Dawn Upshaw performs works by Maria Schneider and Mahler with NJSO

Jan 18 at Richardson Auditorium in Princeton

Jan 19 at Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank

Jan 20 at NJPAC in Newark

• Program is part of 2019 Winter Festival, ‘Music Speaks’
• Music Director Xian Zhang conducts
• NJSO Accents include Music and Wellness Program panel

NEWARK, NJ—Soprano Dawn Upshaw sings Maria Schneider’s Winter Morning Walks and Mahler’s Fourth Symphony January 18–20 in the second program of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra’s 2019 Winter Festival, “Music Speaks.” Music Director Xian Zhang conducts.

Performances take place on January 18 at 8 pm at Richardson Auditorium in Princeton, January 19 at 8 pm at Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank and January 20 at 3 pm at NJPAC in Newark.

Zhang says: “Performing works by female composers has always been one of my passions, and Maria Schneider’s Winter Morning Walks—with soloist Dawn Upshaw—is a particularly touching piece, based on poems former US Poet Laureate Ted Kooser wrote while undergoing cancer treatments. This is a story about hope in very desperate situations; I think it ties beautifully to Mahler’s Fourth Symphony, which also features Upshaw. She sings ‘Das himmlische Leben’ (‘The Heavenly Life’) from The Youth’s Magic Horn, with its text about a child imagining heaven. The entire program speaks of recovery, hope and salvation.”

NJSO Accent events include post-concert panel discussions with NJSO musicians who perform in hospital settings through the NJSO Music and Wellness Program on January 18 and 20. More information on NJSO Accent events is available at njsymphony.org/accents.

The Orchestra’s signature artistic event, the Winter Festival takes place across three weekends, January 10–27, in six New Jersey venues. Zhang conducts programs with music inspired by poetry, stories and myths. The festival’s first weekend features pianist Emanuel Ax (January 10–12); the festival finale features pianist Daniil Trifonov in his NJSO debut (January 25–27).

Concert tickets start at $20 and are available for purchase at njsymphony.org or 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476).

For more information on the Winter Festival and related events, visit njsymphony.org/winterfestival.

 

WINTER FESTIVAL WEEK II: Dawn Upshaw & Xian Zhang

Fri, Jan 18, at 8 pm | Richardson Auditorium in Princeton
Sat, Jan 19, at 8 pm | Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank
Sun, Jan 20 at 3 pm | NJPAC in Newark

Xian Zhang, conductor
Dawn Upshaw, soprano
Jay Anderson, bass
Frank Kimbrough, piano
Scott Robinson, clarinet
New Jersey Symphony Orchestra

MARIA SCHNEIDER Winter Morning Walks (NJSO Premiere)
MAHLER Symphony No. 4

NJSO ACCENTS

Music and Wellness – Fri, Jan 18, at 7 pm and Sun, Jan 20, after the concert
Join NJSO musicians who perform in hospital settings through the Orchestra’s Music and Wellness Program, as well as special guests, for a discussion about healing and the arts.

Additional concert information and artist bios are available at njsymphony.org/upshaw.

Northern Trust is concert sponsor of the January 19 performance.

 

2019 NJSO Winter Festival: ‘Music Speaks’

A trio of renowned guest artists with distinct musical voices—pianists Emanuel Ax and Daniil Trifonov and soprano Dawn Upshaw—headline the NJSO’s Winter Festival, “Music Speaks,” in January 2019. The Orchestra’s signature artistic event takes place across three weekends, January 10–27, in six New Jersey venues.

Week I: Emanuel Ax & Xian Zhang
Jan 10–13 in Englewood, Newark and New Brunswick
njsymphony.org/ax

Week II: Dawn Upshaw & Xian Zhang
Jan 18–20 in Princeton, Red Bank and Newark
njsymphony.org/upshaw

Week III: Daniil Trifonov & Xian Zhang
Jan 25–27 in Newark, New Brunswick and Morristown
njsymphony.org/trifonov

 

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 Center for the Arts 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, 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 njsymphony.org or email information@njsymphony.org. Tickets are available for purchase by phone at 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

Victoria McCabe, NJSO Senior Manager of Public Relations & Communications | 973.735.1715 | vmccabe@njsymphony.org

###