(NEWARK, NJ) -- The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra presents Bach’s complete Brandenburg Concertos May 17–20 in Newark, Princeton, Red Bank and New Brunswick. Concertmaster Eric Wyrick explores performance practices from Baroque to contemporary as he leads his colleagues. NJSO musicians perform solo roles in the six concertos, each of which is scored for a different combination of instruments.
Performances take place on Thursday, May 17, at 1:30pm at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark; Friday, May 18, at 8:00pm at Richardson Auditorium in Princeton; Saturday, May 19, at 8:00pm at Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank; and Sunday, May 20, at 3:00pm at State Theatre New Jersey in New Brunswick. Investors Foundation sponsors the weekend’s concerts.
Featured soloists from the Orchestra include Wyrick, Associate Concertmaster Brennan Sweet, Assistant Concertmaster David Southorn, Principal Viola Frank Foerster, violist David Blinn, Principal Flute Bart Feller, flutist Kathleen Nester (on recorder), clarinetist Andrew Lamy (on recorder), Principal Oboe Robert Ingliss, oboist Andrew Adelson, Principal Horn Chris Komer, hornist Andrea Menousek and Principal Trumpet Garth Greenup. Guest Paolo Bordignon performs the harpsicord continuo.
NJSO Accent events include a May 17 pre-concert singalong and a May 19 post-concert talkback with COO Susan Stucker and Director of Artistic Operations Kristin Orlando, who describe the behind-the-scenes work that goes into presenting an orchestral performance.
Concert tickets start at $20 and are available for purchase online at www.njsymphony.org or by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476).
THE PROGRAM
Bach’s Complete Brandenburgs
Thu, May 17, at 1:30 pm | NJPAC in Newark
Fri, May 18, at 8 pm | Richardson Auditorium in Princeton
Sat, May 19, at 8 pm | Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank
Sun, May 20, at 3 pm | State Theatre New Jersey in New Brunswick
Eric Wyrick, leader and violin soloist
Members of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra
BACH Brandenburg Concertos No. 1–6
NJSO ACCENTS:
Singalong Fun—Thu, May 17, one hour before the concert
Come early and sing along to an entertaining selection of song favorites.
Talkback—Sat, May 19, after the concert
NJSO Behind the Scenes: A lot of activity happens before the first note plays. COO Susan Stucker and Director of Artistic Operations Kristin Orlando describe their work to help make the music happen.
Full concert information is available at www.njsymphony.org/brandenburgs.
This weekend’s concerts are generously sponsored by Investors Foundation.
THE ARTISTS
Violinist ERIC WYRICK is Concertmaster of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and has been an Orpheus Chamber Orchestra member and frequent leader since 1988. Born in New York City, Wyrick attended the Juilliard Pre-College Division and later The Juilliard School, studying with Dorothy DeLay. He has been concertmaster of the American Symphony, Eos and Opera Francais de New York. Wyrick has appeared as a soloist with the Danish Radio Orchestra, Orchestre de Toulouse, Hudson Valley Philharmonic and San Angelo Symphony Orchestra. In annual NJSO appearances, he has performed concertos of Ferruccio Busoni, Darryl Kubian, Edward T. Cone and Prokofiev, among others. He is also an active chamber musician, and has recorded for Bridge Records, Vanguard and, with Orpheus, Deutsche Grammophon.
ANDREW ADELSON has held the position of second oboe and English horn in the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra since 2000. He also has appeared with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, American Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Mexico City Philharmonic. He also has performed with the Aspen Wind Quintet and Bargemusic and at the Tanglewood, Interlochen, OK Mozart and Waterloo music festivals. Adelson earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at The Juilliard School. He serves on the faculties of the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University and Montclair State University.
DAVID BLINN has been a violist with the NJSO since 1993. He received a bachelor’s degree from The Juilliard School; he completed a graduate degree in orchestral studies at the Manhattan School of Music. A passionate chamber musician, Blinn frequently performs with a variety of ensembles and was a founding member of the Allendale String Quartet. He is currently principal violist of Lincoln Center’s revival of My Fair Lady. Other credits include the Tony Award-winning South Pacific, A Gentleman’s Guide to Loveand Murder, Evita and Stephen Sondheim’s revivals of Follies, A Little Night Music and Sunday in the Park with George.
PAOLO BORDIGNON is harpsichordist of the New York Philharmonic and appears this season with Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Camerata Pacifica, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Orpheus, American Symphony Orchestra and Sejong, and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He has performed with the Knights, English Chamber Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and festivals including Aspen, Bard, Bay Chamber, Bridgehampton, Grand Tetons, Mostly Mozart and Palm Beach, as well as NY Fashion Week. He has collaborated with Renée Fleming, James Galway, Wynton Marsalis, Bobby McFerrin, Midori, Itzhak Perlman and composers Philip Glass and Elliott Carter as soloist in their concertos.
BART FELLER, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra’s Principal Flute, joined the Orchestra in 1989 and has soloed with the NJSO on numerous occasions. He is also principal flute of the New York City Opera and Santa Fe Opera, and he has performed with The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and New York Philharmonic. He released his latest CD, a recording of the Mozart Flute Quartets, in 2011. Feller is on the faculty of Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts and the Pre-College Division of The Juilliard School. He attended the Curtis Institute of Music.
FRANK FOERSTER, Principal Viola of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra since 1988, has performed with the Berlin Philharmonic under Herbert von Karajan and New York Philharmonic under Leonard Bernstein. As a soloist and recitalist, Foerster has appeared in most concert halls in the metropolitan area. Foerster currently serves as principal viola of New York Scandia Symphony and is the violist of the Scandia String Quartet. He is also a member of the chamber ensemble Vista Lirica and the Zanoli String Trio. Foerster studied music in Hannover and Berlin before attending The Juilliard School, where he received Master and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees.
New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Principal Trumpet GARTH GREENUP attended Arizona State University and Northwestern University. His principal teachers include David Hickman, Vince Chickowicz, Adolph Herseth and George Recker. Before joining the NJSO, he served as principal trumpet of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra. In 1998, he won second prize in the prestigious Ellsworth Smith/International Trumpet Guild Solo Competition. Greenup has appeared as a soloist with several ensembles, including the NJSO, Utah Symphony and Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra. More recently, Greenup performed as soloist with the NJSO for Arutiunian’s Trumpet Concerto, Herman Bellstedt’s Napoli and Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto.
New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Principal Oboe ROBERT INGLISS is also principal oboe of the Santa Fe Opera. He tours worldwide with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and has served as principal oboe with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and Mexico City Philharmonic. He is a member of An die Musik and has appeared at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Monadnock Music Festival and Adam Chamber Music Festival in New Zealand. Ingliss has taught at Brooklyn College Conservatory, ColumbiaUniversity, Sarah Lawrence College and SUNYPurchase. He is a graduate of The Juilliard School, where he studied with Robert Bloom.
A native of Kansas, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Principal French Horn CHRIS KOMER studied at Wichita State University, Cleveland Institute of Music and Manhattan School of Music. In addition to the NJSO, he has performed with the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony and Houston Symphony. He also has appeared in jazz clubs, on numerous recordings and soundtracks, and on Broadway. He has appeared with many successful chamber groups and founded a performing artists’ retreat in the Rocky Mountains called the Artist’s Refuge at Thunderhead. In 2009, he released his first solo piano CD, “Travlin’ Music,” featuring all original music.
New Jersey Symphony Orchestra second and e-flat clarinetist ANDREW LAMY has been a member of the NJSO since 1993. He is also a member of the critically acclaimed Halcyon Trio. He has performed with the New York Philharmonic, American Symphony, American Ballet Theater, Concordia Orchestra, Royal Opera of London, St. Petersburg Philharmonic and Cape May Music Festival. An active music educator, Lamy is on the faculty of the New Jersey Conservatory, Drew Summer Music, Rutgers University and William Paterson University; he has been a guest master clinician at The Juilliard School. He attended the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music.
Second French Horn ANDREA MENOUSEK has been a member of the NJSO since 1991. She also has been principal horn of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic (NEPP) since 1994. Her work with the Orchestra includes frequent performances with the NJSO brass and woodwind quintets. As an educator, she has been teaching and coaching with the NJSO Academy Orchestra since 1991. She has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Arizona Opera, American Symphony Orchestra and International Mozart Festival, and she has appeared as a soloist both with the NEPP and The Juilliard School, where she received her Master of Music degree.
KATHLEEN NESTER is assistant principal flute and solo piccolo for the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. She has played with the New York Philharmonic, New York City Opera, Orchestra of St. Luke’s and in the Mostly Mozart, Lincoln Center and Oklahoma Mozart festivals. She is also a member of the Stamford Symphony Orchestra and has been featured as a concerto soloist in the US and abroad. She has been the flutist for many Broadway productions and movie soundtracks, most recently An American in Paris and The Greatest Showman. She is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music and teaches at New York University.
NJSO Assistant Concertmaster DAVID SOUTHORN is in his second season with the NJSO and enjoys a versatile career as a concertmaster, soloist and chamber musician. This is his sixth season as concertmaster of the Delaware Symphony. Southorn has performed as guest concertmaster with the New Haven Symphony, Miami Symphony and Incheon Philharmonic (South Korea) and also performs regularly with the New York Philharmonic. Before joining the NJSO he was a member of the award-winning Amphion String Quartet and Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. He received degrees from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Yale University and Manhattan School of Music.
BRENNAN SWEET began playing violin at the age of 2 and studied at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest as a teenager. Accepted to Washington University in St. Louis as an engineering student, he later transferred to Indiana University in pursuit of a music career, during which time he was the concertmaster of several regional orchestras, including the Evansville Philharmonic, and assistant instructor to Josef Gingold. Sweet joined the NJSO in 1994, subsequently leading the Orchestra for three seasons as acting concertmaster under Zdenek Macal. He is currently a violin instructor at Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts. More information is available at BrennanSweet.com.
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.
Music Director Xian Zhang—a “dynamic podium presence” The New York Times has praised for her “technical abilities, musicianship and maturity”—continues her acclaimed leadership of the NJSO. The Orchestra 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 State Theatre New Jersey 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; NJSO Youth Orchestras family of student ensembles, currently led by José Luis Domínguez; and El Sistema-inspired NJSO CHAMPS (Character, Achievement and Music Project). NJSO musicians annually perform original chamber music programs at community events in a variety of settings statewide through the NJSO Community Partners Program.
For more information about the NJSO, visit www.njsymphony.org
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