New Jersey Ballet’s Nutcracker with New Jersey Symphony
Presented by New Jersey Ballet
Constantine Kitsopoulos conductor
New Jersey Ballet
New Jersey Symphony
New Jersey Ballet’s beloved annual tradition enchants youngsters and grown-ups alike with splendid dancing, eye-popping special effects and a touch of holiday magic, set to Tchaikovsky’s iconic score performed live by New Jersey Symphony.
Pytor Ilyich Tchaikovsky The Nutcracker
Based on The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by E.T.A. Hoffman
Handel’s Messiah
New Jersey Symphony Holiday Tradition
Jeannette Sorrell conductor
Sonya Headlam soprano
John Holiday countertenor
Ed Lyon tenor
Kevin Deas bass-baritone
Montclair State University Singers | Heather J. Buchanan, director
New Jersey Symphony
Spirits will soar at “For Unto Us a Child is Born” and the “Hallelujah Chorus” as well as the treasured arias that make Handel’s Messiah the must-hear classic of the holidays. Jeannette Sorrell, who “brings revelations” (Philadelphia Inquirer) to everything she conducts, leads the New Jersey Symphony and the phenomenal Montclair State University Singers.
Jean-Yves Thibaudet Plays Ravel
Featuring Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2 | New Jersey Symphony Classical
Kevin John Edusei conductor
Jean-Yves Thibaudet piano
New Jersey Symphony
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Donghoon Shin Of Rats and Men
Come hear what audiences in London, Helsinki and Dresden have all been delighted by from one of the most imaginative young composers today, Korea’s Donghoon Shin.
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Maurice Ravel Piano Concerto in G
Ravel’s Concerto is both jazzy and touching, and no pianist makes it swing and sing like the incomparable Jean-Yves Thibaudet.
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Jean Sibelius Symphony No. 2
A showpiece for virtuoso orchestra, the final moments alone are worth the ticket as the New Jersey Symphony’s trumpets blaze forth in glory.
2025 Lunar New Year Celebration VIP Event
Cultural Exchange Festival, Concert and VIP Reception
Celebrate the Year of the Snake with your New Jersey Symphony at the Lunar New Year Celebration VIP Event. The event continues a tradition, started by Music Director Xian Zhang, that celebrates community and cultural exchange. Guests will enjoy early access to the Cultural Exchange Festival, a VIP reception and Celebration Concert featuring Zhang, guest performers and the New Jersey Symphony.
2025 Lunar New Year Celebration with Xian Zhang
Celebration of the Year of the Snake
Xian Zhang conductor
Min Kwon piano
Michael Fabiano tenor
Peking University Alumni Chorus
Starry Arts Children’s Chorus | Rebecca Shen, director
Edison Chinese School Lion Dance Team
New Jersey Symphony
Join us for this evening of community and cultural exchange that is wonderful for families and children, as we celebrate the Year of the Snake. Music Director Xian Zhang, pianist Min Kwon, the Peking University Alumni Chorus, the Starry Arts Children’s Chorus, and the Edison Chinese School Lion Dance Team all return for this joyous concert–plus a special appearance by opera star Michael Fabiano! Revel in Xian’s signature blend of East and West in this celebratory performance, including favorites like Spring Festival Overture and “The Red Dragonfly” alongside selections from Puccini’s most beloved operas.
Holst’s The Planets—An HD Odyssey
New Jersey Symphony Classical
Xian Zhang conductor
Nancy Zhou violin
Montclair State University Prima Voce | Heather J. Buchanan, director
New Jersey Symphony
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Caroline Shaw The Observatory
Shaw’s luminous concert-opener was inspired by scientists who study the night sky’s deepest reaches.
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Ralph Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending
Hailed by music lovers everywhere year after year as a desert-island necessity, The Lark Ascending is a wonder of flight in sound.
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Gustav Holst The Planets—An HD Odyssey
While Holst’s orchestral spectacular works its magic in the ear, a giant screen over the stage becomes a canvas for NASA’s jaw-dropping images. A feast for the soul.
Warner Bros. Discovery presents Bugs Bunny at the Symphony
New Jersey Symphony Special Concert |
30th Anniversary Concert
George Daugherty conductor
George Daugherty & David Ka Lik Wong creators
New Jersey Symphony
Bugs Bunny at the Symphony is back! Celebrate Looney Tunes and its legendary stars, including Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Sylvester, Wile E. Coyote, Road Runner and of course Bugs Bunny, our very favorite “wascally wabbit.” Enjoy classics including “Baton Bunny,” “The Rabbit of Seville” and “What’s Opera, Doc?” alongside Warner Bros. Discovery 3D theatrical shorts “Rabid Rider,” “Coyote Falls” and “Fur of Flying.” Don’t miss these extraordinary musical scores performed live by the New Jersey Symphony as all the action unfolds on the big screen.
Brahms and Chopin
New Jersey Symphony Classical
Christoph König conductor
Tony Siqi Yun piano
New Jersey Symphony
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Allison Loggins-Hull Can You See?
Originally written for the New Jersey Symphony Chamber Players and now re-written for full orchestra, Can You See? is cool and glassy on its surface, but the waters underneath are rolling in this tour-de-force concert opener by the Symphony’s new Resident Artistic Partner.
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Frédéric Chopin Piano Concerto No. 1
One of the most astonishing creations of any 19-year-old, Chopin poured his beyond-his-years splendor into his First Concerto, and it has stayed an audience favorite around the world for 200 years.
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Johannes Brahms Symphony No. 1
A König specialty, Brahms’ First was decades in the making—but oh, it became a triumph of drama and soaring lyricism well worth the wait.
The Firebird with Xian Zhang
Featuring Nimbus Dance |
New Jersey Symphony Classical
Xian Zhang conductor
Jonathan Spitz cello
Nimbus Dance | Samuel Pott, artistic director & choreographer
New Jersey Symphony
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Johann Sebastian Bach Prelude from Cello Suite No. 2
Behold the majesty and wonder of solo Bach, as Principal Cello Jonathan Spitz spins this mesmerizing theme from thin air.
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Caroline Shaw Valencia
The valencia orange, described as “a thing of nature, yet so complex and extraordinary” inspired this expertly-crafted spring quartet.
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Qasim Naqvi God Docks at Death Harbor (Piano Quintet Version)
Naqvi calls this piece “a vision of our planet years from now … the quiet and peacefulness of a world restoring itself.” Nimbus Dance joins with brand new choreography, titled “Dark Water.”
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Igor Stravinsky Divertimento from The Fairy’s Kiss
Stravinsky loved the Romantics like Tchaikovsky, and created this charming and lilting Divertimento after him.
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Igor Stravinsky Suite from The Firebird
A tale of a deathless, tyrannical overlord in battle with a handsome young prince who’s aided by a magical bird. The Firebird has one of the most exciting finales in all classical music, brought to life here with Nimbus Dance at center stage for the Newark concerts.
Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 2
New Jersey Symphony Classical
Xian Zhang conductor
Gregory D. McDaniel conductor
Adam Tendler piano
New Jersey Symphony
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Claude Debussy Clair de Lune
Debussy’s original piano solo, Clair de Lune, probably exists in more versions than the Beatles’ “Yesterday” and for good reason, as none before or since have captured in music the true magic of moonlight.
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Nico Muhly Sounding for Piano and Orchestra (New Jersey Symphony Co-Commission)
New York-based pianist Adam Tendler, “currently the hottest pianist on the American contemporary classical scene” (Minneapolis Star Tribune), makes his New Jersey Symphony debut in this hymn tune-filled concerto by broadly popular contemporary composer Nico Muhly.
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Sergei Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 2
Melodies too numerous and beautiful to track—so don’t try. Just let this sweeping Romantic symphony, the inspiration for the song “Never Gonna Fall in Love Again,” work its magic.
Vadim Gluzman Plays Brahms
New Jersey Symphony Classical
Lina González-Granados conductor
Vadim Gluzman violin
New Jersey Symphony
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Robert Schumann Overture, Scherzo and Finale
Bursting with a love of life in the months after his marriage to Clara, Robert Schumann created three fantastic movements–one shy of a full symphony but which stand magnificently on their own.
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Gabriela Ortiz Clara
A fascinating depiction of the 19th-century composer-pianist Clara Schumann’s inner life as imagined by one of Mexico's leading contemporary composers.
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Johannes Brahms Violin Concerto
A favorite of New Jersey Symphony audiences, Vadim Gluzman returns with his signature singing tone to play what Brahms began as simply “a few violin passages,” but turned into one of the greatest of all concertos.
Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Xian Zhang
New Jersey Symphony Classical
Xian Zhang conductor
Steven Banks saxophone
Felicia Moore soprano
Kelley O’Connor mezzo-soprano
Issachah Savage tenor
Reginald Smith Jr. baritone
Montclair State University Chorale | Heather J. Buchanan, director
New Jersey Symphony
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Pytor Ilyich Tchaikovsky Polonaise from Eugene Onegin
A lavish ball scene, the dashing hero and heroine twirling in splendor—a fun, festive dance lifted from Tchaikovsky’s opera.
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Billy Childs Diaspora
Inspired by Maya Angelou and other poets, Childs’ new concerto was written for the amazing Steven Banks, who says the music “follows the trajectory of the Black experience from Africa before slave trade to now, going forward in hope.”
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Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 9, “Choral”
The sheer volcanic power of Beethoven’s music makes the Ninth’s message soar. “Brotherhood! Joy!”—our world needs these clarion calls now more than ever.