When Glen Danzig wrote the lyrics, "die die die my darling, don't utter a single word; I'll be seeing you in hell," he most likely had no clue that someday his song would be sung by an opera singer accompanied by a full string section.

"Die Die My Darling" by The Misfits is one of about seventeen songs that San Francisco's Punk Rock Orchestra keeps in their regular repertoire.

The Punk Rock Orchestra is the brainchild of David Ferguson, a former punk producer and the founder of a non-profit organization called The Institute For Unpopular Culture. The institute supports artists working outside of culturally accepted norms.

"The orchestra is sort of a post-modern experience," Ferguson says. "We wanted to take something historical and put it into the present."

Led by conductor John Gluck, the orchestra is currently gearing up for a string of shows around the Bay Area where it will exhibit its unique style and sound.

In June of 2002 Gluck came across an ad on Craigslist looking for classically trained musicians and arrangers. This is how Gluck met David Ferguson and the Punk Rock Orchestra was born. At the time Gluck had been writing novels and was looking to get back into to music.

He then began arranging songs and conducting the orchestra which began as two small ensembles of about 9-10 people each and has now grown to about 45 people.

"The membership is starting to get steadier," Gluck confesses. "We have several arrangers including myself and about 17 songs."

Gathering every other Sunday to rehearse, the orchestra practices at Shotwell Studios in the Mission District. On Sunday, September 21, the orchestra not only held rehearsal; they collectively sweated enough to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool. On this particular Sunday, temperatures soared into the high 90's.

The orchestra begins to arrive around 4:00 p.m. carrying their music stands, instrument cases, and some even had six-packs of beer. Immediately a small rotating desk fan was set up in the corner of the room to get some air blowing through the room. It was a nice idea but it didn't work too well. This room was not air-conditioned and was hotter than hell.

They decide to play nine songs for their next show. Mr. Gluck takes a minute to shout out the set list so the performers can place their sheet music in the proper order.

The players set up, tune up, and perspire, as they get ready to begin rehearsal. First on today's list is The Descendants' "Suburban Home." After ripping through this, they move on to "Bite The Hand That Feeds" by Agent Orange.

Gluck holds up his electronic metronome to let the tempo settle in with everyone before they begin the song. He counts them off and the song begins. To push the tempo he bangs his conductor's stick on his music stand. Oddly enough his conductor's stick is actually a toilet brush.

"Why is this song dragging," shouts Gluck. "The violins need to lead this."

They start and stop a few times to deal with the tempo issues and eventually play the song to Gluck's satisfaction.

The orchestra's current set includes "Institutionalized" by Suicidal Tendencies, "We're A Happy Family" by the Ramones and the not-so-punk but great-sounding "Love Will Tear Us Apart" originally by Joy Division.

The performers of the orchestra are masters of their respective instruments. Most are classically trained but they all share a love for classic punk rock music. They are also all doing this for the love of the music and not for money.

Beth Robinson, a percussionist, graduated from the University of Mississippi with a degree in Music Therapy. She has been performing with the orchestra for almost a year.

"This fulfills my love of the orchestra and the need for organization and instrumentation in the music," Robinson says. "Plus I grew up on this stuff."

Cynthia Weyaker and Laurie Amat are vocalists who share duties on "Institutionalized." Weyaker studied Music Therapy at the University of the Pacific and has sung in many operas, including City Opera of San Francisco and Golden West Opera. Amat has taught voice as well as having sung everything from new opera to "stupid pop," as she calls it.

"It's cool to do classically vocal things in a punk context," Amat says. "It's very enjoyable to sing with a 30-piece orchestra who is getting exponentially better."

In the near future Gluck and Ferguson hope to record an album with the orchestra. Their next performance is MTV's Rock the Vote event across from City Hall in San Francisco on October 7. The event is free and they are scheduled to play at 8:00 p.m. They will then perform again October 17 for the 10-year retrospective of the Yerba Buena Center where they are scheduled to play at 10:00 p.m.