Plainfield Symphony Board President Mark Miller 

(PLAINFIELD, NJ) -- The Plainfield Symphony's free Family Concert for 2024, "Let Justice Roll," will take place on Saturday, January 27, 2024 at 3:00pm. The program will feature two choral works by their very own prolific composer, PSO Board President Mark Miller and composer Lucas Richmond.  Maestro Charles Prince will also lead the PSO in several orchestral selections.

Mark Miller’s dramatic choral cantata with narration entitled “Let Justice Roll!” reflects that in the midst of struggles for social justice and freedom from oppressive systems, we can strive for unity and understanding.

“Draw the Circle Wide” is an anthem of unity for all people, cultures and generations. The music is set to Gordon Light's powerful text. Mark Miller believes passionately that music can change the world. He is Professor of Church Music and Composer-in-Residence at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, and is a Lecturer in Sacred Music at Yale University. He is also the Minister of Music of Christ Church in Summit, New Jersey. Mark’s sacred music is widely published and sung by communities of faith around the world. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Music from Yale University and his Master of Music in Organ Performance from Juilliard.

Lucas Richman’s “Tikkun Olam” (Heal the World) is a three-movement Symphony (Intensity, Beauty, Devotion) based on Leonard Bernstein’s “An Artist’s Response to Violence” speech, made after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, that addresses the manner in which musicians might best use their abilities in the aftermath of tragedy: “This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.” The work ultimately resolves with an anthem-like setting of an original poem, “Tikkun Olam” uplifting the essence of Bernstein’s profound message. Lucas Richman is a Grammy award-winning conductor and has garnered an international reputation for his musical leadership in concert halls, orchestral pits and recording studios around the world. As an accomplished composer, his works have been performed by numerous major orchestras.

Orchestral selections include Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s The Bamboula, Rhapsodic Dance, Op. 75. The bamboula is the name of a drum and a dance that was brought to America and the Caribbean by African slaves. Coleridge-Taylor puts the simple melody into a dance format (fast, slow, fast) and creates many variations to keep it interesting. Morton Gould’s “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” from a collection of Five Spirituals will be performed as well as the Scherzo movement from William Grant Still’s Afro-American Symphony.

Come join us for this timely and inspirational concert at the Crescent Presbyterian Church (716 Watchung) in Plainfield, New Jersey. You may also view the livestream performance on their website and YouTube Channel.

As New Jersey's oldest community symphony and the third oldest continuously operating community symphony in the United States, the Plainfield Symphony Orchestra represents the highest standard in musical excellence in programs designed to educate and uplift local audiences.