Broadway World interviews Lacombe and Higdon
Broadway World writes:
This weekend, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Jacques Lacombe push the musical envelope by combining perhaps the world's most iconic work with a piece by one of America's foremost contemporary composers.
Having conducted the Beethoven early in his very first season with the orchestra, Lacombe and the NJSO have a mutual history with the piece. Pulitzer prize winning composer Jennifer Higdon sets the tone for the Beethoven in her blue cathedral by creating an atmosphere of contemplation about the kinds of lofty ideals that Beethoven's Ninth embodies.
The impressive array of soloists for the Choral Symphony adds to the anticipation over the event. Barbara Shirvis, soprano, and Metropolitan Opera baritone Stephen Powell perform together frequently to rave reviews as a husband and wife team (/bwwmusic/article/BWW-Review-Boston-Landmarks-Orchestra-Serves-Up-Italian-Favorites-20150818). Metropolitan Opera mezzo-soprano Elizabeth Bishop and internationally known tenor Jonathan Boyd complete the solo quartet. The Westminster Symphonic Choir, directed by Joe Miller, adds their incomparable sound to the mix.
The contrast between Beethoven's monumental Ninth Symphony and Jennifer Higdon's meditative blue cathedral will be fascinating to witness. Higdon, whose opera based on Charles Frazier's bestseller, Cold Mountain, received wide acclaim at its Santa Fe Opera debut last summer, is one of America's foremost contemporary composers. blue cathedral is one of Higdon's most widely presented works, having seen 500 over performances since its 2000 premiere. Québecois Lacombe has appeared with celebrated orchestras and operatic soloists worldwide. Both Lacombe and Higdon shared a number of their insights about the upcoming program.