Season Opening Celebration
Brunch and Concert
Join us for the breathtaking opener of the 2024–25 season with international superstar Renée Fleming. The event will feature an amazing brunch, followed by the season opening concert inspired by the 2023 GRAMMY Award-winning album, Voice of Nature: the Anthropocene.
Voice of Nature: the Anthropocene with Renée Fleming
Includes visuals from National Geographic Society! | Season Opening Gala Concert
Xian Zhang conductor
Renée Fleming soprano
New Jersey Symphony
A breathtaking start to the 2024–25 season with international superstar Renée Fleming. As fall colors flare, America’s most celebrated soprano adds the exquisite hues of her own voice to this concert, inspired by her 2023 GRAMMY Award-winning album, Voice of Nature: the Anthropocene. Come be immersed in the majesty of nature, as the music will be accompanied by stunning film by the National Geographic Society. This special performance includes an eclectic mix of nature-inspired songs, plus arias by Handel and Puccini, music from Lord of the Rings and Carousel, contemporary hits by Björk, Kevin Puts and Nico Muhly, and selections by famed film composer Ennio Morricone.
Xian Conducts Scheherazade
Opening Weekend | New Jersey Symphony Classical
Xian Zhang conductor
Inon Barnatan piano
New Jersey Symphony
-
Gabriela Ortiz Kauyumari
Mexico’s most celebrated composer today created her Kauyumari based on an ancient rite of her homeland, which starts with a whisper and becomes a whirling, joyous dance.
-
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Piano Concerto No. 17
Mozart at his sunniest, and pianist Inon Barnatan turns this elegant piece into poetry with his “penetrating musicianship” (BBC Music).
-
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade
Rimsky-Korsakov’s heroine Scheherazade—here in the voice of the solo violin—tells tale after tale of adventure, beginning aboard the pirate Sinbad’s storm-tossed ship.
Paquito D’Rivera with New Jersey Symphony
Part of the TD James Moody Jazz Festival
Carlos Miguel Prieto conductor
Paquito D’Rivera guest artist & co-curator
Paquito D’Rivera Quintet
Amber Monroe soprano
New Jersey Symphony
-
Daniel Freiberg Latin American Chronicles
Lush and intimate music for D’Rivera’s soulful clarinet one moment, and jaw-dropping virtuosity the next.
-
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart/Paquito D’Rivera Adagio on a Mozart Theme
Paquito D’Rivera puts his own signature jazzy swing on this enchanting theme from the middle movement of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto.
-
George Gershwin/Paquito D’Rivera Medley for Jazz Quintet and Orchestra
Paquito D’Rivera, his phenomenal Quintet and the New Jersey Symphony spin a medley of Gershwin’s unforgettable hits.
-
Carlos Chávez Symphony No. 2, “Sinfonía India”
Mexico’s Chávez scored a global hit with his Second Symphony, based on the power of his country’s folk melodies.
-
Aaron Copland El Salón México
One night in Mexico City, Aaron Copland was brought by Carlos Chávez to a dance hall, throbbing with joy. Back home, Copland poured it all into this music.
-
Arturo Márquez Danzón No. 2
This will ring a bell for “Mozart in the Jungle” fans. Featured in Season Two, Márquez’s Danzón guarantees your feet gotta move.
-
José Pablo Moncayo Huapango
It starts so quietly you may miss it, then becomes a locomotive of delight filled with bright Mexican folk tunes.
The Muppet Christmas Carol in Concert
New Jersey Symphony at the Movies
Constantine Kitsopoulos conductor
New Jersey Symphony
The New Jersey Symphony presents Disney’s The Muppet Christmas Carol in Concert featuring the complete film, with the score performed live to picture. The Muppets perform Charles Dickens’ classic holiday tale, with Kermit the Frog playing Bob Cratchit, the put-upon clerk of stingy Ebenezer Scrooge (Michael Caine) and features many more of your favorite Muppet characters. This special holiday event is fun for the whole family!
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
A Gospel Holiday
New Jersey Symphony Family Concert
Gregory D. McDaniel conductor
New Jersey Symphony Gospel Chorus | Gwen Moten, director
New Jersey Symphony
Spotlighting celebrated artists from Newark and beyond, the New Jersey Symphony lauds the power of the first instrument—the human voice—with a gospel music-inspired holiday extravaganza. Come ready to sing, dance and clap along!
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
New Jersey Symphony Classical
Kevin John Edusei conductor
Jean-Yves Thibaudet piano
New Jersey Symphony
-
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.
-
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.
-
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 with Xian Zhang
Celebration of the Year of the Snake
Xian Zhang conductor
Min Kwon piano
Peking University Alumni Chorus
Starry Arts Children’s Chorus | Rebecca Shen, director
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 and the Starry Arts Children’s Chorus all return for this joyous concert.
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
-
Caroline Shaw The Observatory
Shaw’s luminous concert-opener was inspired by scientists who study the night sky’s deepest reaches.
-
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.
-
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.