Cirque de la Symphonie Joins NJ Symphony for Acrobatic Program This Weekend

Acrobatic performers from Cirque de la Symphonie join the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra for the NJSO POPS season finale this weekend, June 7 and 8 in Newark and New Brunswick.

Cirque's troupe of exceptional artists-aerial flyers, acrobats, contortionists, dancers, jugglers and strongmen-will perform on stage as the Orchestra performs classical favorites, including music from Bizet's Carmen, Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, Mendelssohn's "Italian" Symphony, Khachaturian's Masquerade Suite, Kabalevsky's The Comedians and John Williams' score from Superman. NJSO Music Director Jacques Lacombe conducts.

Performances take place on Saturday, June 7, (8 pm) at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark and Sunday, June 8, (3 pm) at the State Theatre in New Brunswick. The June 8 performance is presented in collaboration with the State Theatre.

The Seattle Times has praised Cirque de la Symphonie's "every breathtaking feat of strength and agility," writing that "a symphony orchestra has a lot in common with circus acts. Both involve developing and maintaining suspense. Both involve spectacle and modulating emotional pitch, capturing the rapt attention of an audience willing to surrender to every nuance or peak ... The clearest sign that 'Cirque' was working was in the way kids in the audience were just as absorbed by the stand-alone musical portions of the program as they were by the ones featuring the performers."

Special festivities also precede each concert. Patrons can dance to the swinging sounds of the Michael Arenella Sextet in the NJPAC lobby on June 7 and can join in on a sing-along at the State Theatre on June 8. In February, nearly 300 attendees of the Orchestra's Beatles-themed pops concerts with Classical Mystery Tour enjoyed the pre-concert dancing and sing-along events.

Tickets start at $20 and are available for purchase online at www.njsymphony.org, by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476) or in person. The NJSO ticket office is located at 60 Park Place, 9th floor, in Newark; tickets are available by phone or in person Monday-Friday, 9 am to 5 pm. Tickets are also available, by phone only, on concert-weekend Saturdays, 11 am to 5 pm. Tickets for the June 8 performance are also available from the State Theatre ticket office online at www.StateTheatreNJ.org, by phone at 732.246.SHOW (7469) or in person. The State Theatre ticket office is located at 15 Livingston Ave in New Brunswick-hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 10 am to 6 pm; Wednesday, 11 am to 7 pm; Saturday, 1 to 5 pm, and at least three hours prior to curtain on performance dates unless otherwise specified.

Additional information is available at www.njsymphony.org/events/detail/cirque-de-la-symphonie.

THE PROGRAM

Cirque de la Symphonie

Saturday, June 7, at 8 pm | NJPAC in Newark

Sunday, June 8, at 3 pm | State Theatre in New Brunswick

Jacques Lacombe, conductor

Cirque de la Symphonie

New Jersey Symphony Orchestra