(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- State Theatre New Jersey presents Kyiv Virtuosi Symphony Orchestra led by Chief Conductor Dmitry Yablonsky on Sunday, March 17, 2024 at 3:00pm. The program includes Myroslav Skoryk's Melody, Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor; Mendelsohn & Moscheles' "Fantasie Brilliante & Variations"; Ignaz Moscheles' "Les Contrastes" Grand Duo Op. 115; Berliner's Jacob's Dream Cello Concerto; and Beethoven's Symphony No. 8 in F Major. Soloists in the program include pianist Alon Kariv, Dmitry Yablonsky on cello, and the MultiPiano Ensemble.

Years of friendship and collaboration between a group of talented Ukrainian musicians, laureates of international competitions and a world-famous conductor and cellist Dmitry Yablonsky has formed and grown into the creation of Kyiv Virtuosi Symphony Orchestra. Audiences were immediately impressed by the high performing skills of the orchestra headed by Maestro Yablonsky, as well as by a thoroughly selected musical repertoire and innovative ways of presentation. Kyiv Virtuosi Orchestra has become the most demanded ensemble in the Ukraine.

During the orchestra’s first season, the orchestra performed in more than 120 concerts in Ukraine, Israel, Azerbaijan, Spain, Switzerland, and other countries. Immediately after its inception, Maestro Yablonsky was invited to become the Orchestra’s first chief conductor and artistic director of the Kyiv Virtuosi Symphony Orchestra. In February of 2017, Yablonsky initiated a tour, which was dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Israel. The orchestra gave 17 concerts, and as a result, 11,500 people could enjoy the Kyiv Virtuosi performances, and the music of such composers as Luigi Boccherini, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Joseph Haydn, Franz Schubert, Antonio Vivaldi, and Astor Piazzolla.

During the following season, a European Foundation for Support of Culture sponsored the Orchestra’s tour to South America. The Orchestra enjoyed their sell-out concerts in Peru, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, and Ecuador. Thanks to the cooperation with the world music label Naxos Records, Kyiv Virtuosi Orchestra has recorded and released seven CDs. In 2018, the orchestra recorded a disc of chamber music composed by Valentyn Silvestrov, pianist Iryna Starodub, and Chief Conductor Dmitry Yablonsky, which was nominated for the Classical Music Awards 2018 as the Recording of the Year in Contemporary category.

Dmitry Yablonsky, Chief Conductor and Artistic Director - Dmitry Yablonsky’s professional engagements as a conductor began in Camerino, Italy in 1989. Since then, he’s been invited to collaborate with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Moscow Virtuosi, Moscow Soloists, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, De Filarmonie, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Israeli Opera Orchestra Richon LeZion, Tenerife Orchestra, Lamoureux Orchestra, Orchestra National d’Ile de France, Belgian National Orchestra, OFUNAM Orchestra in Mexico, and others. His recent tours to the U.S. and Japan with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra as a Conductor Laureate were performed to sold out concert halls.

Yablonsky was recently appointed to be Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Kyiv Virtuosi Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra’s future releases on the Naxos label will include Shostakovich Chamber Symphonies, Silvestrov, Pleyel, and Hofmann cello concertos, Italian Areas with Azer Rzazadeh, and Dvořák Cello Concertos.

Alon Kariv, Piano - Since his early childhood, pianist Alon Kariv has won first prizes in all Israeli national piano competitions and performed throughout the country`s most prestigious halls and series. Kariv performed as soloist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Zubin Mehta and others; as well as with the other major Israeli orchestras, such as the Haifa Symphony, the Ashdod Symphony, and the Ra'anana Symphonette. Internationally, Kariv has collaborated with the English Chamber Orchestra, the Slovenian Radio and Television Orchestra, and Perugia Festival Orchestra. In New York he has performed at Lincoln Center and Merkin Hall and in Europe he has been heard in the UK, Holland, Italy, and Slovenia.

In 2015, Kariv won the third prize at the International Piano Competition in New York City's Kaufman Center followed by the first prize at the Tel Hai International Piano Master Classes competition. In 2016, he was a top candidate at the first Arthur Rubinstein Piano Competition held in Beijing.

Tickets range from $25-$55 and are available for purchase online or by calling State Theatre Guest Services at 732-246-SHOW (7469). State Theatre Guest Services, located at 15 Livingston Ave, New Brunswick NJ, is open by phone and email only, Tuesday through Friday from 11:00am to 5:00pm. For in-person purchases, Guest Services is open Tuesday through Friday from 12:00pm to 4:30pm. Additional ticket and transaction fees may apply.

After major renovations, State Theatre New Jersey celebrated its 100th Anniversary in December 2021 in a fully renovated theater including newly renovated lobbies, all new restrooms, upgraded HVAC systems, a new elevator for access to all levels, and brand-new theater seats. Originally built as a silent film and vaudeville palace, State Theatre’s historic significance was honored by PBS by featuring it in its documentary series, Treasures of New Jersey, in the fall of 2018. “Treasures of New Jersey: State Theatre New Jersey” can be streamed online.

Today, State Theatre is the largest performing arts center in Central New Jersey and has welcomed more than six million people through its doors since reopening as a nonprofit performing arts center in 1988. State Theatre New Jersey is a cornerstone of the cultural vitality of Middlesex County and averages a total economic impact on New Brunswick and the surrounding area of more than $18 million a year. The mainstage programs have featured high-caliber artists such as Diana Ross, Tom Jones, Kevin Hart, Ringo Starr, Melissa Etheridge, John Leguizamo, Harry Connick, Jr., Diana Krall, and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Program offerings include Broadway, orchestra, family, dance, comedy, rock/pop, jazz, Performances for Schools, and Sensory-Friendly Performances.

State Theatre New Jersey’s programs are made possible by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. Grant funding has been provided by the Middlesex County Board of County Commissioners through a grant award from the Middlesex County Cultural and Arts Trust Fund.