High-school musicians join NJSO for Concerts for Young People

More than 130 high-school musicians from Arts High School in Newark, Elizabeth High School Upper Academy in Elizabeth, Cicely L. Tyson School of Performing and Fine Arts in East Orange and Vernon Township High School in Vernon joined the NJSO on stage for rehearsals and performances as part of the NJSO’s Concerts for Young People series this fall.

Under the baton of Education & Community Engagement Conductor Jeffrey Grogan, young musicians in Newark, East Orange and Elizabeth performed selections from Holst’s The Planets side by side with the professional musicians of the NJSO for more than 7,000 students and their educators across four venues during these school-time concerts. Educators called the concerts “a perfect balance between learning and entertaining.”

After her student ensemble worked on its own repertoire in a special rehearsal with the NJSO, Vernon Township High School’s orchestra director said, “The NJSO members [were] all actively engaged, and the kids were just lapping up everything they said!”