(NEWARK, NJ) -- The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Xian Zhang have announced the Orchestra’s 2021–22 classical season and return to mainstage concerts after pandemic-related cancelations. The new season features Artist-in-Residence Daniil Trifonov in concertos by Brahms and Mason Bates; world premieres from Resident Artistic Catalyst Daniel Bernard Roumain, Michael Abels, Wynton Marsalis and a quartet of jazz composers; a weekend of all five Beethoven piano concertos with Louis Lortie; return engagements by Augustin Hadelich, Conrad Tao and Karen Gomyo and solo turns by NJSO musicians.
Embracing its identity as a statewide orchestra, the NJSO offers classical series in Newark, New Brunswick, Princeton, Red Bank and Morristown. NJSO performances will follow safety measures in partnership with these venues and based on the guidance provided by the CDC and the State of New Jersey.
Zhang says: “The Orchestra and I cannot wait to perform for our audiences in person again. This season speaks to our time, with many important voices of today, and celebrates great musical traditions of the past and present. We are so proud to welcome Resident Artistic Catalyst Daniel Bernard Roumain and Artist-in-Residence Daniil Trifonov for powerful programs that will deepen their connections with our audiences across New Jersey.”
The season opens with Daniel Bernard Roumain performing his own Voodoo Violin Concerto with Zhang at the podium. The program features the world premiere of a new co-commission from Michael Abels, as well as Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony.
For the season finale, the NJSO gives the world premieres of NJSO commissions from Roumain and—in a unique French horn concerto commissioned for Principal Horn Chris Komer—jazz composers Vivian Li, Christian McBride, Gary Morgan and Paquito D’Rivera. The Orchestra’s partnership with the Sphinx Organization brings Sphinx’s founder, Aaron Dworkin, to New Jersey stages for his spoken-word multimedia work The American Rhapsody, which tells the story of America through the words of George Washington, set to Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Symphonic Variations on an African Air. The program concludes with Gershwin’s An American in Paris.
Daniil Trifonov performs on two weeks of subscription programs, performing Brahms’ First Piano Concerto and a new concerto Mason Bates is writing for him, under Zhang’s baton. Trifonov’s yearlong residency begins with a performance of Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in EMERGE Part 3: An NJSO Concert Film on June 30.
The season features the world premiere of a fanfare for brass and percussion commissioned from Wynton Marsalis, the US premiere of a co-commission from Thomas Adès (Shanty – Over the Sea), the East Coast premiere of a co-commission from Christopher Rouse (Bassoon Concerto) and the East Coast premiere of Conrad Tao’s Spoonfuls for Piano and Orchestra, performed by the composer.
The Orchestra celebrates pathbreaking composers of the past and present, including Jessie Montgomery (Starburst), Joan Tower (Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman No. 1), Louise Farrenc (Overture in E Minor) and Vivian Li (commissioned to write a movement of a jazz French horn concerto). The NJSO brings Nokuthula Ngwenyama’s Primal Message, which received its East Coast premiere this April in EMERGE Part 1: An NJSO Concert Film, to the mainstage.
Other living composers featured on the season include Juan Pablo Jofre (Double Concerto for Violin and Bandoneon) and Samy Moussa (Nocturne).
In a much-anticipated appearance postponed from 2020 due to the pandemic, Louis Lortie performs Beethoven’s complete piano concertos across four concerts in a single weekend with Zhang conducting.
Audience favorite Augustin Hadelich returns for Chevalier de Saint-Georges’ Violin Concerto in A Major, Op. 5, No. 2, and Beethoven’s Romance for Violin and Orchestra No. 2. Karen Gomyo performs Mozart’s Third Violin Concerto.
The season highlights the talents of the Orchestra’s musicians. Principal Horn Chris Komer gives the world premiere of an innovative jazz French horn concerto the NJSO commissioned from four jazz composers. Principal Bassoon Robert Wagner gives the East Coast premiere of the late Christopher Rouse’s Bassoon Concerto, which the NJSO co-commissioned from the composer in honor of Wagner’s 40th-anniversary season with the NJSO in 2019.
Concertmaster Eric Wyrick performs Juan Pablo Jofre’s Double Concerto for Violin and Bandoneon with the composer under the baton of internationally renowned conductor and composer José Luis Domínguez, who makes his NJSO mainstage debut. The season also sees solo turns for Principal Flute Bart Feller in Nielsen’s Flute Concerto, Principal Cello Jonathan Spitz in Saint-Saëns’ First Cello Concerto, Assistant Principal Flute/Piccolo Kathleen Nester in Vivaldi’s Piccolo Concerto in C Major and Associate Concertmaster Brennan Sweet and Assistant Principal Viola Elzbieta Weyman in Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and Viola.
Other season highlights include Mozart’s Symphony No. 41, “Jupiter”; Stravinsky’s Petrushka (1947); Tchaikovsky’s “Pathétique” Symphony, First Piano Concerto, Capriccio italien, Romeo and Juliet Fantasy-Overture and Suite from Swan Lake; Ravel’s Boléro; Saint-Saëns’ “Organ” Symphony; Mendelssohn’s Fourth Symphony, “Italian”; Gershwin’s An American in Paris and Copland’s Lincoln Portrait.
A pair of special concerts continue NJSO traditions. The Orchestra hosts a festive Lunar New Year Celebration in Newark to ring in the Year of the Ox. In the next installment of the Harry Potter Film Concert Series, the NJSO and NJPAC co-present Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows™ Part 1 in Concert.
The NJSO Edward T. Cone Composition Institute—a partnership between the Edward T. Cone Foundation, Princeton University and the NJSO—takes place in July. Composers Elise Arancio (Wake), Kevin Day (Tango Oscuro), Erin Graham (Increase) and Jared Miller (Under Sea, Above Sky) will have their work rehearsed by the NJSO and guest conductor Ludovic Morlot, participate in masterclasses with Institute Director Steven Mackey, receive feedback from NJSO musicians and participate in sessions with industry leaders. It concludes with an NJSO performance of the participants’ works at NJPAC in Newark.
Classical subscriptions are now on sale for the 2021–22 season. Full information on ticket packages for each series and venue is available at njsymphony.org/subscribe. Subscriptions are available for purchase online or by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476). Single tickets will go on sale in August.
The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra connects with the people and diverse communities of New Jersey through the power of live symphonic music to inspire, entertain and educate. Internationally renowned Music Director Xian Zhang has garnered critical acclaim on the podium and has deepened the NJSO’s commitment to presenting diverse voices that reflect the communities the Orchestra serves.
The NJSO embraces its legacy as a statewide orchestra through mainstage and chamber performances at venues across New Jersey, as well as partnerships with fellow Garden State arts organizations, universities and civic organizations. The Orchestra’s education and community engagement programs promote meaningful, lifelong engagement with live music.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the NJSO has made virtual performances and educational online programs available for free, reaching more than 10 million people across the Orchestra’s digital channels. NJSO Concert Films pair world-class NJSO performances with stunning imagery of the people and cityscapes of New Jersey. The NJSO has presented innovative programs with fellow arts organizations, community ensembles and statewide partners. Musicians perform solo and chamber works from iconic New Jersey locations in NJSO Everywhere. NJSO at Home spotlights intimate at-home performances, instrument demonstrations, educational videos and hours of concert recordings.
The NJSO Youth Orchestras have not only continued virtual instruction but have introduced an entirely new dimension to the program. Students are working together on a yearlong creative composition project—a uniquely engaging opportunity for students to explore their own musical voices and shape new works that draw from all the genres that inspire them.
The safety of our patrons, musicians and staff is of the utmost importance to the NJSO. Please visit njsymphony.org for constantly updated details focused on attendees’ well-being at our performances.
The Orchestra’s online hub for free musical content is njsymphony.org/virtual.
Photos by Fred Stucker
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