New Jersey Symphony to Present Grieg's Piano Concerto with Xiaohui Yang, 2/27-3/2

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra presents Grieg's Piano Concerto on a program that also features Dvor?a?k's Eighth Symphony and Sibelius' Spring Song February 27-March 2 in Englewood, Red Bank and Newark. Conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali, a 26-year-old prote?ge? of Gustavo Dudamel whom Gramophone has called a "dynamic young Finn" whose "career is developing at a rapid pace," makes his NJSO debut. The March 2 performance at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark is the NJSO's second College Night event of the season.

Performances take place on Thursday, February 27, (7:30 pm) at bergenPAC in Englewood, Saturday, March 1, (8 pm) at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank and Sunday, March 2, (3 pm) at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark. NJSO Associate Conductor Gemma New chats with pianist Xiaohui Yang about the program at Classical Conversations beginning one hour before the performances on March 1 and 2.

Yang also makes her NJSO debut, performing Grieg's concerto as the Orchestra's annual Curtis Artist. For the past 14 seasons, the NJSO has annually presented one of the Curtis Institute of Music's finest student musicians as a guest artist; the first Curtis artist to perform on an NJSO classical program was pianist Lang Lang.

"Our Orchestra is very committed to supporting and presenting young talents in a highly professional environment," Music Director Jacques Lacombe says. "Xiaohui Yang comes to us from the very exciting and stimulating partnership we have with the Curtis Institute. We believe not only in welcoming renowned artists but also in finding the talent of tomorrow. Santtu-Matias Rouvali is an exciting up-and-coming conductor who will bring a fresh energy to the podium."

The program's Grieg and Sibelius works have clear Scandinavian roots, and Dvor?a?k's Eighth Symphony has a subtler connection to that culture, Lacombe says. "Dvor?a?k is one of the best symphonic composers, and his Eighth Symphony, perhaps even more than his Ninth, has a link to the Czech roots. It sounds almost earthy; it really feels like it gets to the heart of Czech romantic music."

COLLEGE NIGHT: The NJSO hosts the second College Night event of the season on Sunday, March 2, at NJPAC in Newark. A special $10 student ticket includes entrance to the Orchestra's 3 pm performance and a post-concert all-student party.

The NJSO will provide free round-trip bus transportation to the concert from select New Jersey college campuses. Pick- up times and locations will be posted at www.njsymphony.org/college as buses become available.

The Orchestra has set aside a block of tickets as Tweet Seats, from which college students can post live concert commentary on social media. The NJSO (@NJSymphony) will tweet live commentary during the performance.

The first College Night of the season saw 139 students from colleges and universities across the state join the Orchestra at NJPAC in Newark on November 1. The NJSO hosts the season's third and final College Night at its Saturday, April 5, performance of Verdi's Requiem at the State Theatre in New Brunswick.

Tickets start at $20 and are available for purchase online at www.njsymphony.org or by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476). College Night student tickets are $10 and include the concert and post-concert party. Student tickets are available for purchase online at www.njsymphony.org/college (using promo code COLLEGE14) or by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO; Tweet Seats are available by phone only.

FOOD DRIVE: The NJSO is partnering with The Community FoodBank of New Jersey to fight hunger. At NJSO subscription concerts in March, the Orchestra and volunteers will collect non-perishable food items to donate to the Community FoodBank, which assists more than 900,000 people in 18 counties across New Jersey. Patrons can bring food donations to the concert hall and drop off items at a collection table in the lobby. More details, a full list of concerts at which the Orchestra will collect food donations and a list of acceptable food items are available at www.njsymphony.org/fooddrive.

Program notes and additional concert information are available at www.njsymphony.org/events/detail/griegs-piano-concerto.

THE ARTISTS:

Santtu-Matias Rouvali, conductor: Finnish conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali's career is developing at a remarkable pace. Last season he made a number of important debuts including concerts with the hr-Sinfonieorchester, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Dresden Philharmonic, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra and Philharmonia Orchestra.

The 2013-14 season is his first as chief conductor of the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra; he is also principal guest conductor of the Copenhagen Philharmonic and artist in association with the Tapiola Sinfonietta.

This season, Rouvali returns to the Dresden Philharmonic and debuts with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as the New Jersey and Milwaukee symphony orchestras. In addition, he continues his relationships with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Residentie Orkest, conducting a number of their concerts each season. In past seasons, Rouvali has conducted Bizet's Carmen and Mozart's The Magic Flute with West Coast Kokkola Opera.

He recently released a disc on the Ondine label featuring the Hakola and Hosokawa Guitar Concertos with Timo Korhonen and the Oulu Symphony Orchestra.

Xiaohui Yang, piano: Born in Liaoning, China, pianist Xiaohui Yang is pursuing a master's degree at The Juilliard School, where she holds the Cecilia Felman Piano Scholarship. She received the Michael and Cecilia lacovella Capuzzi Memorial Fellowship to study at the Curtis Institute of Music and garnered the Festorazzi Prize when she graduated from Curtis in 2013.

She performed a solo recital at the Shenyang Foreign Culture Music Festival and has appeared with the Milwaukee and Curtis symphony orchestras and at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. She has attended the Beijing International Music Festival and Academy and the Beethoven Institute and Taos School of Music festivals. She held the Billy Joel Keyboard Fellowship at Tanglewood Music Center in 2013. She has participated in masterclasses with Emanuel Ax, Peter Serkin, Gary Graffman and Richard Goode, among others.

Yang has garnered prizes in several competitions, including first prize in the American Prote?ge? International Piano and Strings Competition; second prize in the PianoArts North American Biennial Competition, Hong Kong Piano Open Competition and Toyama Asian Youth Music Competition and third prize in the International Chopin Piano Competition.

THE 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.

Under the bold leadership of Music Director Jacques Lacombe, the NJSO 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 the State Theatre 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 the three-ensemble Greater Newark Youth Orchestras, school-time Concerts for Young People performances and multiple initiatives that provide and promote in-school instrumental instruction. The NJSO's Resources for Education and Community Harmony (REACH) chamber music program annually brings original programs-designed and performed by NJSO musicians-to a variety of settings, reaching as many as 17,000 people in nearly all of New Jersey's 21 counties.

For more information about the NJSO, visit www.njsymphony.org or email information@njsymphony.org. Tickets are available for purchase by phone 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476) or on the Orchestra's website.

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