NJSO Invites Amateur Instrumentalists to Play with the Pros at #OrchestraYou and #FluteYou

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra invites amateur instrumentalists to perform with Orchestra musicians and fellow audience members at #OrchestraYou on Friday, February 24, at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark. The celebratory pro-am orchestra experience, featured on NPR's "All Things Considered," follows Music Director Xian Zhang and the NJSO's 8 pm performance of Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto and Elgar's Enigma Variations. #OrchestraYou is free to February 24 ticketholders; advance registration is required.

At #OrchestraYou, musicians of all ages and experience levels will join forces under the baton of Education & Community Engagement Conductor Jeffrey Grogan for a fun-filled rehearsal and performance of Verdi's Nabucco Overture in the Prudential Hall lobby. NJSO concert attendees can watch #OrchestraYou unfold from one of the lobby's many vantage points and can share their photos and comments on social media.

NPR producer Anastasia Tsioulcas played violin in the NJSO's first-ever #OrchestraYou and captured the event's unique excitement on "All Things Considered" and "Deceptive Cadence." A fellow participant told Tsioulcas that "playing with this group, even for literally just a few minutes, was simply amazing. 'I got such a feeling of ... euphoria,' he told me, searching for just the right word. 'There's nothing like this. There's so much energy here, so much of a sense that you're part of something much bigger than yourself.'"

"The only pre-performance requirements were BYOI-bring your own instrument-and a polite plea to please, please practice your part. And it was amazing to see how much of the audience stayed after the concert to cheer on the assembled forces.

"Not only was it incredibly fun, but it served as a good reminder that music-making shouldn't be divided into producers and consumers, with most people locked into a passive experience."

Everyone who plays a standard orchestral instrument can participate in #OrchestraYou. Performers must hold or purchase a ticket to the February 24 NJSO concert; there is no additional charge to participate, and there are no auditions. Advance registration for participants is required by Feb 17; patrons can register for #OrchestraYou by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476).

To learn more, download PDF instrumental parts and view press and photos from previous #OrchestraYou events, visitwww.njsymphony.org/orchestrayou.

Program and ticket information for the NJSO's 8 pm performance is available at www.njsymphony.org/events/detail/rachmaninoffs-second-piano-concerto.

#FluteYou

Inspired by the success of last season's #CelloYou, the Orchestra presents #FluteYou-an immersive workshop and performance opportunity led by NJSO flutists Bart Feller and Kathleen Nester-on Saturday, April 29. Amateur flutists of all experience levels will come together for a flute choir, sectional rehearsals and a masterclass. The day will culminate in a special #FluteYou Prelude Performance in the NJPAC lobby before the evening's 8 pm NJSO concert, which fittingly opens with Piston's The Incredible Flutist.

Under the baton of guest conductor David Danzmayr, the Orchestra also performs Dvo?ák's cheerful Eighth Symphony and Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto with returning guest violinist Stefan Jackiw.

#FluteYou is $130 for adults and $65 for college-aged or younger students; the cost includes one concert ticket for the April 29 NJSO performance. Participants will receive a 20% discount on additional tickets for the evening's performance.

Advance registration is required; additional information is available at www.njsymphony.org/fluteyou.

Program and ticket information for the NJSO's 8 pm performance is available at www.njsymphony.org/events/detail/dvoraks-cheerful-eighth-symphony.

#OrchestraYou and #FluteYou are NJSO Accent events sponsored by the Prudential Foundation.

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.

The Prudential Foundation generously sponsors NJSO Accents in Newark.

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.

The NJSO welcomes new Music Director Xian Zhang in the 2016-17 season. The Orchestra 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 New Jersey 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 school-time Concerts for Young People performances, NJSO Youth Orchestras family of student ensembles and El Sistema-inspired NJSO CHAMPS (Character, Achievement and Music Project). NJSO musicians annually perform original chamber music programs at nearly 200 community events in a variety of settings through the NJSO's REACH (Resources for Education and Community Harmony) program. The Orchestra's ECE programs annually serve more than 60,000 New Jerseyans in nearly 21 counties.

For more information about the NJSO, visit www.njsymphony.org or email information@njsymphony.org. Tickets are available for purchase by phone at 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.

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