NJSO presents 16th annual UJA Benefit Concert

CLARINETIST DAVID KRAKAUER PERFORMS MOZART’S CLARINET CONCERTO, ALONG WITH WORKS FROM THE KLEZMER TRADITION

NEWARK, NJ (March 27, 2013)—The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ present the 16th annual benefit concert in support of the United Jewish Appeal of MetroWest NJ (UJA) on Sunday, April 21, at 3 pm, at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark. Clarinetist David Krakauer joins the Orchestra for Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, along with traditional klezmer works  Synagogue Wail  and Der Heyser Bulgar. Guest conductor Stefan Sanderling leads the Orchestra in the one-performance-only program, which opens with Copland’s Appalachian Spring. 

The concert benefits the work of Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ, which encompasses Essex, Morris, Sussex and Union Counties, as well as parts of Somerset County. Through its network of 27 local and four overseas partners, the Federation provides comprehensive social services and meets the educational, vocational, recreational and social needs of Jews locally, in Israel and in 70 countries around the world.

Music Director Jacques Lacombe says: “The annual UJA Benefit Concert is very important to the NJSO. This is a unique way to connect with our friends in the Jewish community. The Jewish musical tradition is a very rich culture, and we are proud of our long-term partnership with the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ.”

Of the expressive powers of the klezmer tradition, Lacombe says: “There is something in this music that is so deep. It speaks to a part of you that is beyond religion, beyond culture, maybe because of the power of the feelings involved—the joy that you have when the music goes crazy and [evokes] a sense of feast, or when it is so dark, sad and sobbing that it’s heartbreaking. These are very extreme feelings, and as human beings we know [instinctively] what the music is about; it speaks to everybody.”

A pre-concert community dessert reception begins at 2 pm.