New Jersey Symphony Presents Tchaikovsky and Sibelius Works Inspired by THE TEMPEST, Now thru 1/27

By: Jan. 25, 2013
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The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Jacques Lacombe present a Winter Festival program featuring Tchaikovsky and Sibelius works inspired by Shakespeare's The Tempest. The Orchestra augments Sibelius' music with performances by actors from The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. The program also includes Beethoven's Symphony No. 6, "Pastoral."

"There are quite a few scores [that draw inspiration from] Shakespeare's The Tempest," Lacombe says. "To perform Sibelius' music written to accompany the play with live performances by actors is an interesting combination-it is a chance to tell the story with both music and text. I find that, with its rhythms and phrasing patterns, there is a music in the way Shakespeare's text has to be delivered. To collaborate with a company like The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey brings something special to the Winter Festival."

Performances take place tonight, January 25, (8 p.m.) at the Richardson Auditorium in Princeton, Saturday, January 26, (8 p.m.) at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark and Sunday, January 27, (3 p.m.) at the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown. A Classical Conversation begins one hour before the January 25 performance in Princeton. A panel discussion, "Taking It All In: Critical Issues Surrounding Air Quality," moderated by Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation President & CEO Christopher Daggett begins one hour before the January 26 and 27 performances in Newark and Morristown, respectively. The Newark performance will also feature an Information Fair & Artisan Marketplace; artisans and environmental organizations will host displays in the Prudential Hall lobby before the concert and during intermission.

Winter Festival partnering organizations include The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Liberty Science Center, Newark Museum and New Jersey Sierra Club. Liberty Science Center and the Newark Museum have crafted special offers for Winter Festival ticketholders. For more information on the Winter Festival and related events, visit www.njsymphony.org/air.

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

LACOMBE CONDUCTS BEETHOVEN & TCHAIKOVSKY
Friday, January 25 at 8 p.m. | Richardson Auditorium in Princeton
Saturday, January 26 at 8 p.m. | NJPAC in Newark
Sunday, January 27 at 3 p.m. | Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown

Jacques Lacombe, conductor
The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey
Bonnie J. Monte, artistic director
New Jersey Symphony Orchestra

TCHAIKOVSKY The Tempest Fantasy-Overture
SIBELIUS The Tempest
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 6, "Pastoral"

Related Events:

Classical Conversation
Friday, January 25 at 7 p.m. | Richardson Auditorium in Princeton

NJSO Director of Artistic Planning Roger Wight discusses the concert program with a special guest.

Taking It All In: Critical Issues Surrounding Air Quality
Saturday, January 26 at 7 p.m. | NJPAC in Newark
Sunday, January 27 at 2 p.m. | Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown

Moderated by Christopher Daggett, President & CEO, The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation

Join us for this revealing discussion about the quality of the air we breathe-both indoors and outdoors. Find out about the many ways in which we all can contribute to cleaner air.

Information Fair & Artisan Marketplace
Saturday, January 26 at 7 p.m. | NJPAC in Newark

Artisans and environmental organizations will host displays in the lobby before the concert and during intermission.

Jacques Lacombe, conductor
NJSO Music Director Jacques Lacombe is renowned as a remarkable conductor whose artistic integrity and rapport with orchestras have propelled him to international stature.

Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal from 2002 to 2006, he led the orchestra in more than 100 performances. He served for three years as Music Director of both orchestra and opera with the Philharmonie de Lorraine in France; he has been Music Director of the Orchestre Symphonique de Trois-Rivières since 2006.

Following the stunning Mahler 9 concerts that closed the NJSO season in June 2012, Lacombe returned to the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden to lead performances of Puccini's La bohème starring Roberto Alagna and Angela Georghiu.

In the 2012-13 season, Lacombe conducts the Opéra de Nice in an all-orchestra program and leads subscription weeks with the symphony orchestras of Québec, Toledo and Montreal, the last in a program of Bernstein and Debussy with pianist Kirill Gerstein; he also makes his Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra debut. He returns to the Deutsche Oper Berlin to lead Carmen and to the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris for a performance of Les Pêcheurs de Perles with Alagna.

In recent seasons, Lacombe made his debuts with the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden and at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich. He led Turandot and Les Contes d'Hoffmann for Opéra de Monte-Carlo and Der fliegende Holländer, Eugene Onegin, Carl Orff's Gisei - Das Opfer, Un Ballo in Maschera, Zemlinsky's Der Traumgörge and concert performances of Waltershausen's rarely heard Oberst Chabert, all at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. Oberst Chabert was released as a live CD by CPO in 2011. Lacombe led the world premiere of John Estacio's Lillian Alling at the Vancouver Opera, where he has also led productions of Roméo and Juliette and La traviata.

Lacombe has conducted at the Metropolitan Opera and at the Teatro Regio in Turin; given the world premiere of Vladimir Cosma's Marius et Fanny at l'Opéra de Marseille and has led the symphony orchestras of Toronto, Vancouver and the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa. Abroad, he has conducted the orchestras in Nice, Toulouse and Halle, as well as the Orchestre Lamoureux in Paris, Slovakia Philharmonic, Budapest Symphony, Royal Flemish Philharmonic, Victoria Orchestra Melbourne and New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey in Madison is one of the leading Shakespeare theaters in the nation and is New Jersey's only professional theater company dedicated to Shakespeare's canon and other classic masterworks. With its distinguished productions and education programs, the acclaimed company strives to illuminate the universal and lasting relevance of the classics for contemporary audiences. The Shakespeare Theatre is the longest-running Shakespeare theater on the East Coast; it celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2012.

Bonnie J. Monte, Artistic Director of The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey since 1990, has led the company into a new era, garnering national recognition for her highly successful revitalization of the institution. In addition to directing 46 productions during her 20-year tenure, Monte has provided artistic and organizational leadership resulting in unprecedented programmatic expansion, critical acclaim, steady budgetary growth and the accomplishment of a major capital campaign resulting in the F. M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre. In 2002, she initiated a new partnership with the College of Saint Elizabeth, thereby adding a second major performance venue for the organization-the Outdoor Stage. Prior to arriving in New Jersey, Monte was a casting director at the prestigious Manhattan Theatre Club in New York City; she was previously associate artistic director at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts.

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra is comprised of some of the country's finest musicians. The Orchestra is proud to have Jacques Lacombe as its Music Director. Artistic excellence, innovative programming and community engagement are hallmarks of its mission. To best serve the people of New Jersey, the orchestra brings its programs to seven outstanding venues throughout the state. Education and community engagement programs enrich the listening experience for children and adults alike. Select performances of the NJSO are broadcast regionally and throughout North America.



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