NJSO invites amateur musicians to take part in #OrchestraYou, #ChoraleYou and #CelloYou
- Registration is open for each NJSO Accent event
- #OrchestraYou pro-am session has garnered national press
- #ChoraleYou singing offshoot enters second season
- First ever #CelloYou offers amateur cellists full-day workshop with NJSO Principal Cello Jonathan Spitz and Associate Principal Stephen Fang
- Events to take place at NJPAC in Newark
#ChoraleYou: Sat, Jan 30
#CelloYou: Sat, Feb 27
#OrchestraYou: Fri, Apr 8
NEWARK, NJ (December 18, 2015)—The NJSO invites amateur instrumentalists and singers to join fellow audience members and NJSO musicians in the third annual #OrchestraYou, second annual #ChoraleYou and first ever #CelloYou at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark. #OrchestraYou—which garnered national attention on NPR’s “All Things Considered”—and #ChoraleYou are post-concert pro-am sessions free to ticketholders of the NJSO’s April 8 and January 30 concerts, respectively. #CelloYou offers amateur cellists an immersive daylong experience; NJSO Principal Cello Jonathan Spitz and Associate Principal Stephen Fang will coach and inspire participants in a masterclass and rehearsals that will culminate in a pre-concert performance with NJSO cellists on February 27.
NJSO concert attendees can watch each pro-am performance unfold from one of the NJPAC lobby’s many vantage points and can share their photos and comments on social media.
After participating in the NJSO’s first #OrchestraYou session, NPR’s Anastasia Tsioulcas recounted a young participant telling her that “playing with this group, even for literally just a few minutes, was simply amazing. ‘I got such a feeling of ... euphoria,’ he told me, searching for just the right word. ‘There’s nothing like this. There’s so much energy here, so much of a sense that you’re part of something much bigger than yourself.’”
Tsioulcas continued: “Not only was it incredibly fun, but it served as a good reminder that music-making shouldn’t be divided into producers and consumers, with most people locked into a passive experience.”
#OrchestraYou, #ChoraleYou and #CelloYou are NJSO Accent events sponsored by the Prudential Foundation.
#ChoraleYou
Join audience members and members of the NJSO to sing at the next #ChoraleYou—a joyful “sing-in” in the lobby following the January 30 concert at NJPAC in Newark. Heather J. Buchanan, director of three of Montclair State University’s exceptional choirs and longtime artistic partner of the NJSO, will lead #ChoraleYou participants in a rehearsal and performance of “There Shall a Star” from Christus by Mendelssohn (arr. Leavitt). Even if your singing is best saved for the shower, you’ll want to be part of #ChoraleYou!
Participation in #ChoraleYou is free to January 30 ticketholders, but advance registration by January 25 is appreciated. Call Patron Services at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476) to register.
More information—including downloadable sheet music for the four-part soprano-alto-tenor-bass arrangement—is available at www.njsymphony.org/choraleyou.
Program and ticket information for the NJSO’s 8 pm Winter Festival performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream with The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, led by Music Director Jacques Lacombe, is available at www.njsymphony.org/events/detail/midsummer-nights-dream.
#CelloYou
Announcing an immersive day just for amateur cellists of all skill levels! Connect with other cellists for a day all about the cello, led by NJSO Principal Cello Jonathan Spitz and Associate Principal Cello Stephen Fang. Participate in cello choir, sharpen your skills at sectionals with NJSO players and take part in a valuable masterclass with Spitz. Best of all, your day will culminate in a special Prelude Performance before the NJSO’s February 27 concert, which features Fang in the solo role.
Repertoire will include three works transcribed for cello: Bach’s chorale “Was Ich Will, Das,” Juan del Encina’s Spanish Renaissance-era “Pues que Jamás Olvidaros” and Dvořák’s lively Mazurka, Op. 56, No. 3.
#CelloYou costs $200 (or $100 for college-aged or younger students). The cost includes one concert ticket for the evening’s NJSO performance. Additional concert tickets are available at a 20% discount.
Advance registration is required; cellists can register for #CelloYou and view the full day’s schedule at www.njsymphony.org/celloyou.
Program and ticket information for the NJSO’s 8 pm performance of works by Dvořák, Copland and Popper is available at www.njsymphony.org/events/detail/vistas-landscapes-copland-dvorak.
#OrchestraYou
Music has the power to enrich and inspire music lovers of all ages—and who knows that better than you? On April 8, enjoy a sensational NJSO concert featuring Tchaikovsky’s Marche Slave and Fourth Symphony, then participate in #OrchestraYou, the NJSO’s pro-am orchestra experience.
After the concert, it’s your turn in the spotlight! Find your flute, tune up your trombone or dust off your double bass and join forces with fellow concertgoers in the unforgettable experience of making music together with NJSO musicians, right in the lobby of NJPAC.
Everyone who plays a standard orchestral instrument can participate in #OrchestraYou. Education & Community Engagement Conductor Jeff Grogan will lead #OrchestraYou players in Tchaikovsky’s Waltz from Sleeping Beauty, a rousing crowd-pleaser you’ll love to play. A little rehearsal, a little performance and a whole lot of fun.
Advance registration is required; patrons can register for #OrchestraYou by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476). Performers must hold or purchase a ticket to the April 8 concert; there is no additional charge to participate, and there are no auditions.
To learn more, download PDF instrumental parts and view press and photos from previous #OrchestraYou events, visit www.njsymphony.org/orchestrayou.
Program and ticket information for the NJSO’s 8 pm performance of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 and Marche Slave and Barber’s Violin Concerto—a concert led by next NJSO Music Director Xian Zhang—is available at www.njsymphony.org/events/detail/zhang-conducts-tchaikovsky-4.
NJSO ACCENTS
Inspired by the concerts and designed to inspire audiences, NJSO Accents are pre- or post-concert events that complement the concert experience and provide audience members with more opportunities to personally connect with the music and music makers. Learn more at www.njsymphony.org/accents.
The Prudential Foundation generously sponsors NJSO Accents in Newark.
NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Named “a vital, artistically significant musical organization” by The Wall Street Journal, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra embodies that vitality through its statewide presence and critically acclaimed performances, education partnerships and unparalleled access to music and the Orchestra’s superb musicians.
Under the bold leadership of Music Director Jacques Lacombe, the NJSO presents classical, pops and family programs, as well as outdoor summer concerts and special events. Embracing its legacy as a statewide orchestra, the NJSO is the resident orchestra of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark and regularly performs at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, Richardson Auditorium in Princeton, Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown and bergenPAC in Englewood. Partnerships with New Jersey arts organizations, universities and civic organizations remain a key element of the Orchestra’s statewide identity.
In addition to its lauded artistic programming, the NJSO presents a suite of education and community engagement programs that promote meaningful, lifelong engagement with live music. Programs include school-time Concerts for Young People performances and multiple offerings—including the NJSO Youth Orchestras family of student ensembles and El Sistema-inspired NJSO CHAMPS (Character, Achievement and Music Project)—that provide and promote instrumental instruction as part of the NJSO Academy. The NJSO’s REACH (Resources for Education and Community Harmony) chamber music program annually brings original programs—designed and performed by NJSO musicians—to a variety of settings, reaching as many as 17,000 people in nearly all of New Jersey’s 21 counties.
For more information about the NJSO, visit www.njsymphony.org or email information@njsymphony.org. Tickets are available for purchase by phone 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476) or on the Orchestra’s website.
The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra’s programs are made possible in part by The New Jersey State Council on the Arts, along with many other foundations, corporations and individual donors.
PRESS CONTACT
National & NYC Press Representative:
Dan Dutcher, Dan Dutcher Public Relations | 917.566.8413 | dan@dandutcherpr.com
Regional Press Representative:
Victoria McCabe, NJSO Communications and External Affairs | 973.735.1715 | vmccabe@njsymphony.org
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