NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA to Present Brahms Strauss & Mozart with Conductor Xian Zhang

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra presents Brahms' Concerto for Violin and Cello-featuring Concertmaster Eric Wyrick and Principal Cello Jonathan Spitz-Mozart's Symphony No. 39 and Strauss' Serenade for Winds, April 30-May 3 in Newark, Princeton and Morristown. Guest conductor Xian Zhang returns to NJSO stages to conduct.

Performances take place on Thursday, April 30, at 1:30 pm and Saturday, May 2, at 8 pm at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark; Friday, May 1, at 8 pm at the Richardson Auditorium in Princeton and Sunday, May 3, at 8 pm at the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown.

The Star-Ledger praised Zhang's previous engagement with the NJSO, writing, "Zhang was at once commanding and exuberant, occasionally jumping or bending sharply at the waist to spur on the orchestra but often remaining fairly still-a riveting, dancer-like presence completely in the service of music, not showmanship."

The Orchestra presents multiple NJSO Accent events during the weekend. Inspired by Zhang's return to the NJSO podium, we chat with women in leadership roles in business, education and government will participate in a post-concert talkback on May 2 at NJPAC. A Classical Conversation begins at 2 pm on May 3 at the Mayo Performing Arts Center.

TICKETS
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
Zhang Conducts Mozart & Brahms
Thursday, April 30 at 1:30 pm | NJPAC in Newark
Friday, May 1 at 8 pm | Richardson Auditorium in Princeton
Saturday, May 2 at 8 pm | NJPAC in Newark
Sunday, May 3 at 3 pm | Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown

Xian Zhang, conductor
Eric Wyrick, violin
Jonathan Spitz, cello
New Jersey Symphony Orchestra

BRAHMS Concerto for Violin and Cello
STRAUSS Serenade for Winds
MOZART Symphony No. 39

Full concert information is available at www.njsymphony.org/events/detail/zhang-conducts-mozart-brahms.

Novo Nordisk is concert sponsor of the May 1 performance; the Horizon Foundation for New Jersey is concert sponsor of the May 3 performance.

NJSO ACCENTS
Inspired by the concerts and designed to inspire audiences, NJSO Accents are pre- or post-concert events that complement the concert experience and provide audience members with more opportunities to personally connect with the music and music makers. Learn more at www.njsymphony.org/accents.

Post-Concert Talkback-May 2
Enjoy a post-concert talkback with women in leadership roles.

Classical Conversation-May 3
Enjoy a lively Classical Conversation beginning one hour before the performance. Ticketholders can learn more about the music from NJSO musicians, guest artists and other engaging insiders.

NJSO Accents in Newark are generously sponsored by the Prudential Foundation.

THE ARTISTS
Xian Zhang, conductor
Xian Zhang has served as music director of Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi since September 2009. During her tenure, highlights have included a televised BBC Proms concert in September 2013 featuring a program of Verdi arias (with Joseph Calleja) and Tchaikovsky's "Manfred" Symphony. This season, Zhang and the orchestra will play an important part in EXPO 2015 in Milan.

Zhang guest conducts at the highest level, appearing regularly with the London Symphony and Royal Concertgebouw orchestras. Future engagements include performances with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and European Union Youth Orchestra, with whom she will tour to major European festivals in August.

In North America, forthcoming appearances include Los Angeles Philharmonic and Ottawa's National Arts Centre Orchestra. In her native China, she appears this season with the Shanghai Symphony, China Philharmonic and Guangzhou Symphony orchestras.

Zhang also is an established opera conductor; upcoming highlights include a return to the English National Opera and a debut with Den Norske Opera.

Eric Wyrick, violin
Violinist Eric Wyrick is concertmaster of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and has been an Orpheus Chamber Orchestra member and frequent leader since 1988.

Born in New York City, Wyrick started playing the violin at 4 years old. He attended the Juilliard Pre-College Division and later The Juilliard School, studying with Dorothy DeLay. His varied orchestral career began with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic at the age of 14. He has been concertmaster of the American Symphony, Eos and Opéra Français de New York, as well as the Christmas String Seminar under the direction of Alexander Schneider.

Wyrick has appeared as a soloist with the Danish Radio Orchestra, Orchestre de Toulouse, Hudson Valley Philharmonic and San Angelo Symphony Orchestra. An active chamber musician, Wyrick can be heard frequently with the NJSO Chamber Players and is a founding performer at the Bard Music Festival.

He has recorded for Bridge Records, Vanguard and, with Orpheus, Deutsche Grammophon. He is the soloist on a recording of composer Darryl Kubian's 3-2-1 Concerto for Acoustic and Electric Violin with the Orquesta Sinfonica of Michoacan.

JONATHAN SPITZ, cello
Jonathan Spitz has served as principal cellist of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra since 1991. He has established himself as one of the leading cellists in the New York area with his performances as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral principal. He tours internationally as a member of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and serves as one of that ensemble's artistic directors. He also performs as principal cellist of the American Ballet Theater Orchestra and the American Symphony Orchestra at the Bard Music Festival.

Spitz has performed as a soloist with the NJSO on numerous occasions, including the cello concertos of Schumann, Dvo?ák and Haydn, as well as Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations. He also has performed frequently as a soloist with Orpheus, the Riverside Sinfonia and Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic.

He is in great demand as a teacher and serves on the faculties of the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, Brevard Music Center and Sommer Sinfonie in Valdres, Norway. A graduate of the Curtis Institute, Spitz has recorded for multiple record labels.

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 NJSO Youth Orchestras, school-time Concerts for Young People performances and multiple offerings-including the El Sistema-inspired NJSO CHAMPS (Character, Achievement and Music Project)-that provide and promote in-school instrumental instruction as part of the NJSO Academy. The NJSO's REACH (Resources for Education and Community Harmony) 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.

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra'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. United is the official airline of the NJSO.

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