Olympic bobsledder joins NJSO for post-concert discussion

NJSO Concertmaster Eric Wyrick and New Jersey-native Olympian Jazmine Fenlator to discuss what it takes to be at the top of their respective games

Team USA Olympic bobsled pilot Jazmine Fenlator joins the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra for “From Sochi to Strauss”—a special post-concert session with NJSO Concertmaster Eric Wyrick on Friday, March 21, at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark. The New Jersey-native Olympian and the Orchestra concertmaster will discuss what it takes to be at the top of their respective games. NJSO President & CEO James Roe will moderate the session, which will be held in NJPAC’s Prudential Hall lobby following the 8 pm concert.

The evening’s concert features Wyrick’s annual solo appearance with the NJSO; the concertmaster performs Strauss’ Violin Concerto on a program that closes with an iconic Russian masterwork—Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony.

Returning to her home state after four successful runs at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, Fenlator says: “I am honored to join the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and Concertmaster Eric Wyrick for this special session. I have always been an admirer of the performing arts community in New Jersey, and this unique opportunity allows me to reconnect with the local arts scene. As a proud New Jersey native who was motivated by the love and support back home during the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, I look forward to discussing my perspective of being one of the top athletes in the world for Team USA.”

“I have always admired the discipline—especially the mental discipline—that top athletes on the worldwide stage exhibit,” Wyrick says. “There are certainly plenty of similarities between the arts and sports worlds when it comes to achieving at the highest levels. This public forum with Olympic bobsled pilot Jazmine Fenlator will be a really fun opportunity to explore those similarities.”

“From Sochi to Strauss” is free for all attendees of the March 21 NJSO performance. Concert tickets start at $20 and are available for purchase online or by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476).

To view concert information and purchase tickets, click here.

 
BIOS

Eric Wyrick, NJSO Concertmaster

Violinist Eric Wyrick is concertmaster of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and has been an Orpheus Chamber Orchestra member and frequent leader since 1988.

Born in New York City, Wyrick started playing the violin at 4 years old. He attended the Juilliard Pre-College Division and later The Juilliard School, studying with Dorothy DeLay. His varied orchestral career began with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic at the age of 14. He has been concertmaster of the American Symphony, Eos and Opéra Français de New York, as well as the Christmas String Seminar under the direction of Alexander Schneider.

Wyrick has appeared as a soloist with the Danish Radio Orchestra, Orchestre de Toulouse, Hudson Valley Philharmonic and San Angelo Symphony Orchestra. An active chamber musician, Wyrick can be heard frequently with the NJSO Chamber Players and is a founding performer at the Bard Music Festival.

He has recorded for Bridge Records, Vanguard and, with Orpheus, Deutsche Grammophon. He is the soloist on a recording of composer Darryl Kubian’s 3-2-1 Concerto for Acoustic and Electric Violin with the Orquesta Sinfonica of Michoacan, available online.

 
Jazmine Fenlator, Team USA Olympic bobsled pilot

Olympic USA women’s bobsled pilot Jazmine Fenlator has made a name for herself in women’s bobsledding after four successful runs at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.

Before her bobsled career, Fenlator was one of the top track athletes at Rider University, specializing in shot put, discus and hammer. She still holds many of the university’s records for the indoor shot put, outdoor shot put and discus. When Fenlator graduated from Rider in 2007, her track coach suggested she transition her skills and try a bobsled camp. She quickly fell in love with the different and equally challenging sport and decided to dedicate her life to bobsledding.

After spending a few years as a brakeman, Fenlator decided to make the switch to the pilot’s seat. In two seasons as a pilot, she has earned three World Cup medals—two silvers in Lake Placid, New York, and Park City, Utah, and a bronze in Igls, Austria. More information is available at www.JazBobsled.com.