2016–17 pops single tickets on sale now
NJSO presents pops concerts at NJPAC in Newark, Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank and in collaboration with State Theatre in New Brunswick
Season highlights include Raiders of the Lost Ark, Bugs Bunny at the Symphony with live orchestral accompaniment
Michael Cavanaugh to perform Elton John, classic rock hits
Programs feature best of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong duets, song and dance standards from Hollywood’s golden age
NEWARK, NJ (May 24, 2016)—Single tickets for the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra’s 2016–17 pops concerts are now on sale. Concerts include live performances of Raiders of the Lost Ark and Bugs Bunny at the Symphony, a classic rock tribute, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald duets and a program of song and dance standards from the golden age of Hollywood musicals. Tickets start at $20 and are available for purchase online at www.njsymphony.org or by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476).
The NJSO presents five pops programs at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark on Saturday evenings and—in collaboration with the State Theatre—in New Brunswick on Sunday afternoons. The Orchestra expands its pops offerings at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank to three concerts on Friday evenings, beginning with Raiders of the Lost Ark in January.
The Star-Ledger recently highlighted the rise of film concerts among American orchestras, writing, “musicians, conductors and audiences are becoming more accustomed to experiencing film music in concert halls. And orchestras are increasingly looking to the great film scores of yore to appeal to both music aficionados and symphony newbies alike.” The NJSO continues its tradition with a pair of live film score programs in the 2016–17 season, following performances ofHome Alone, The Wizard of Oz, Singin’ in the Rain, the music of James Bond and more in recent seasons.
The Orchestra performs John Williams’ epic score to Raiders of the Lost Ark live as the film Roger Ebert called “a movie of glorious imagination and breakneck speed” screens above the stage, January 6–8 in Red Bank, Newark and New Brunswick. Steven Spielberg’s timeless classic sees Harrison Ford’s Indiana Jones on a quest to recover the legendary Ark of the Covenant and save the world.
After thrilling audiences with Bugs Bunny at the Symphony II in 2015, the NJSO presents performances of the newly revised Bugs Bunny at the Symphony, June 3–4 in Newark and New Brunswick, showcasing Looney Tunes and its legendary stars, including Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Sylvester, Wile E. Coyote, Road Runner and everyone’s favorite “wascally wabbit.” The concert features classic Looney Tunes including Long-Haired Hare (in its first East Coast concert appearance on the big screen), What’s Opera, Doc? and Baton Bunny, alongside new Warner Bros. 3D theatrical shorts Coyote Falls and Rabid Rider, all accompanied live by the NJSO, conducted by George Daugherty.
The 2016–17 pops concerts also feature music from great artists of many eras. Broadway veteran Michael Cavanaugh, of Movin’ Out fame, performs Elton John hits “Tiny Dancer,” “Bennie and the Jets” and “Rocket Man” and classic rock favorites like “Hotel California” and “American Pie,” November 12–13 in Newark and New Brunswick. Maryland Theatre Guide says of the program, “For those of us that remember the classic versions of these songs, Cavanaugh has reinvented them into something that improves upon the originals.”
A Valentine’s “Dancing & Romancing” program features song and dance standards from the golden age of Hollywood musicals, February 10–12 in Red Bank, Newark and New Brunswick. Vocalists and dancers Joan Hess and Kirby Ward will draw inspiration from Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Gene Kelly and “the queen of tap dancing,” Eleanor Powell, for a program conducted by Gemma New.
Trumpeter Byron Stripling and vocalist Marva Hicks perform famous duets and solos of Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald, including “Love is Here to Stay” and “Just One of Those Things,” plus highlights from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, April 21–23 in Red Bank, Newark and New Brunswick. The concerts come on the eve of Fitzgerald’s centennial; she was born on April 25, 1917. NY Theatre Guide writes that Stripling and Hicks “capture the respective spirits and channel certain characteristics of the musicianship of both Armstrong and Fitzgerald, while at the same time making these songs refreshingly and completely their own.”
POPS PICK
Patrons who purchase tickets to three or more pops concerts at any venue for the 2016–17 season can save compared to buying single tickets. (Some restrictions apply.) Full information the “Pops Pick” ticket package is available at www.njsymphony.org/pops; subscriptions are also available for purchase online or by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476).
Single tickets for 2016–17 classical programs will go on sale in August; classical subscriptions are available for purchase online at www.njsymphony.org/subscribe or by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476).
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.
The NJSO welcomes new Music Director Xian Zhang in the 2016–17 season. 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 the State Theatre 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 performances, NJSO Youth Orchestras family of student ensembles and El Sistema-inspired NJSO CHAMPS (Character, Achievement and Music Project. The NJSO’s REACH (Resources for Education and Community Harmony) chamber music program annually brings original programs—designed and performed by NJSO musicians—to a variety of settings, reaching as more than 22,000 people in nearly all of New Jersey’s 21 counties.
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.
PRESS CONTACT
National & NYC Press Representative:
Dan Dutcher, Dan Dutcher Public Relations | 917.566.8413 | dan@dandutcherpr.com
Regional Press Representative:
Victoria McCabe, NJSO Communications and External Affairs | 973.735.1715 |vmccabe@njsymphony.org
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