NJSO opens 2019–20 season with Holst’s The Planets with NASA imagery in HD
Oct 11 and 13 at NJPAC in Newark
Oct 12 at Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank
- Xian Zhang also conducts Sarah Kirkland Snider’s Hiraeth with film by Mark DeChiazza
- Women of Newark Voices return for Holst’s masterwork
NEWARK, NJ—The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Xian Zhang open the 2019–20 season with a program pairing music and visuals in Holst’s The Planets, with NASA imagery in HD, and the NJSO premiere of Sarah Kirkland Snider’s Hiraeth, with an accompanying film by Mark DeChiazza. Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 opens the program.
Produced by scientist and filmmaker Duncan Copp, The Planets—an HD Odyssey projects high-definition satellite imagery as Zhang leads the Orchestra in Holst’s masterwork. The NJSO celebrates voices from its own communities as the women of Newark Voices—a choir that debuted with Zhang and the NJSO on the 2018–19 season’s opening weekend—return to bring an ethereal element to “Neptune, the Mystic.”
New Jersey-based composer Sarah Kirkland Snider was inspired by the Welsh definition of nostalgia for her autobiographical work Hiraeth—music evoking her family’s history, commissioned alongside a film by Mark DeChiazza. Of the film, Snider has said, “We set about re-creating some of my father’s, uncle’s and my childhood experiences in North Carolina. The result is something hazy and atmospheric, somewhere between memory and dream.”
Performances take place on October 11 at 7:30 pm and October 13 at 3 pm at NJPAC in Newark and on October 12 at 8 pm at the Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank.
Concert tickets start at $20; student tickets are $10, available online one month in advance. Tickets are available for purchase at njsymphony.org or 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476).
Learn more at njsymphony.org/planets.
Opening Night Celebration Gala
An Opening Night Celebration gala on October 11 at NJPAC honors Turrell Fund President & CEO Curtland E. Fields and recognizes the significant contributions the fund has made to enrich the lives of children in the Greater Newark community with the experience of live symphonic music through the Orchestra’s education and community engagement programs. The gala, sponsored by Investors Bank, includes a pre-concert cocktail party and post-concert dinner.
Full gala information is available at njsymphony.org/openingnight.
Concert Program
Holst’s The Planets in HD
Friday, October 11, at 7:30 pm | NJPAC in Newark
Saturday, October 12, at 8 pm | Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank
Sunday, October 13, at 3 pm | NJPAC in Newark
XIAN ZHANG conductor
Women of NEWARK VOICES | Heather J. Buchanan, conductor
ELGAR Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1
SARAH KIRKLAND SNIDER Hiraeth (with film by Mark DeChiazza) (NJSO Premiere)
HOLST The Planets—An HD Odyssey (with film) (produced by Duncan Copp)
Learn more at njsymphony.org/planets.
Bank of America is concert sponsor of the October 13 performance.
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 and the NJSO Youth Orchestras family of student ensembles, led by José Luis Domínguez. NJSO musicians annually perform original chamber music programs at community events in a variety of settings statewide through the NJSO Community Partners program.
Tickets are available for purchase by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476) or at njsymphony.org.
Connect with Us:
Website: njsymphony.org
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @NJSymphony
YouTube: @NewJerseySymphony
Email: information@njsymphony.org
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
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Opening Weekend: Holst’s The Planets in HD
2019–20 Season
XIAN ZHANG conductor
NEWARK VOICES
Heather J. Buchanan, conductor
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ELGAR Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1
At the dawn of the 20th century, Elgar summed up the pride and power of the English with this march; its later use as a graduation theme made him a household name far beyond Britain.
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SARAH KIRKLAND SNIDER Hiraeth (with film by Mark DeChiazza) (NJSO Premiere)
The New Jersey-based composer was inspired by the Welsh word for nostalgia for this innovative work, touching music commissioned alongside an equally moving film.
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HOLST The Planets—An HD Odyssey (with film)
The myths and astrological meanings of our heavenly neighbors moved Holst to create his masterpiece. The work gathers a new depth accompanied by jaw-dropping NASA visuals. Produced by Duncan Copp.