Young Composers Project

Have you ever had an idea for a jingle, song, string quartet or symphony? Have you ever dreamed of turning that idea into music and having it performed in front of an audience? For three student composers, that dream is coming true, thanks to the NJSO’s inaugural Young Composers Project.

Selected from elementary-, middle- and high-school composers from all over the state, the winning composers—ninth grader Graham Cohen of South Orange, 12th grader Sahil Jindal of Dover and 11th grader Michael Parsons of Stirling— have been meeting with acclaimed composer Behzad Ranjbaran for a series of workshops and one-on-one composition sessions. The students have been refining and perfecting their pieces all season, preparing for their world-premiere performances by the NJSO in May and June.

Education & Community Engagement Conductor Jeffrey Grogan will lead the NJSO in these student works as part of the school-time Concerts for Young People in May and the Dancing Around the World Family concert on June 1.

“I am very excited about this project,” Music Director Jacques Lacombe says. “The Orchestra is a connector here, giving students access to a well-established composer. To offer these young composers the opportunity to have this sort of experimentation, to learn from and exchange with our musicians about what works and what doesn’t, will be an incredible fast-forward learning experience for them.

“To give students opportunities to think and to dream, [and to help them] see this fascinating machine that is a symphony orchestra, is something they will never forget.”

The Young Composers Project is part of the NJSO’s New Jersey Roots Project; the NJSO performed Ranjbaran’s Seemorgh: Persian Trilogy for Orchestra in the New Jersey Roots Project’s inaugural season.

Join us on June 1 to witness the world-premiere performances of the works of these fine young composers.

Pictured (L to R): Graham Cohen, Michael Parsons, Behzad Ranjbaran and Sahil Jindal. Photo by Fred Stucker.