April 2025
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Xian Zhang conducts Mozart, Bach, and Abels

Apr 3, 2025

NEWARK, NJ—The New Jersey Symphony presents Music Director Xian Zhang conducting Mozart, Bach and Abels, with the Symphony’s principal violins, Eric Wyrick and Francine Storck, stepping up to perform Bach’s Double Concerto with the orchestra. Schedule of concert locations, dates, and times is below.
 
On Saturday May 17, 2025, at 2 pm at NJPAC in Newark, Colton Conducting Fellow Gregory D. McDaniel joins Zhang for a special Discover Series performance for families.

Xian Conducts Mozart

Friday, May 16, 8 pm | Richardson Auditorium in Princeton
Saturday, May 17, 8 pm | New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark
Sunday, May 18, 3 pm | New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark

Xian Zhang conductor
Eric Wyrick violin
Francine Storck violin
New Jersey Symphony

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Eine kleine Nachtmusik
Johann Sebastian Bach Double Concerto for Two Violins
Michael Abels Delights and Dances
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Symphony No. 35, “Haffner”

The May 18 donor intermission reception at NJPAC is sponsored by The GenWealth Group, Inc.

Discover Mozart & Bach

Saturday, May 17, 2 pm | New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark

Xian Zhang conductor
Gregory D. McDaniel conductor
Bill Barclay host
Eric Wyrick violin
Francine Storck violin
Annamaria Witek cello
New Jersey Symphony

The Symphony’s Discover concerts are inspired by Leonard Bernstein’s masterful way of putting young audiences at the center of music-making. This interactive, one-hour concert will feature inside tips, listening cues, and fun facts that make for the perfect Saturday afternoon family outing! This will also be a Relaxed Performance, designed to accommodate the differing sensory needs of our patrons.

For more information about Relaxed Performances, please visit njsymphony.org/relaxedperformance.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Selection from Eine kleine Nachtmusik
Camille Saint-Saëns Selection from Cello Concerto No. 1
Johann Sebastian Bach Double Concerto for Two Violins
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Symphony No. 35, “Haffner”

Gregory D. McDaniel is the 2024–25 Colton Conducting Fellow, made possible by the generous support of Judy and Stewart Colton.

Projections and slides for Discover Mozart & Bach are produced by Concert Theatre Works.

More information on concerts and tickets: njsymphony.org/events

Xian Zhang

2024–25 will mark the GRAMMY and Emmy Award-winning conductor Xian Zhang’s ninth season as music director of the New Jersey Symphony. Starting in 2025–26, Zhang will also hold the role of music director at Seattle Symphony. Zhang holds the position of conductor emeritus of Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano, having previously held the position of music director between 2009–2016.

The 2024–25 season sees Zhang return to the Metropolitan Opera in New York to conduct David McVicar’s acclaimed production of Puccini’s Tosca.

Zhang is in high demand as a guest conductor, appearing regularly with Philadelphia Orchestra and Los Angeles Philharmonic, returning to both in 2024–25. Her recording with Philadelphia Orchestra and Time for Three, Letters for The Future (released 2022 on Deutsche Grammophon), won multiple GRAMMY Awards in the Best Contemporary Classical Composition (Kevin Puts’ Contact) and Best Classical Instrumental Solo categories.

Following a successful collaboration at Tanglewood Festival 2023, Zhang returns to Boston Symphony Orchestra this season. She remains a favored guest of the Orchestra of St Luke’s and recently stepped in for their Brahms Requiem concert at Carnegie Hall. Other 2024–25 highlights include Montreal Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, NAC Orchestra, Belgian National Orchestra and Milan Symphony Orchestra.

Zhang continues to enjoy good relationships with many leading orchestras worldwide, including London Symphony Orchestra, Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, Houston Symphony, St Louis Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra DC and Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse.

Zhang previously served as principal guest conductor of the BBC National Orchestra & Chorus of Wales, the first female conductor to hold a titled role with a BBC orchestra. In 2002, she won first prize in the Maazel-Vilar Conductor's Competition. She was appointed New York Philharmonic’s assistant conductor in 2002, subsequently becoming their associate conductor and the first holder of the Arturo Toscanini Chair.

Gregory D. McDaniel

Gregory D. McDaniel is a passionate conductor who is active in many different musical surroundings.

Praised for his “impeccable musicality and technique” (La Presse – Montreal), McDaniel was recently featured in concert with the Orchestre Métropolitain in Québec, conducting Lili Boulanger’s D’un Matin de printemps. Last summer, as a member of the Orchestral Conducting Academy at the Académie du Domaine Forget de Charlevoix, he worked with the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec under the tutelage of conductors Thomas Rosner and Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

Last season, McDaniel led two projects for the Houston Ebony Opera Guild, including their annual African-American Music Gala, which featured a performance of Julia Perry’s Stabat Mater. He also worked with Opera in the Heights as cover conductor and chorus master for their production of La Bohéme, and cover conductor for their production of Hansel and Gretel.

This upcoming season, in addition to receiving the Colton Conducting Fellowship with the New Jersey Symphony, McDaniel will work with Opera in the Heights as cover conductor and chorus master for their production of Lucia di Lammermoor. He will also conduct the Houston premiere of Laura Kaminsky’s pivotal opera As One for HOPERA.

Past seasons have included leading performances of William Grant Still’s Highway 1, USA and Missy Mazzoli’s Proving Up for Opera Ithaca. He also had the opportunity to work with the Boise Baroque Orchestra in works by Mozart and Haydn, and he also worked with the Prizm Ensemble in a concert that featured Emmy and GRAMMY Award-winning baritone Reginald Smith, Jr. With the University of North Texas Chamber and Concert Orchestras, McDaniel conducted the works of Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Sibelius, Puccini and more.

Some of McDaniel’s past conducting opportunities include working with the Fort Bend Symphony Orchestra and Chorus (TX), the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music Opera Conducting Initiative, and participating in a conducting fellowship with the Allentown Symphony. Past operatic opportunities include various works of Bizet (CCM) and a production of Poulenc’s Dialogue of the Carmelites (EADO in Houston). A native of Houston, TX, Gregory received degrees from the University of North Texas in Orchestral Conducting and the University of Houston in Music Education.

Bill Barclay

A “personable polymath” (London Times), Barclay’s original works have been described as “witty and incisive” (New York Times), “quietly transfixing” (The New Yorker), and “quite simply exquisite” (The Guardian). Venues include The Hollywood Bowl, The Kennedy Center, The Royal Albert Hall, Buckingham Palace, Shakespeare’s Globe, the Barbican, Washington National Cathedral, St Martin-in-the-Fields, and The Southbank Centre. Broadway and West End credits include Farinelli and the King, Twelfth Night, and Richard III all starring Sir Mark Rylance.

Major tours include The Chevalier (London Philharmonic Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Music of the Baroque, 8 others); Secret Byrd for The Gesualdo Six and Fretwork (20 cities on tour); Anthony & Cleopatra (LA Philharmonic, BBC Symphony Orchestra and others); and Peer Gynt (Boston, Cincinnati, St. Louis and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestras). He has been commissioned five times by The Boston Symphony Orchestra, appearing across eight seasons.

Other projects include directing the Silkroad Ensemble on tour, Beyond Beethoven 9 for Marin Alsop, A Midsummer Nights Dream for Andris Nelsons, L’Histoire du Soldat for Charles Dutoit, Four Seasons Reimagined for Max Richter and puppeteers Gyre & Gimble, and 1791: Mozart’s Last Year for Gianandrea Noseda and The National Symphony Orchestra.

Eric Wyrick

Violinist Eric Wyrick has been Concertmaster of the New Jersey Symphony since 1998. Recently retired from the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Eric had been a member of the internationally acclaimed ensemble for 38 years.

As soloist with the New Jersey Symphony, Wyrick has delighted New Jersey audiences with performances of the great solo violin repertoire ranging from unusual and underperformed works such as the Schumann, Strauss and Busoni violin concertos to presenting the complete Bach Brandenburg Concertos and the Vivaldi Four Seasons as soloist and leader. Wyrick has featured collaborations with contemporary local New Jersey composers Darryl Kubian and Steve Mackey in their solo compositions as well as a special revival of Princeton’s legendary Edward T. Cone Violin Concerto.

Eric has engaged in a multi-year career project, specializing in collaborative concerto performances: Double concertos of Bach, Brahms, Mozart, Rosza, Bottessini, Mackey, Schnittke and JP Joffre; and Triple concertos of Beethoven and Tan Dun.

As an active chamber musician, Wyrick can be heard frequently with the New Jersey Symphony Chamber Players and performs regularly with the Richardson Chamber Players.

Wyrick is a Lecturer at Princeton University and a frequent guest for coaching and masterclasses at music schools and festivals across the country.

Francine Storck

Francine Storck is the Principal Second Violinist of the New Jersey Symphony. A native of Princeton, she began playing professionally with the Collegium Musicum of Princeton at the age of 16. She attended the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, where she was Concertmaster of the Orchestra, played with the Toledo Symphony, and was a prizewinner at the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition with her quartet’s performance of Bartok’s Quartet No 6, and Beethoven’s Grosse Fugue.

Upon moving to New York, Ms. Storck won a First Violin position with the NJ Symphony, and later the Principal Second Violin chair, which was permanently endowed during her tenure. She also performed with the New York City Opera at Lincoln Center for over 20 years. Her freelancing has included Broadway shows and Radio City, the Joffrey, Alvin Ailey, New Jersey, and Royal Danish Ballets, the Orchestra of St Lukes, the New York Virtuosi, the Bronx Arts Ensemble, the Long Island Philharmonic, where she was Principal Second Violin for many years, the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra and the Santa Fe Opera.

Ms Storck’s career has always included private teaching. Her students have ranged in age from 3 to 83, and have included children of her colleagues, as well as area professionals. While some students have been accepted into Regional and All State Orchestras, others have progressed beautifully despite learning and social issues. All have conquered performance fears, gained confidence, and carried a love of music with them into their lives. She has a passion for sharing the joy of creating beauty with one’s own two hands.

Francine’s husband Jonathan is a bassist in the New Jersey Symphony, and the two reside in Morris Plains.

Annamarie Witek

Annamaria Witek is a freshman at The John J. Cali School of Music at Montclair State University as a student of Tomoko Fujita. Witek began playing cello in third grade in the music program of the South Orangetown Central School District. She studied with Madeleine Golz for seven years and has also studied with Karen Poleshuck, Sam Bae, and Nicole Johnson. She was principal cellist of the New Jersey Symphony’s Academy Orchestra and was the winner of the 2024 NJ Symphony Henry Lewis Concerto Competition. Annamaria was cellist of the NJ Symphony Anne Lieberson String Quartet for two years and is also a founding member of BridgeMusik in Rockland County. As the cellist of the Thurnauer Quartet at the Thurnauer School of Music, Witek was selected to compete in the 50th Fischoff Chamber Music Competition in 2023. Witek has been a prize-winner in
the Prima Volta, ECI, and New York Young Artists International Competition. She has performed at Weill Recital Hall and at Lincoln Center with the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra under Maestro Louis Langrée during Mostly Mozart In Harmony. Witek has performed in masterclasses for Natasha Brofsky, Colin Carr, Hans Jorgen Jensen, Paul Katz, Nina Lee, Julia Lichten, and Astrid Schween. She has received scholarships from the Rockland County Music Educators Association, AFM Local 802, Morning Music Club, and The Music Performance Trust Fund to support her musical studies. In addition to her performance activities, Witek is also active as a cello teacher and is studying music education at university.

New Jersey Symphony

The New Jersey Symphony is a GRAMMY and Emmy Award-winning orchestra. Under the direction of the Music Director Xian Zhang, the Symphony performs more than 60 concerts at mainstage venues across the state, including Newark, Princeton, New Brunswick, Red Bank and Morristown as well as schools and public spaces statewide. Programming at the Symphony reflects an unwavering commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion while providing students across the state unparalleled opportunities to achieve musical excellence through its Youth Orchestra and other outreach programs. In 2024, the Symphony announced it would continue to deliver its statewide activities from a new, permanent office, rehearsal and concert space in Jersey City, set to open in 2026.

For more information about the New Jersey Symphony, visit 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.

Press contacts

Local press contacts
Ali Harrison, New Jersey Symphony, Communications Manager
973.735.0969 | aharrison@njsymphony.org

Geoffrey Anderson, New Jersey Symphony, Vice President of Marketing & External Affairs
973.735.1713 | ganderson@njsymphony.org

National & international press contacts
Beverly Greenfield, Kirshbaum Associates, Director of Public Relations
bgreenfield@kirshbaumassociates.com

Shirley Kirshbaum, Kirshbaum Associates, President
skirshbaum@kirshbaumassociates.com

Press materials
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Press releases: njsymphony.org/pressreleases

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The New Jersey Symphony'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.

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