Joshua Bell Leads Mendelssohn’s “Italian”
New Jersey Symphony Classical
Joshua Bell conductor & violin
New Jersey Symphony
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Ludwig van Beethoven Egmont Overture
A master storyteller, Beethoven instantly captures the mood of Goethe’s play about resisting oppression in this taut and thrilling overture.
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Camille Saint-Saëns Violin Concerto No. 3
One of Saint-Saëns’ most treasured concertos, this is where superstar Joshua Bell stands and lets his Stradivarius violin shine in dramatic melodies and virtuosic displays.
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Felix Mendelssohn Symphony No. 4, “Italian”
“The jolliest piece I’ve ever done,” wrote an ecstatic young Mendelssohn to his parents back in Berlin, after arriving in Italy and falling in love with its sunshine, sidewalk tunes, coast, and effervescent colors—all of which he poured into his Fourth Symphony.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi in Concert
New Jersey Symphony at the Movies
Nicholas Hersh conductor
New Jersey Symphony
Don’t miss this big-screen battle with the score performed live by the New Jersey Symphony. The Resistance is in desperate need of help when they find themselves impossibly pursued by the First Order. While Rey travels to a remote planet called Ahch-To to recruit Luke Skywalker to the Resistance, Finn and Rose, a mechanic, go on their own mission in the hopes of helping the Resistance finally escape the First Order. But everyone finds themselves on the salt-planet of Crait for a last stand.
Symphonie fantastique
Season Finale | New Jersey Symphony Classical
Xian Zhang conductor
Emanuel Ax piano
New Jersey Symphony
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Allison Loggins-Hull Doublespeak (World Premiere, New Jersey Symphony Commission)
You may have seen her performing with Lizzo at the GRAMMYs, or heard her on the soundtrack to The Lion King, or loved her Can You See? performed by the New Jersey Symphony last fall. Be the first to hear our Resident Artistic Partner’s latest creation.
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Piano Concerto No. 22
Mozart in his late 20s took a tune he wrote when he was eight and turned it into this half-hour masterpiece, the second of its three movements so moving that its first audience demanded a repeat.
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Hector Berlioz Symphonie fantastique
Smitten with unrequited love, Berlioz funneled all his frustrations and utter mind-blowing genius into a whirlwind of orchestral color.
Ben Folds with New Jersey Symphony
Ben Folds Performs His Greatest Hits
Ben Folds guest artist
Edwin Outwater conductor
New Jersey Symphony
Emmy-nominated singer-songwriter-composer Ben Folds joins the New Jersey Symphony for a unique and unforgettable performance of music from across his career. Widely regarded as one of the major musical influences of our generation, Folds’ enormous body of genre-bending music includes pop albums with Ben Folds Five, multiple solo albums, and numerous collaborative records. His latest album, 2023’s What Matters Most, is a blend of piano-driven pop rock songs, while his 2015 Concerto for Piano and Orchestra soared to #1 on both the Billboard classical and classical crossover charts. He released his first Christmas album in 2024 and last Fall recorded a live album slated for release in 2025 with the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., where he served for eight years as the first artistic advisor to the NSO.
New Scores: The Cone Composition Institute Concert
Part of the Edward T. Cone Composition Institute
Eric Jacobsen conductor
Steven Mackey institute director and host
New Jersey Symphony
Witness the future of classical music in-the-making as the New Jersey Symphony performs works by four emerging composers selected for the Edward T. Cone Composition Institute. Institute Director Steven Mackey hosts the culminating concert, as Eric Jacobsen takes the podium.
Hollywood Hits: From West Side Story to Spirited Away
A Celebration of the Best Orchestral Music in Cinema
Keitaro Harada conductor
New Jersey Symphony
Lights, camera, action! Rising-star conductor Keitaro Harada leads a program of thrilling orchestral music from classic movies. Movie-musicals West Side Story and An American in Paris, with their timeless tunes, are heard alongside Joe Hisaishi’s score to the Studio Ghibli masterpiece Spirited Away. Don’t miss this festive performance with music that dazzles and delights—the perfect way to celebrate the start of the season.
Beethoven’s “Emperor”
& Schubert’s “Great”
Opening Weekend | New Jersey Symphony Classical
Xian Zhang conductor
George Li piano
New Jersey Symphony
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Ludwig van Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor”
New Jersey favorite George Li returns with Beethoven’s final and most epic piano concerto, a work of uncommon power and passion, both heroic in scope and striking in its intimacy.
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Franz Schubert Symphony No. 9 in C Major, “The Great”
Schubert was classical music’s original tunesmith—his melodies rival Paul McCartney, Richard Rodgers, and even Taylor Swift. His songful gift is heard to maximum effect in the “heavenly lengths” of his final symphony, never performed during his lifetime.
Rick Steves’ Europe:
A Symphonic Journey
A Musical Journey of Rick Steves’ Travels Through Europe and its History
Rick Steves host
New Jersey Symphony
Usually you’ll find Rick Steves touring the great destinations of Europe. Now you can join him on a different journey: A Symphonic Journey. In this unique concert, Rick Steves teams up with the New Jersey Symphony for a performance that combines Europe’s most stirring romantic-era anthems with beautiful high-definition cinematography and Rick’s insights into European history.
Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances
Part of the TD James Moody Jazz Festival
Eric Jacobsen conductor
Christian McBride double bass
Chris Komer horn
New Jersey Symphony
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Claude Debussy Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
A languid flute solo opens a portal into another world, with Debussy’s shimmering orchestral colors as vivid as any Monet painting.
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George Duke Dark Wood: Bass Concerto for Christian McBride
Hear the Garden State’s own jazz master in a work tailor-made for his unique groove and virtuosity as he solos with the New Jersey Symphony for the first time.
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Christian McBride Fried Bacon
Christian McBride’s first work for symphony orchestra, Fried Bacon was originally written for and premiered by Chris Komer, New Jersey Symphony Principal Horn extraordinaire, in 2022. The world premiere brought the house down and we can’t wait to play it again.
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Sergei Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances
An elegiac melody, a Dies Irae quote, a saxophone solo, and the tolling of church bells are among the many extraordinary effects in Rachmaninoff’s final work, written in exile from a Russia to which he’d never return, and which would never be the same.
Handel’s Messiah
New Jersey Symphony Holiday Tradition
Kedrick Armstrong conductor
Jessica Rivera soprano
Kelley O’Connor mezzo-soprano
Martin Bakari tenor
Adam Lau bass-baritone
Montclair State University Singers | Heather J. Buchanan, director
New Jersey Symphony
“For unto us a Child is born.” Our glorious holiday tradition returns with this iconic masterpiece, a classical rendition of the greatest story ever told. The majestic music—including the triumphant “Hallelujah Chorus”—rekindles the spirit of the holidays for first-time listeners and those who return each season.
Mozart & Ravel
New Jersey Symphony Classical
Valentina Peleggi conductor
Blake Pouliot violin
New Jersey Symphony
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Anna Clyne Masquerade
Originally written for the Last Night of the Proms, English composer Anna Clyne conveys a sense of “occasion and celebration.” Or, as the Berkshire Eagle put it, “Masquerade has the style and sound of an old English music hall, a little like the nostalgic sounds on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Violin Concerto No. 5, “Turkish”
At just 19 years old, Mozart wrote this virtuosic and sparkling concerto for himself to play (even though it wasn’t his primary instrument!). Canadian phenom Blake Pouliot brings his signature stage presence to this equally thrilling and elegant masterpiece.
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Maurice Ravel Mother Goose Suite
The New York Times recently said “Ravel wrote nothing more magical, and perhaps nothing so moving” as the final movement of this extraordinary suite—ostensibly for children, but with a complexity and emotional depth as profound as any work of art.
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Samuel Barber Symphony No. 1
In just 20 minutes and one movement, Barber’s First Symphony packs a punch well beyond its relatively short length. The first American symphony to be played at the Salzburg Festival, Barber’s singular emotional voice, which would later produce Adagio for Strings, shines through every bar.
Rhapsody on a
Theme of Paganini
New Jersey Symphony Classical
Xian Zhang conductor
Tony Siqi Yun piano
New Jersey Symphony
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Richard Wagner Overture to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Long before The Voice, Wagner created the original drama about a singing competition with his only comedy, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. This rousing overture prominently features the “Prize Song” which wins the whole contest—a real catchy tune!
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Sergei Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Rachmaninoff’s final work for piano and orchestra, this masterpiece of invention transforms a seemingly simple melody 24 different times, taking full advantage of the expressive and technical possibilities of the piano. Rachmaninoff himself was the soloist at the world premiere—hear the next best thing as “true poet of the keyboard” (Pianist magazine) Tony Siqi Yun navigates every twist and turn.
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Alexander Zemlinsky The Mermaid
Travel “Under the Sea” with Alexander Zemlinsky for his shimmering musical retelling of the legendary Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale. While a relative rarity, Xian Zhang has long championed this work, reveling in its romantic sweep and glittering orchestrations—you’ll wonder why it took so long for this piece to be “Part of Your World.”