Morristown Green profiles conductor Gemma New
Morristown Green interviews Associate Conductor Gemma New about Sunday’s outdoor concert at the Giralda Music and Arts Festival in Madison and explores her journey as a conductor—from NZ to NJ:
The 26-year-old musician calls Jersey City home, and insists that places in NJ remind her of luscious NZ. She has packed lots of Jerseyana into Sunday’s program, which will celebrate the state’s 350th anniversary.
Look for a Jersey Boys tribute and yes, some Sinatra–which New’s grandparents played on their stereo back in the God Zone.
But she’s also quick to point out that John Philip Sousa summered in Atlantic City, Rachmaninoff had a house in Rumson, and sharpshooter Annie Oakley, memorialized in Annie Get Your Gun, was more partial to Nutley than the Wild West ...
Unlike some orchestras that rehearse, perform and go home, the New Jersey Symphony criss-crosses the state for shows in Morristown, Princeton, Englewood, Red Bank and elsewhere.
“This orchestra is like a family to me. We travel together every week, we look out for each other, we eat together, hang out together. It’s such a warm, close orchestra. I’ve never seen anything like it anywhere,” New said.
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Lord of the Rings was filmed in New Zealand, but conducting is what holds this Kiwi spellbound.
“I just loved bringing people together,” New said. “For me, orchestral music, the reason why I love it, I’m absolutely fascinated by it, is the fact that no one can do this by themselves.
“Every single part is needed, and it brings all these people together and really values everyone there. And that’s such a great example of humanity in my mind. I just am fascinated by that concept, that we are creating something together that we cannot do alone. And it’s higher than ourselves in some way. I wouldn’t want to say it’s lofty, it’s just inspiring.”
Read the full feature at morristowngreen.com.