Asbury Park Press previews new season with Xian Zhang
In an interview with Music Director Xian Zhang, The Asbury Park Press looks ahead to the NJSO’s 2018–19 season:
Even more than the previous two seasons, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra’s 2018-19 lineup bears the stamp of its energetic conductor, Xian Zhang ... Titled “Music Speaks,” the coming season is rich in both traditional and challenging repertoire. The theme links each of the season’s programs to poetry and story in an effort to broaden the cultural context of the music.
» Read the full story at app.com
Zhang Conducts Beethoven 9
2018–19 Season
- XIAN ZHANG conductor (pictured)
- MARY ELIZABETH WILLIAMS soprano
- ELIZABETH BISHOP mezzo-soprano
- LORENZO DECARO tenor
- REGINALD D. SMITH JR. baritone
- MONTCLAIR STATE UNIVERSITY SINGERS
- MONTCLAIR STATE UNIVERSITY CHORALE
- NEWARK VOICES
- Heather J. Buchanan, conductor
- NEW JERSEY YOUTH CHORUSES Trish Joyce, artistic director
- NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
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KATE WHITLEY Speak Out (US Premiere)
Stirring and poignant; rising British composer Kate Whitley’s work is based on Malala Yousafzai’s legendary speech to the United Nations advocating the right of every girl to have an education.
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WALKER Lyric for Strings
We perform this celebrated work in memory of the late Pulitzer Prize-winning composer George Walker—a Montclair resident and friend of the NJSO.
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BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9, “Choral”
An unmistakable masterpiece; the hymn’s text extolling the human bond is sung by a joyful assembly, a massed choir including singers from MSU and our surrounding communities.