Season Events

A languid flute solo opens a portal into another world, with Debussy’s shimmering orchestral colors as vivid as any Monet painting.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

Dvořák called this symphony Brahms’ most beautiful. A deeply personal work, its autumnal harmonies embody the composer’s personal motto, “free, but happy.” Orchestral musicians regularly call Brahms the most satisfying composer to play—with this masterpiece, it’s easy to hear why.

Full of folk flavor and rustic rhythms, Dvořák’s only violin concerto is fiendishly difficult. “A virtuoso and a player of deeply intense sincerity” (The New York Times), Gil Shaham makes it sound easy.

A musical celebration of life and all its joys and possibilities, this delightful bonbon of an overture is the perfect dessert at the end of our program.

Sibelius’ music is quintessentially Finnish, with a warmth easily found beneath its initial chill. One of his first published works, this overture brims with nationalistic spirit and folksy charm.

A Venezuelan piano phenom brings pyrotechnics to her own concerto, a celebration of Latin America in her own words, “a chiaroscuro reflection on who we are as a continent, dark and light.”

The New Jersey Symphony won a GRAMMY for its brilliant recording of this work under previous Music Director Zdeněk Mácal. Now hear Xian Zhang’s thrilling interpretation of this masterpiece, a musical postcard from Dvořák’s American travels, including the famous tune “Goin’ Home” hauntingly rendered by the English horn.