NJSO presents Bach and Steven Mackey double concertos

May 16 and 18 at NJPAC in Newark

May 17 at Richardson Auditorium in Princeton

May 19 at State Theatre New Jersey in New Brunswick

• Concertmaster Eric Wyrick performs Mackey’s Four Iconoclastic Episodes, featuring the composer on electric guitar
• Sphinx Concerto competition winner Annelle Gregory performs Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins with Wyrick
• Program also features Beethoven’s Leonore Overture No. 3, Weber’s Overture to Oberon
• Music Director Xian Zhang conducts
• NJSO Accent events include singalong, Classical Conversations

NEWARK, NJ—New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster Eric Wyrick takes center stage in a pair of double concertos, pairing with electric guitarist Steven Mackey in Mackey’s Four Iconoclastic Episodes and with Sphinx Competition winner Annelle Gregory in Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins—May 16–19. Music Director Xian Zhang conducts the program, which also features Beethoven’s Leonore Overture No. 3 and Weber’s Overture to Oberon.

Performances take place on May 16 at 1:30 pm and May 18 at 8 pm at NJPAC in Newark; May 17 at 8 pm at Richardson Auditorium in Princeton and May 19 at 3 pm at State Theatre New Jersey in New Brunswick.

These performances are the second NJSO program featuring Mackey, a longtime NJSO collaborator and artistic partner, that week. He conducts and hosts a program of contemporary chamber works curated by composer Juri Seo with the NJSO Chamber Players on May 13 at 8 pm at Princeton University’s new Lewis Arts Complex.

Mackey and Wyrick gave the NJSO premiere of Four Iconoclastic Episodes at the closing concert of the 2017 NJSO Edward T. Cone Composition Institute. Mackey is the director of the Orchestra’s Princeton University-based program for emerging composers, which the NJSO founded in 2014.

Gregory is the 2017 senior winner of the Sphinx Competition. She appears with the NJSO as part of the Orchestra’s continuing partnership with the Sphinx Organization, a non-profit dedicated to transforming lives through the power of diversity in the arts.

NJSO Accent events include a singalong one hour before the May 16 concert and Classical Conversations one hour before the May 17, 18 and 19 concerts. More information on NJSO Accent events is available at njsymphony.org/accents.

Concert tickets start at $20 ($10 for students) and are available for purchase at njsymphony.org or 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476).

 

Concert Program

Art of the Double Concerto

Thu, May 16, at 1:30 pm | NJPAC in Newark
Fri, May 17, at 8 pm | Richardson Auditorium in Princeton
Sat, May 18, at 8 pm | NJPAC in Newark
Sun, May 19, at 3 pm | State Theatre New Jersey in New Brunswick

Xian Zhang, conductor
Eric Wyrick, violin
Annelle Gregory, violin
Steven Mackey, electric guitar
New Jersey Symphony Orchestra

WEBER Overture to Oberon
STEVEN MACKEY Four Iconoclastic Episodes
BACH Concerto for Two Violins
BEETHOVEN Leonore Overture No. 3

NJSO ACCENTS

Singalong Fun – Thu, May 16, at 12:30 pm
Come early and sing along to an entertaining selection of song favorites.

Classical Conversation – Fri, May 17, at 7 pm; Sat, May 18, at 7 pm and Sun, May 19, at 2 pm
Enjoy a lively Classical Conversation before the performance. Learn more about the music from NJSO musicians, guest artists and other engaging insiders.

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

Northern Trust is concert sponsor of the May 18 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; 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.

Tickets are available online at njsymphony.org, by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476) or in person. The NJSO Patron Services office is located at 60 Park Place, Suite 900, in Newark; hours are Monday–Friday, 9 am–5 pm, and concert Saturdays, 11 am–5 pm.

For more information, visit njsymphony.org or 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

###