NJSO PRESENTS 2013 WINTER FESTIVAL: ‘AIR AND THE ATMOSPHERE’

NEWARK, NJ (November 21, 2012)—This January, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO) presents its 2013 Winter Festival: ‘Air and the Atmosphere’—the third season of a multi-year odyssey spotlighting the symbolic power of natural elements that have inspired composers for centuries. The festival, which runs January 4–6 and 25–27, encompasses two concert programs celebrating air and the atmosphere—from the most intimate to the most infinite—in music. Music Director Jacques Lacombe leads each Winter Festival program. Performances will take place at four of the Orchestra’s venues throughout the state of New Jersey.

The first Winter Festival program, The Planets, pairs Holst’s celestial work with Michael Tippett’s Symphony No. 4; the latter incorporates the sound of human breathing into the music. “Tippett’s symphony uses air as a musical instrument, with [the sound of] a breath throughout the piece,” Lacombe says. “I have heard the piece in concert, and it is extremely moving and powerful. It’s the idea of what an element could become when it is treated as a musical instrument.”

In the festival’s second program, Lacombe Conducts Beethoven & Tchaikovsky, the NJSO presents Tchaikovsky and Sibelius works inspired by Shakespeare’s The Tempest; the Orchestra augments Sibelius’ music with performances by actors from The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. The program also includes Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, “Pastoral.” “With air, you think about wind, and with wind, you think about storms—those ideas inspired this program,” Lacombe says.

Extramusical Winter Festival events, presented in collaboration with several partnering organizations, explore air-related topics. Special events include a panel discussion about air quality and Artisan & Information Fairs that will showcase displays from artisans and environmental organizations.

Winter Festival partnering organizations include The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Liberty Science Center, Newark Museum, New Jersey Sierra Club and Raritan Headwaters Association. Liberty Science Center and the Newark Museum have crafted special offers for Winter Festival ticketholders.

“To have classical music associated with the environment [creates an opportunity] to link, in an interesting way, music of the past with important issues of today’s life,” Lacombe says. “To bring these partner organizations into the concert hall and expose them to people who might not even know of their existence is a very rich collaboration. Orchestras need to have connections to the community, and I think that with partnerships, we are stronger. It goes back to being proud of who we are and what we have here in this state.”

Tickets start at $20 and are available for purchase online at www.njsymphony.org or by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476). Pre-concert events are free to ticketholders.