.

And the classic "Climb Every Mountain", originally sung by a nun on top of a mountain in the film, is given the full-on treatment of old school R 'n' B.

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