Nimbus Dance with the Music of Nina Simone & Nancy Wilson
Featuring the NJSO Chamber Players
The NJSO Chamber Players take the stage in collaboration with the Nimbus Dance Company and NJPAC. Part one of this three-part series explores the vibrant and powerful fusion of live music and dance on the Victoria Theater stage. The performance features a world premiere written for the NJSO ensemble, as well as choreography set to the music of jazz legends Nina Simone and Nancy Wilson.
This program is presented by NJPAC. For more information and tickets, please visit njpac.org or call 1.888.GO.NJPAC.
Family: Peter and the Wolf
2019–20 Season Family Series
TONG CHEN conductor
RUBÉN RENGEL violin
NYGEL WITHERSPOON cello
Join the NJSO and a guest narrator for this timeless fairy tale, in which charming melodies and fantastical characters introduce the different instruments of the orchestra.
Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto
Featuring pianist George Li
XIAN ZHANG conductor
GEORGE LI piano
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ANNA CLYNE Within Her Arms (NJSO Premiere)
A defining work in this Brooklyn-based composer’s career. Written for strings alone, this tender piece is the song of loss and memory for her mother.
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RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 3
Rachmaninoff wrote this concerto to showcase his exceptional talent and blindingly fast technique. It starts with a deceptively simple melody that every beginner can play, but it quickly becomes the Everest of all piano concertos—one that few soloists attempt to conquer.
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DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 8
Dvořák’s Eighth poured out of him while he was surrounded by the cherished Bohemian countryside that was his inspiration. Close your eyes and you’ll see the colors of autumn, awash in sunlight.
The Irish Tenors with the NJSO
THE IRISH TENORS
Members of the NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Get in the spirit of the season when The Irish Tenors: Christmas/Holiday Tour 2019 comes to bergenPAC with members of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra for a joyful night of traditional and secular holiday songs, including favorites like “We Three Kings,” “O! Holy Night,” “White Christmas” and “Jingle Bell Rock.” The Irish Tenors have been the acknowledged Celtic music kings since arriving on the scene with their 1998 PBS special and have performed on the biggest stages around the world.
New Jersey Ballet’s Nutcracker with the NJSO
2019–20 Season
An annual seasonal favorite enchants youngsters and grown-ups alike with splendid dancing, live orchestra, eye-popping special effects and a touch of holiday magic.
TCHAIKOVSKY The Nutcracker
Based on The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by E. T. A. Hoffman
Handel’s Messiah
Featuring guest conductor Roderick Cox
RODERICK COX conductor
SARAH SHAFER soprano
J’NAI BRIDGES mezzo-soprano
FREDERICK BALLENTINE tenor
DOUGLAS WILLIAMS bass-baritone
MONTCLAIR STATE UNIVERSITY SINGERS | Heather J. Buchanan, conductor
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HANDEL Messiah
The opening aria begins with, “Comfort ye …” In the rush of the holiday season, set aside time for glorious music that touches the soul.
Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet
2020 Winter Festival: In the Spotlight
XIAN ZHANG conductor
INON BARNATAN piano
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SMETANA “The Moldau” from Má vlast
Sail with us down a fabled river, lined on either side by castles and forests full of myth and mystery.
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CLARA SCHUMANN Piano Concerto (NJSO Premiere)
A great pianist, Clara Schumann composed this glittering and graceful concerto in her teens—a remarkable achievement.
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PROKOFIEV Selections from Romeo and Juliet
Xian has won acclaim in opera and ballet houses around the world; you’ll hear why in Prokofiev’s riveting ballet about Shakespeare’s doomed lovers.
Mozart’s Don Giovanni
2020 Winter Festival: In the Spotlight
XIAN ZHANG conductor
ERIC WYRICK violin
Singers from the METROPOLITAN OPERA’S LINDEMANN YOUNG ARTIST DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
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MOZART Exsultate, jubilate
One of Mozart’s most famous works—with good reason. This church solo from Mozart’s teenage years rivals his secular arias for sheer brilliance.
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MOZART Violin Concerto No. 4
NJSO Concertmaster Eric Wyrick performs a Mozart concerto into which the composer crafted too much virtuosity to perform himself!
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MOZART Scenes from Don Giovanni
Xian Zhang’s selection of magnificent arias and scenes creates a masterful abridged version of Mozart’s dramatic bad-boy opera.
Wagner’s The Ring Without Words
2020 Winter Festival: In the Spotlight
XIAN ZHANG conductor
SIMON TRPČESKI piano
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WAGNER Prelude to Act I of Lohengrin
Ten minutes of utter serenity: Wagner has painted the most delicate sound, with soft strings evoking the tenderness of silver moonlight.
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LISZT Piano Concerto No. 2
NJSO audiences demanded Trpčeski’s return. Don’t miss him in this dazzler by the composer-pianist genius Franz Liszt.
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WAGNER/arr. Maazel The Ring Without Words (NJSO Premiere)
Wagner’s four-night epic of Ring operas is full of heaven-storming music. The American conductor Lorin Maazel, who mentored Xian early in her career, arranged it into this amazing 60-minute suite.
Lunar New Year Celebration Gala
Location: New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark
Lunar New Year Concert and Celebration
2019–20 Season
XIAN ZHANG conductor
Soloists, performers and program details to be announced.