NJSO presents Winter Festival Week II, America, Inspiring: Ravel & Rachmaninoff

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Xian Zhang present the 2018 Winter Festival—“America, Inspiring”—in January at eight venues across the state. The Festival celebrates foreign artists and composers whose experiences connect them to the nation’s legacy as a source of inspiration and beacon of ideals for people from all over the world.

 

Spanning three weekends, January 11–28, the Winter Festival includes orchestral performances at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, State Theatre New Jersey in New Brunswick, Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, Richardson Auditorium in Princeton, Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown and bergenPAC in Englewood. The NJSO Chamber Players perform a special chamber music concert at St. George’s-by-the-River Episcopal Church in Rumson and Calvary Episcopal Church in Summit.

 

WEEK I: America, Inspiring: Respighi & Prokofiev

Thu, Jan 11, at 7:30 pm | bergenPAC in Englewood

Sat, Jan 13, at 8 pm | NJPAC in Newark

Sun, Jan 14, at 3 pm | State Theatre New Jersey in New Brunswick

 

Xian Zhang, conductor

George Li, piano

New Jersey Symphony Orchestra

 

CHEN YI Ge Xu (NJSO Premiere)

PROKOFIEV Piano Concerto No. 3

RESPIGHI Fountains of Rome (NJSO Premiere)

RESPIGHI Pines of Rome

 

NJSO ACCENTS:

Talkback—Thu, Jan 11, after the concert

Listen as members of the NJSO’s international roster of musicians describe their own journeys to the US and New Jersey in the opening panel of the Winter Festival, America, Inspiring.

 

Wine Tasting—Sat, Jan 13, before the concert

Join wine and music expert Ron Merlino in an exclusive tasting of wines made of old-world grapes in new-world soil. $15 for the tasting, reservations required. www.njsymphony.org/grapes

 

Talkback—Sun, Jan 14, after the concert

What does New Jersey's diverse population really look like? Principal Bassoon Robert Wagner discusses the NJSO's efforts to reach out to the many diverse communities in the Garden State.

 

Full concert information is available at www.njsymphony.org/events/detail/america-inspiring-respighi-prokofiev.

 

 

America, Inspiring: Special Chamber Music Concert

Tue, Jan 23, at 3 pm | St. George’s-by-the-River Episcopal Church in Rumson

Thu, Jan 25, at 7:30 pm | Calvary Episcopal Church in Summit

 

NJSO CHAMBER PLAYERS

Eric Wyrick, violin

Brennan Sweet, violin

David Blinn, viola

Na-Young Baek, cello

 

TAN DUN Eight Colors for String Quartet

BARTÓK String Quartet No. 2

DVOŘÁK String Quartet No. 12 in F Major, Op. 96, “American”

 

JAN 23 TICKETS: $20

JAN 25 TICKETS: $45 | $20

 

A free pre-concert reception begins at 2 pm on Jan 23.

 

Full concert information is available at www.njsymphony.org/events/detail/america-inspiring-special-chamber-music-concert.

 

 

WEEK III: America, Inspiring: Dvořák’s “New World” Symphony

Fri, Jan 26, at 8 pm                           NJPAC in Newark

Sat, Jan 27, at 8 pm                          Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank

Sun, Jan 28, at 3 pm                        Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown

 

Xian Zhang, conductor

Chloë Hanslip, violin

New Jersey Symphony Orchestra

 

BRITTEN Simple Symphony

KORNGOLD Violin Concerto

DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 9, “From the New World”

 

NJSO ACCENTS:

Prelude Performance—Fri, Jan 26, before the concert

Come early and hear the Anne Lieberson Ensemble from the NJSO's Youth Orchestras perform a selection inspired by the Winter Festival.

 

Poetry Reading—Sun, Jan 28, after the concert

Poets Maria Gillan and Patrick Rosal reflect on their own immigrant experiences in the closing event of the Winter Festival.

 

Full concert information is available at www.njsymphony.org/events/detail/america-inspiring-dvoraks-new-world-symphony.

 

The Jan 27 performance is generously sponsored by Bank of America.

 

NJSO ACCENTS

Inspired by the concerts and designed to inspire audiences, NJSO Accents are pre- or post-concert events that complement the concert experience and provide audience members with more opportunities to personally connect with the music and music makers.

 

NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Named “a vital, artistically significant musical organization” by The Wall Street Journal, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra embodies that vitality through its statewide presence and critically acclaimed performances, education partnerships and unparalleled access to music and the Orchestra’s superb musicians.

 

Music Director Xian Zhang—a “dynamic podium presence” The New York Times has praised for her “technical abilities, musicianship and maturity”—continues her acclaimed leadership of the NJSO. The Orchestra presents classical, pops and family programs, as well as outdoor summer concerts and special events. Embracing its legacy as a statewide orchestra, the NJSO is the resident orchestra of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark and regularly performs at State Theatre New Jersey in New Brunswick, Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, Richardson Auditorium in Princeton, Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown and bergenPAC in Englewood. Partnerships with New Jersey arts organizations, universities and civic organizations remain a key element of the Orchestra’s statewide identity.

 

In addition to its lauded artistic programming, the NJSO presents a suite of education and community engagement programs that promote meaningful, lifelong engagement with live music. Programs include school-time Concerts for Young People; NJSO Youth Orchestras family of student ensembles, currently led by José Luis Domínguez; and El Sistema-inspired NJSO CHAMPS (Character, Achievement and Music Project). NJSO musicians annually perform original chamber music programs at community events in a variety of settings statewide through the NJSO Community Partners Program.

 

For more information about the NJSO, visit www.njsymphony.org or email information@njsymphony.org. Tickets are available for purchase by phone 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476) or on the Orchestra’s website.

 

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra’s programs are made possible in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, along with many other foundations, corporations and individual donors.