Rick Steves joins New Jersey Symphony for a Symphonic Journey through Europe

NEWARK, NJ—Guidebook author and public television host Rick Steves joins the New Jersey Symphony, November 7–8 for Rick Steves’ Europe: A Symphonic Journey, a concert that pairs Europe’s most stirring Romantic-era anthems with high-definition travel footage and Steves’ insights into European history.

Nicholas Hersh, music director of California’s Modesto Symphony and former associate conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, returns to conduct performances at Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC) in Morristown and State Theatre New Jersey in New Brunswick. Steves appears in person as host.

The concert begins at home with “The Star-Spangled Banner,” then heads across the Atlantic. At each stop, from Austria and Germany to Norway and France, Steves sets the historical and cultural scene before the orchestra plays music that captures that nation’s spirit, as footage from the country fills a big screen behind the musicians. Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy,” the official anthem of the European Union, closes the European leg before Sousa’s The Stars and Stripes Forever brings the journey home.

The graduation-day melody in Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 is better known in Britain as the patriotic song “Land of Hope and Glory.” Verdi’s Nabucco Overture quotes “Va, pensiero,” the chorus Italians have long embraced as an unofficial national anthem. And while Grieg’s “Morning Mood” may evoke a Norwegian sunrise, in Ibsen’s play Peer Gynt it greets the dawn in Morocco.

On Saturday, November 7, Steves gives a live talk at MPAC at 1 pm. Concertgoers can meet him before the afternoon performance as he shares stories from his travels and some of his favorite places in Europe.

Rick Steves’ Europe: A Symphonic Journey

Saturday, November 7, 2 pm & 7:30 pm | Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown
Sunday, November 8, 2 pm | State Theatre New Jersey in New Brunswick

Rick Steves host
Nicholas Hersh conductor
New Jersey Symphony

John Stafford Smith/arr. Walter Damrosch The Star Spangled Banner
Johann Strauss Emperor Waltz
Richard Wagner Prelude to Act II of Lohengrin
Bedřich Smetana “The Moldau”, No. 2 from Má vlast
Sir Edward Elgar Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Capriccio espangol (Mvt. IV & V only)
Giuseppe Verdi Nabucco Overture
Edvard Grieg “Morning Mood” from Peer Gynt
Camille Saint-Saëns “March Militaire Francaise” from Suite Algierrenne
Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 9, “Ode to Joy”
John Philip Sousa Stars and Stripes Forever

Tickets are available at njsymphony.org.

Rick Steves

Rick Steves is a popular public television host, a best-selling guidebook author, and an outspoken activist who encourages Americans to broaden their perspectives through travel. But above all else, Rick considers himself a teacher. He taught his first travel class at his college campus in the mid-1970s—and fifty years later, he still measures his success not by dollars earned, but by trips impacted.

Rick is the founder of Rick Steves' Europe, a travel business with a small-group tour program that brings 30,000 people to Europe annually. His mission: to equip and inspire Americans to venture beyond Orlando. Each year, the philanthropic wing of his company contributes to a portfolio of climate-smart nonprofits, essentially paying a self-imposed carbon tax. He also supports and works closely with advocacy groups fighting hunger and defending civil liberties. He has been instrumental in the legalization of marijuana in states across the country.

Rick spends about three months a year in Europe, researching guidebooks, fine-tuning his tour program, filming his TV show, and making new discoveries for travelers. To recharge, he plays piano and relaxes at his family cabin in the Cascade Mountains. He lives and works in his hometown of Edmonds, Washington, where his office window overlooks his former junior high school.

Nicholas Hersh

Nicholas Hersh was appointed Music Director of the Modesto Symphony in 2023 and has earned critical acclaim for his innovative programming and natural ability to connect with musicians and audiences. In addition to his work in Modesto, Nicholas was named Principal Conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Academy, the BSO’s celebrated program for adult amateur musicians.

Hersh’s 2026–27 season includes debuts with the Seattle, New World, and Greenville Symphonies as well as the Naples Philharmonic; and return engagements with the Baltimore, New Jersey, Omaha, and Phoenix Symphonies. In demand as a guest conductor, recent seasons have included engagements with the New York, Rochester, Reno, and Louisiana Philharmonics; Colorado, Detroit, Ft. Worth, Grand Rapids, Houston, Madison, Nashville, National, North Carolina, Richmond, Tucson, Utah, and Virginia Symphonies; and the Florida and Sarasota Orchestras. He continues to enjoy a regular relationship with the Budapest Festival Orchestra.

Over a remarkable tenure as Associate Conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Hersh created the BSO Pulse series, through which he brought together indie bands and orchestral musicians in unique collaborations; led the BSO in subscription weeks, concerts in and around Baltimore; and directed the BSO’s educational and family programming. Hersh also maintains a close relationship with the National Symphony Orchestra, leading concerts throughout Washington, D.C. He stepped in to replace an indisposed Yan Pascal Tortelier, on subscription, to great acclaim.

Hersh grew up in Evanston, Illinois and started his musical training as a cellist. He earned a bachelor’s degree in music from Stanford University and a master’s degree in conducting from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Hersh is also a two-time recipient of the Solti Foundation Career Assistance Award. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife, son, and two cats, and in his free time enjoys cooking and baking for family and friends.

New Jersey Symphony

The New Jersey Symphony is a GRAMMY and Emmy Award-winning orchestra. Under the direction of Music Director Xian Zhang, the Symphony performs more than 55 concerts each season at mainstage venues, as well as in schools and public spaces. Programming at the Symphony reflects an unwavering commitment to diverse communities of New Jersey, while providing students with unparalleled opportunities to achieve musical excellence through its Youth Orchestra and other education programs. The Symphony is embarking on an expansion into Jersey City, with a new, permanent office, rehearsal, and concert space called the Symphony Center.

For more information about the New Jersey Symphony, visit njsymphony.org or our newsroom for photos and press releases.

Press Contact

Geoffrey Anderson, New Jersey Symphony, Vice President of Marketing & External Affairs
ganderson@njsymphony.org

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