(JERSEY CITY, NJ) -- On August 21, 2024, Mayor Steven M. Fulop and the New Jersey Symphony announced the renowned Symphony's relocation to a new state-of-the-art, 44,000-square-foot theater in Jersey City's downtown Powerhouse Arts District. The announcement marks an important new chapter for both the Symphony and Jersey City, offering a dedicated permanent location that will serve the local community and contribute to the Symphony's ongoing activities across the state.

“This represents a significant milestone in Jersey City’s cultural evolution, creating a key destination for our region with permanent space for world-class performances and community-driven initiatives,” says Mayor Fulop. “We started these conversations over a year ago, and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome the New Jersey Symphony to their new home in Jersey City. This new endeavor will enhance our economic and cultural landscape and, more importantly, offer unparalleled opportunities to our residents and community.”

President & CEO Gabriel van Aalst says, “I am thrilled to see the Symphony Center project come to fruition. Having a home to call our own will allow us to expand on the many impactful education and community programs for which the Symphony is well-known throughout the state, with new entertainment options that the residents of Jersey City, Hudson County and beyond are sure to enjoy. In addition to being a home for rehearsals and performances by our musicians and icons of the classical music world, we can’t wait to introduce audiences to performances from a broad range of performing arts and collaborate with local Jersey City artists and arts organizations. When patrons enter the theater for the first time, they will immediately recognize that there is no other space like this in Jersey City and will realize the full potential and cultural value it brings to the community. I want to thank everyone involved in making this dream a reality, especially Mayor Fulop, the City of Jersey City and Toll Brothers.”

The new Symphony Center offers a multipurpose 550-seat theater, space for education and community programs, and 8,000 square feet for administrative offices. Additionally, it will provide a permanent space for artistic, educational and community offerings in Jersey City and throughout Hudson County.

Music Director Xian Zhang says, “I am very excited for the Symphony Center and the many opportunities the new venue will make possible for the organization. It will provide a space for artistic innovation and growth and expand the Symphony's artistic offerings that communities across New Jersey have enjoyed for more than a century.”

Co-Chairs of the New Jersey Symphony Board of Trustees Craig Silliman and Robert (Bob) Garrett remark, “With both public and private support, the Jersey City project will enable the Symphony for the first time in its 102-year history to have a rehearsal and concert space that is operated by the organization. We want to thank our Board of Trustees as well as our musicians and our administrative staff who helped facilitate this move. As Co-Chairs of the board, it is an honor to be a part of an organization that is so vital to the arts in the state.”

“This partnership introduces a whole new art form to our community. We can now offer impactful symphonic music to inspire and educate our youth while elevating Jersey City as a premier destination for arts and culture,” adds Christine Goodman, director of the office of cultural affairs. “We are proud to have collaborated with our community partners and the Symphony to make this exciting new project a reality.”

Exciting new cultural events for Jersey City - The Symphony Center theater is designed to be a flexible, multipurpose space without a fixed stage or fixed seating, accommodating a wide variety of configurations. This flexibility will provide an exceptional venue for a huge range of cultural events. The Symphony has a long history of cross-disciplinary partnerships with New Jersey arts organizations and plans to expand these collaborative initiatives with Hudson County arts organizations and across the state. Being a true partner to the community, the Symphony is committed to welcoming local community input and feedback to inform programming decisions.

Expanding education programs to Jersey City - New Jersey Symphony’s expansion into Jersey City will provide music education programs to local families. The Symphony Center will provide a place for expanding education programs in Jersey City, as well as community partnerships throughout the city, while maintaining its commitment to music education in Newark and other cities throughout the state.

The Symphony serves as many as 20,000 students annually across the state, but most proudly in the City of Newark and surrounding Essex County communities, where it provides an opportunity for young musicians to be part of an unparalleled musical community through its nearly 35-year strong Youth Orchestra.

An economic accelerator for Jersey City’s Powerhouse Arts District and New Jersey - The new Symphony Center in Jersey City will become a true placemaking venue, drawing people from across Jersey City and beyond to the Powerhouse Arts district to dine, shop, be entertained and experience a remarkable range of cultural offerings.

New Jersey Symphony’s series of classical subscription concerts and special events at NJPAC in Newark, State Theatre New Jersey in New Brunswick, Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown and Richardson Auditorium in Princeton demonstrate its impact across New Jersey and will continue to serve communities statewide. The Symphony’s events will continue to benefit the towns that have seen Symphony patrons come to their downtown areas to eat at restaurants and shop at local businesses prior to attending Symphony performances.

The Symphony is the largest single employer of union musicians in the state, employing 66 full-time musicians who receive salary and benefits. The Symphony also contracts with union musicians and stagehands as needed for additional program and community support and employs approximately 40 staff members to run its operations and education programs.

Opening date, location and facts - Toll Brothers has worked closely with all the involved partners to construct the new theater and bring our collective vision to fruition. The venue opening date is estimated to be Spring 2026, upon completion of the interior work.

Located at the corner of Provost Street and Morgan Street in the Powerhouse Arts District, the venue is two blocks from the PATH Grove Street station and New Jersey Transit’s Hudson-Bergen Light Rail. Public parking is available in private lots throughout the neighborhood.

Complete funding for the interior design and improvements to the theater space will draw from public and private philanthropic support.

The Emmy and GRAMMY Award-winning New Jersey Symphony is redefining what it means to be a nationally leading, relevant orchestra in the 21st century. The Symphony is renewing its deeply rooted commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion by championing new, and often local, artists; engaging audiences for whom the inspiring depth and breadth of classical music will be a new experience; and incorporating the broadest possible representation in all aspects of our organization-all to better reflect and serve our vibrant communities.

New Jersey Symphony Music Director Xian Zhang, photo by Cherylynn Tsushima

Internationally renowned Chinese American conductor Xian Zhang began her tenure as the New Jersey Symphony’s current music director in 2016. Since her arrival, Zhang has revitalized programming with an industry-leading commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in mainstage concerts. Since 2021, Zhang has worked together with composer, violinist, educator and social-justice advocate Daniel Bernard Roumain, the orchestra's Resident Artistic Catalyst, to offer programming that connects with diverse communities in Newark and throughout New Jersey. In 2024, Allison Loggins-Hull will succeed DBR as the orchestra’s next Resident Artistic Partner.

In the 2024–25 season, the New Jersey Symphony will present Voice of Nature: the Anthropocene with Renée Fleming, Billy Childs’ Diaspora, Daniel Freiberg’s Latin American Chronicles, Allison Loggins-Hull’s Can You See?, Qasim Naqvi’s God Docks at Death Harbor and Gabriela Ortiz’s Kauyumari. Classical favorites on the season include Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, “Choral,” Gustav Holst’s The Planets—An HD Odyssey, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade and Igor Stravinsky’s Suite from The Firebird. Artistic partnerships include Paquito D’Rivera and his quintet, as part of the TD James Moody Jazz Festival; Nimbus Dance performing with The Firebird and God Docks at Death Harbor; Montclair State University Chorale performing on three programs; as well as Peking University Alumni Chorus and Starry Arts Children’s Chorus appearing on the Lunar New Year Celebration concert with Xian Zhang. 

The New Jersey Symphony's programs are made possible in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, along with many other foundations, corporations and individual donors.