Single tickets on sale for NJSO’s 2017–18 classical, pops and family programs

• Music Director Xian Zhang brings intense creativity and vision to compelling programs
• ‘America, Inspiring’ Winter Festival concerts and events celebrate foreign artists and composers who found creative inspiration in a welcoming America
• Pianist Jeremy Denk headlines opening weekend with Zhang; season finale features violinist Gil Shaham
• Jason Alexander retells his Broadway journey through song and comedy; Orchestra performs An American in Paris and E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial scores live to picture
• NJSO performs in six Garden State venues

Newark, NJ (August 7, 2017)—All tickets are on sale for the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra’s classical, pops and family programs for the 2017–18 season—Xian Zhang’s second as the Orchestra’s critically acclaimed artistic leader. The NJSO brings a diverse range of compelling programs to six venues across the Garden State, with highlights including classical masterworks, a Winter Festival celebrating foreign artists and composers who found creative inspiration on America’s welcoming shores, film-with-orchestra presentations of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial and music- and comedy-filled performances with Tony Award-winning star Jason Alexander.

Tickets are available for purchase online at www.njsymphony.org or by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476). Patrons can use the NJSO’s online select-a-seat option to choose their seats for most NJSO concerts at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, State Theatre New Jersey in New Brunswick, bergenPAC in Englewood, Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown, Richardson Auditorium in Princeton and Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank. Tickets for most concerts start at $20; all children’s tickets for family concerts are $10.

After an acclaimed first season with the NJSO, Zhang “has left her audiences wanting more,” NJ Advance Media writes. The Music Director “clearly made her mark … Now it’s time to see how high [the Orchestra] can soar.”

In 2017–18, Zhang expands upon her vision for the Orchestra by incorporating a diverse range of voices, from Bach’s complete Brandenburg Concertos to works by contemporary Chinese and Finnish composers. She continues to shape the NJSO’s sonic identity through core repertoire, with multiple works by Beethoven and Russian masters.

Underscoring her belief in bringing new works to NJSO audiences, Zhang conducts not only a world premiere by American composer Richard Danielpour, but also standard works of the canon from Respighi and Prokofiev that the Orchestra has not previously performed.

Zhang and the NJSO open the season in October with a pair of masterpieces—Beethoven’s “Emperor” Piano Concerto and Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique. Celebrated pianist and MacArthur “Genius” Fellow Jeremy Denk joins the Orchestra for Beethoven’s iconic concerto.

In a blockbuster season finale, Zhang conducts Mahler’s monumental First Symphony, Bernstein’s Overture to Candide and Brahms’ Violin Concerto, with lauded violinist and NJSO audience favorite Gil Shaham.

The 2018 Winter Festival, “America, Inspiring,” celebrates artists and composers whose experiences connect them to the nation’s legacy as a source of inspiration and beacon of ideals for people from all over the world. The influence of American jazz runs through Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major and Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances; Czech composer Martinů pays homage to his adopted home in Thunderbolt P-47, heard in its NJSO premiere. The Festival closes with Dvořák’s “New World” Symphony—an embodiment of America’s embrace of creativity.

A May program of Bach’s complete Brandenburg Concertos celebrates the Orchestra’s own musicians, with Concertmaster Eric Wyrick as leader and NJSO members as featured soloists. In a program of unusual textures, the Montclair State University Singers perform two intimate a cappella works paired with Mozart’s epic Requiem.

Pops programs include concerts of song and comedy with Tony Award-winning star Jason Alexander; screenings of An American in Paris and E.T. the Extraterrestrial with live orchestral accompaniment; a program of Latin jazz with the Mambo Kings, and music of iconic sci-fi films hosted by “Star Trek: The Next Generation” star Marina Sirtis.

NJSO Accent events bring audiences closer to the music and music makers. The season features signature Accents like Ask a Musician, Prelude Performances, #OrchestraYou and pre-concert singalongs, conversations with guest artists and more.

Family concerts in the Victoria Theater at NJPAC in Newark include a November program inspired by the far reaches of space—including Holst’s The Planets, the otherworldly main theme from Star Trek and more—and a May musical tour of the animal kingdom, featuring music from from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake ballet, Stravinsky’s Firebird and more. Each concert has two showtimes and features special pre-concert events designed to bring young concertgoers closer to the music and music makers.

Full series and schedule information is available at www.njsymphony.org/subscribe. The full season calendar is available at www.njsymphony.org/events.

 

TICKETS & SUBSCRIPTION PACKAGES

Tickets are available for purchase online at www.njsymphony.org or by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476). Tickets for most concerts start at $20; children’s tickets for family concerts are $10.

Subscriptions for classical, pops and family series are available for purchase online at www.njsymphony.org/subscribe or by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476). Patrons who purchase tickets to three or more classical and pops concerts at any venue can save compared to buying single tickets with a “Compose Your Own” series. Full information is available at www.njsymphony.org/cyo.

Through the Orchestra’s Class Pass program, students can purchase rush tickets for $10 or—with the $25 Star-Ledger/nj.com Class Pass Unlimited—can attend an unlimited number of concerts during the 2017–18 season. (Student rush tickets are available on the day of the concert, beginning 90 minutes before the performance, and are subject to availability.) Full information is available at www.njsymphony.org/classpass.

Groups of 10 or more receive discounts on individual ticket prices. More information and rates are available at www.njsymphony.org/groups.

 

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 in the 2017–18 season. 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 the 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 performances, NJSO Youth Orchestras family of student ensembles and El Sistema-inspired NJSO CHAMPS (Character, Achievement and Music Project). NJSO musicians annually perform original chamber music programs at nearly 200 community events in a variety of settings through the NJSO’s REACH (Resources for Education and Community Harmony) program. The Orchestra’s ECE programs annually serve more than 60,000 New Jerseyans in nearly 21 counties.

For more information about the NJSO, visit www.njsymphony.org or email information@njsymphony.org. Tickets are available for purchase by phone at 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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