NJSO presents Mozart’s Requiem | Mar 15-18

Thu, Mar 15, at NJPAC in Newark

Fri, Mar 16, at Richardson Auditorium in Princeton

Sat, Mar 17, at NJPAC in Newark

Sun, Mar 18, at Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown

• Music Director Xian Zhang conducts Mozart masterwork
• Montclair State University Singers take center stage for pair of a cappella works
• NJSO Accents include #ChoraleYou, food drive

NEWARK, NJ—The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Xian Zhang present Mozart’s Requiem, March 15–18 in Newark, Princeton and Morristown. A trio of vocal pieces, including a pair of a cappella works performed by the Montclair State University Singers, open the program.

Performances take place on Thursday, March 15, at 1:30 pm and Saturday, March 17, at 8 pm at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark; Friday, March 16, at 8 pm at the Richardson Auditorium in Princeton; and Sunday, March 18, at 3 pm at Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown.

Continuing a multiyear partnership with the Curtis Institute of Music to present its finest student musicians, the NJSO welcomes a quartet of vocal soloists from the Institute—soprano Emily Pogorelc, mezzo-soprano Kendra Broom, tenor Roy Hage and baritone Doğukan Kuran—for Mozart’s masterwork.

The program opens with Mozart’s Ave verum corpus, followed by Joseph Rheinberger’s Abendlied and Ben Parry’s Flame—two a cappella works showcasing the Montclair State University Singers under the direction of Heather J. Buchanan.

NJSO Accents include #ChoraleYou—a “sing in” in NJPAC’s lobby following the March 17 concert, when audience members will get to give their own performance of the NJSO concert’s opening piece—Mozart’s Ave verum corpus. Montclair State University’s Heather J. Buchanan will conduct a brief rehearsal and performance that is open to all ticketholders. More information is available at www.njsymphony.org/choraleyou.

The Orchestra hosts its annual food drive and will collect non-perishable food donations at all performances. More information is available at www.njsymphony.org/fooddrive.

Concert tickets start at $20 and are available for purchase online at www.njsymphony.org or by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476).

 

THE PROGRAM

Mozart’s Requiem

Thu, Mar 15, at 1:30 pm | NJPAC in Newark
Fri, Mar 16, at 8 pm | Richardson Auditorium in Princeton
Sat, Mar 17, at 8 pm | NJPAC in Newark
Sun, Mar 18, at 3 pm | Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown

Xian Zhang, conductor
Soloists from the Curtis Institute of Music
     Emily Pogorelc, soprano | Kendra Broom, mezzo-soprano
     Roy Hage, tenor | Doğukan Kuran, baritone
Montclair State University Singers | Heather J. Buchanan, conductor
New Jersey Symphony Orchestra

MOZART Ave verum corpus
RHEINBERGER Abendlied for a cappella chorus
PARRY Flame for a cappella chorus
MOZART Requiem

This program will be performed without intermission.

 

NJSO ACCENTS:

#ChoraleYou—Sat, Mar 17, after the concert
Get inspired by the evening’s performance, then join with other audience members as Heather J. Buchanan leads your own rendition of Mozart’s Ave verum corpus. More info and registration.

NJSO Food Drive
Non-perishable food items will be accepted for donation to local food banks. More info.

Full concert information is available www.njsymphony.org/events/detail/mozart-requiem.

The March 16 performance is generously sponsored by Novo Nordisk.

 

THE ARTISTS

Xian Zhang, conductor

In an acclaimed first season as Music Director of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Xian Zhang “clearly made her mark,” NJ Advance Media writes. “Now it’s time to see how high [the Orchestra] can soar.” Zhang continues her tenure in 2017–18 with performances of Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, Mahler’s First Symphony and Dvořák’s Ninth Symphony, among others.

In September 2016, Zhang assumed the position of Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC National Orchestra & Chorus of Wales, becoming the first female conductor to hold a titled role with a BBC orchestra; the season culminated in a televised BBC Proms performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, anticipating the start of a two-year project devoted to the composer’s complete symphonies. Her 2017–18 BBC NOW season includes a concert tour of Wales. Zhang is also Conductor Emeritus of Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, following completion of her tenure as Music Director from 2009–16.

Forthcoming engagements include returns to the Los Angeles Philharmonic, NDR Radiophilharmonie, Orchestre National de Belgique, Orquesta Nacional de España and Savonlinna Opera Festival, as well as debuts with the San Francisco Symphony and NAC Orchestra, Ottawa. Zhang is a regular conductor of the London Symphony and Royal Concertgebouw orchestras; recent highlights include her debut with The Cleveland Orchestra and a gala concert with Renée Fleming and the China NCPA Orchestra.

Born in Dandong, China, Zhang made her professional debut conducting The Marriage of Figaro at the Central Opera House in Beijing at the age of 20. She trained at Beijing’s Central Conservatory, earning both Bachelor and Master of Music degrees and serving one year on its conducting faculty before moving to the United States in 1998. She was appointed the New York Philharmonic’s Assistant Conductor in 2002, then became its Associate Conductor and first holder of the Arturo Toscanini Chair.

 

Emily Pogorelc, soprano

Soprano Emily Pogorelc, from Milwaukee, entered the Curtis Institute of Music in 2014 and studies voice with Julia Faulkner. All students at Curtis receive merit-based, full-tuition scholarships; Pogorelc is the Charles and Judith Freyer Annual Fellow.

Pogorelc’s roles with the Curtis Opera Theatre include Lisette (La Rondine), Lucia (The Rape of Lucretia), Fire (L’Enfant et les sortilèges), Musetta (La Bohème), Barbarina (The Marriage of Figaro) and Gherardino (Gianni Schicchi), among others. She made her Opera Philadelphia debut in the New York premiere of Charlie Parker’s Yardbird in a co-production with the Apollo Theatre. She will be a member of the Ryan Opera Center Ensemble at the Lyric Opera of Chicago for the 2018–19 season.

Pogorelc soloed with the Madison Symphony Orchestra in December 2017 and was a young artist with the Glimmerglass Festival in 2016 and 2017. She has appeared as a soloist with the Lansdowne Symphony Orchestra as a winner of the 2015 Irving Ludwig Youth Competition, and with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra in Berio’s Sinfonia.

 

Kendra Broom, mezzo-soprano

Mezzo-soprano Kendra Broom, from Oakland, CA, entered the Curtis Institute of Music in 2015 and studies in the opera program with Marlena Kleinman Malas. All students at Curtis receive merit-based, full-tuition scholarships; Broom is the Shaun F. O’Malley Fellow. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Manhattan School of Music.

Broom has sung the roles of Mélisande (Impressions of Pelléas), the Child (L’enfant et les sortilèges), Lucretia (The Rape of Lucretia), Cherubino (The Marriage of Figaro), Faith (Rene Orth’s Empty the House) and Javotte (Manon) for the Curtis Opera Theatre. She also has appeared in productions at the Chautauqua Institution and the Bard Music Festival.

Broom performed the lead role in Sheila Silver’s A Thousand Splendid Suns as part of OPERA America’s New Works Forum. She has appeared as a soloist in Berio’s Sinfonia with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, Mozart’s Requiem with the New York City Master Chorale and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Binghamton Philharmonic.

 

Roy Hage, tenor

Lebanese-American tenor Roy Hage is a two-time Grammy-nominated artist who has performed more than 40 roles including the title roles in The Tales of Hoffmann, The Rake’s Progress, Candide, La Clemenza di Tito and Pelléas and Melisande, as well as the Duke (Rigoletto), Nemorino (L’Elisir d’amore), Alfredo (La Traviata), Tamino (The Magic Flute) and Le Chevalier des Grieux (Manon).

Hage has performed with the symphony orchestras of Philadelphia, Santa Fe, Cleveland, Saint Louis and New Jersey, as well as Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Symphony in C and CityMusic Cleveland. He also has performed with opera companies in Philadelphia, Santa Fe, Saint Louis, Miami, Aspen and Chautauqua, as well as Yale Opera, Curtis Opera Theater, Oberlin Opera Theater and Academy of Vocal Arts.

Hage is currently a third-year resident artist at Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA), where he is a student of the noted voice teacher Bill Schuman. Prior to joining the roster at AVA, Hage completed his training at Interlochen Arts Academy.

 

Doğukan Kuran, baritone

Baritone Doğukan Kuran, from Izmir, Turkey, entered the Curtis Institute of Music in 2014 and is pursuing a master’s degree in the opera program with Luis Ledesma. All students at Curtis receive merit-based, full-tuition scholarships; Kuran is the Arthur Tracy Fellow. Previously, Kuran attended the State Conservatory of Izmir, where he was a student of Alper Kazancioglu.

Kuran has been a prizewinner in numerous competitions, including the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation’s International Vocal Competition, performing in a winners’ concert in Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall, and first prize in Turkey’s 2014 National Young Opera Soloists Competition.

With Curtis Opera Theatre, he has performed the roles of Rambaldo and Rabonnier (La Rondine), Hubbard (Doctor Atomic), Collatinus (The Rape of Lucretia) and Germano (La Scala di seta). In 2013, he performed a solo recital with Soirée Aris d’Opera Metropole in Brussels. He was a 2017 apprentice singer at the Santa Fe Opera Festival, and he joins Opera Philadelphia’s Emerging Artists Program for the 2017–18 season.

Over the last 15 years, the Montclair State University (MSU) choral program has been recognized for its successful collaborations with world-renowned artists and celebrated professional musicians in national and international venues.

 

Montclair State University Singers

The Montclair State University Singers is a mixed-voice elective choir comprising undergraduate and graduate students who are experienced musicians. Pianist Steven W. Ryan accompanies the choir.

MSU choirs regularly appear with the NJSO. Previous highlights include performances of Orff’s Carmina Burana, Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Mahler’s Symphony No. 3, Mozart’s Requiem, Howard Shore’s Academy Award-winning The Lord of the Rings Symphony, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Verdi’s epic Requiem—twice, under the batons of Neeme Järvi and Jacques Lacombe. The highly acclaimed performances of Carmina Burana and Verdi’s Requiem by the MSU Chorale (symphonic choir) with Lacombe were celebrated with CD releases in 2011 and 2014.

Founded in 1908, MSU is proud to be a leading institution of higher education in NJ. More information is available at www.montclair.edu.

Australian-born conductor Heather J. Buchanan, PhD, is professor of music and director of choral activities at Montclair State University, where she conducts the Chorale, University Singers, Vocal Accord and Prima Voce. Choirs under her direction have won critical acclaim and have collaborated with world-renowned artists including Meredith Monk, Richard Alston Dance Company, Mícheál O ÓSúílleabháin, Tarik O’Regan and Chen Yi. Buchanan is founding co-editor and compiler of the landmark GIA Publications choral series Teaching Music through Performance in Choir, vols. 1–3, and has released a DVD, Evoking Sound: Body Mapping & Gesture Fundamentals.

A licensed Andover educator, Buchanan specializes in the teaching of body mapping for musicians and holds degrees from the University of New England in Australia, Westminster Choir College of Rider University and the Queensland Conservatorium at Griffith University in Australia. She is in demand as a guest conductor, somatic educator and choral clinician in the US and abroad.

 

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 Theatre 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, currently 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.

For more information about the NJSO, visit www.njsymphony.org or email information@njsymphony.org. Tickets are available for purchase by phone 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476) or on the Orchestra’s website.

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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