NJSO presents ‘The Musical Time Machine’ Family Concert

Musical journey through history features music from Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, Rossini’s William Tell Overture, Dvořák’s ‘New World’ Symphony and more

Education & Community Engagement Conductor Jeffrey Grogan conducts

Audience favorite Ben Steinfeld returns as concert host

Interactive Pre-Concert Adventure begins at 1 pm

Sat, Nov 29, at NJPAC in Newark

 

NEWARK, NJ (October 24, 2014)—The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra kicks off its 2014–15 Family Series with “The Musical Time Machine”—a musical trip through history that features beloved and famous music from the Baroque to Modern eras. NJSO Education & Community Engagement Conductor Jeffrey Grogan leads the concert, which takes place on Saturday, November 29, at 2 pm at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark. Audience favorite Ben Steinfeld brings his trademark humor and theatrics as concert host of this time-traveling adventure.

“The Musical Time Machine” features music from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, Gabrieli’s Canzona, Pachelbel’s Canon, Rossini’s William Tell Overture, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 15 and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, “New World.”

“We’ll take a whirlwind trip through history, stopping at some of the most exciting moments in music along the way,” Grogan says. “It will be up to the audience to keep a rogue time traveler from changing the opening of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony! I know everyone will love seeing the hilarious Ben Steinfeld bring this adventure to life.”

An interactive Pre-Concert Adventure begins at 1 pm in the Prudential Hall lobby. The activities, which are free to all ticketholders, include ready-to-play child-sized orchestral instruments provided by Touch the Music with Claudia Baumgaertner Lemmerz. Concertgoers can meet NJSO musicians and ask them questions, learn fun facts about the program and create unique souvenirs to take home.

Patrons can meet Grogan and Steinfeld at a post-concert event in the concert-hall lobby.

TICKETS

Tickets are $10 for children and $20 for adults, available for purchase online at www.njsymphony.org or by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476).

THE PROGRAM

The Musical Time Machine
Saturday, November 29, at 2 pm | NJPAC in Newark

Jeffrey Grogan, conductor
Ben Steinfeld, host
New Jersey Symphony Orchestra

Program features selections from:

BEETHOVEN  Symphony No. 5
GABRIELI Canzona
PACHELBEL Canon
ROSSINI William Tell Overture
DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 9, “New World”
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 15

Pre-Concert Adventure begins at 1 pm in the lobby; all ticketholders are welcome. All patrons can attend a special post-concert meet and greet with Grogan and Steinfeld.

Full concert information is available at www.njsymphony.org/events/detail/the-musical-time-machine.

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey sponsors the 2014–15 NJSO Family Series.

THE ARTISTS

Jeffrey Grogan, conductor
Applauded for performances “high in energy, with close attention to ebb and flow,” New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Education & Community Engagement Conductor Jeffrey Grogan is hailed as an innovative musical leader. His humanistic leadership style, coupled with a strong command of skills as a musical communicator, has earned him an impressive reputation with audiences and music programs throughout the country. Known for “shrewd programming, skillful rehearsing and an energized performance,” Grogan participated in the prestigious Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview—a showcase appearance with the Nashville Symphony—sponsored by the League of American Orchestras.

Grogan considers his work with young musicians to be one of the cornerstones of his career. He is conductor and Artistic Director of the NJSO Youth Orchestras, InterSchool Orchestras of New York and New Jersey Youth Symphony. Last season, his youth orchestras performed to capacity crowds at Carnegie Hall and the Musikverein in Vienna.

He serves as Artistic Director of the El Sistema-inspired Paterson Music Project sponsored by Wharton Music Center and is Artistic Advisor to the El Sistema-inspired NJSO CHAMPS (Character, Achievement and Music Project) in Newark.

Grogan has served as adjudicator, conductor and clinician for prestigious national festivals including the National Orchestra Cup at Lincoln Center, Honors Performance Series with the National Youth Orchestra at Carnegie Hall and Festival Disney in Orlando. He recently led teacher-training workshops for the New York City Board of Education and through Tony Bennett’s foundation Exploring the Arts. He has appeared as a guest conductor at the University of Georgia, Indiana University, Manhattan School of Music and Mannes School of Music Pre-College Division. Grogan has conducted all-state orchestras in Arkansas, Arizona, California, Georgia, Indiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas and Washington. He conducts numerous regional orchestras and festivals and has conducted performances with the Little Orchestra Society of New York, Reno Philharmonic, Adelphi Chamber Orchestra and New York Concerti Sinfonietta.

Prior to moving to the New York Metropolitan Area, Grogan was on faculty at the University of Michigan, Ithaca College and Baylor University. He taught public school in the Desoto (Texas) Independent School District. Grogan graduated from Stephen F. Austin State University with a Bachelor of Music Education and holds a Master of Music in Conducting/Horn Performance from the University of Michigan. In 2004, he was named Outstanding Music Alumnus for Stephen F. Austin State University.

Ben Steinfeld, host
Actor, director, teacher and musician Ben Steinfeld is co-artistic director of the celebrated Fiasco Theater. He has appeared on Broadway in the Roundabout Theatre Company revival of Cyrano de Bergerac and as James Monroe in Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. Off-Broadway acting work includes Fiasco Theater’s acclaimed production of Cymbeline, which he also co-directed, at Theatre for a New Audience and the Barrow Street Theatre, and Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson at the Public Theater. Selected regional work includes Fiasco’s Into the Woods at the McCarter Theatre, Misalliance at Portland Center Stage, Design for Living at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, Room Service at the Westport Country Playhouse and 10 plays with Trinity Rep.

Steinfeld’s television and film work includes HBO’s Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight, “The Good Wife” and “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.” He co-authored an essay for the new book “Living with Shakespeare.” He is a graduate of Brown University and the Brown/Trinity MFA Program.

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.

Under the bold leadership of Music Director Jacques Lacombe, the NJSO 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 the State Theatre 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 performances and multiple offerings—including the three-ensemble NJSO Youth Orchestras and El Sistema-inspired NJSO CHAMPS (Character, Achievement and Music Project)—that provide and promote in-school instrumental instruction as part of the NJSO Academy. The NJSO’s REACH (Resources for Education and Community Harmony) chamber music program annually brings original programs—designed and performed by NJSO musicians—to a variety of settings, reaching as many as 17,000 people in nearly all of New Jersey’s 21 counties.

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. United is the official airline of the NJSO.

PRESS CONTACT

National & NYC Press Representative:
Dan Dutcher, Dan Dutcher Public Relations | 917.566.8413 | dan@dandutcherpr.com

Regional Press Representative:
Victoria McCabe, NJSO Communications and External Affairs | 973.735.1715 | vmccabe@njsymphony.org

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