Jacques Lacombe to Be Knighted by National Order of Québec

New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Music Director Jacques Lacombe will be knighted by the National Order of Québec, the Order has announced. According to the Order, its titleholders "are outstanding individuals who have helped increase Québec's renown and left a strong, lasting mark on all or part of Québec itself." "It is an honor to receive this recognition from the National Order of Québec," Lacombe says, "not only as a musician but also as a person who believes in making connections with the communities in which I work-in Canada, in the United States and abroad." "We are proud that Québec is recognizing Jacques for the exceptional artistry and leadership that the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and its patrons across and beyond the state have witnessed in the two years he has been Music Director," says NJSO President & CEO André Gremillet. "The honor is richly deserved." Since becoming the NJSO's Music Director in October 2010, Lacombe has garnered praise from critics and audiences for his creative programming and his talents at the podium. Lacombe created an ambitious multi-year initiative that the Orchestra began in his inaugural season, 2010–11.

Through the New Jersey Roots Project, the NJSO has performed the music of composers who were born in New Jersey or whose artistic identity was shaped by their time spent in the Garden State. The Orchestra has presented multiple premieres through the project, including George Walker's Sinfonia No. 4 (Strands) and Robert Aldridge's Suite from Elmer Gantry. Under Lacombe's leadership, the NJSO has augmented select concerts with multimedia elements and daring new programs. Highlights of the NJSO's "Man & Nature" Winter Festivals have included performances of Tan Dun's Water Concerto, Scriabin's Prometheus: The Poem of Fire-with a realization of the composer's "color organ"-and the commissioning of the Francesca Harper Project to create original choreography for Beethoven's ballet The Creatures of Prometheus. ?

NJSO: JACQUES LACOMBE TO BE KNIGHTED BY NATIONAL ORDER OF QUÉBEC – Page 2 Lacombe made his Carnegie Hall debut with the NJSO on May 9 to critical acclaim. The Orchestra was selected to perform as part of the Spring for Music Festival on the strength of the music director's bold programming proposal. "It was an honor to be in the hall for the astonishing performance of the Busoni [Piano Concerto] by [pianist Marc-André Hamelin], the orchestra and the chorus," writes The New York Times of the NJSO's performance of the rarely performed concerto Lacombe chose as the program's centerpiece. The Star-Ledger writes, "The [Spring for Music] festival awards North American orchestras for adventurous programming, and for his Carnegie Hall debut, music director Jacques Lacombe delivered not only bold, intelligent choices, but also sure-handed performances."

MUSIC DIRECTOR JACQUES LACOMBE 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. Lacombe's engagements for the 2011–12 season include his debut with the Orquesta Filarmonica de Malaga in Spain, return engagements with the Vancouver Opera in Roméo et Juliette and with the Deutsche Oper in Un Ballo in Maschera, as well as two rarely performed operas: Felix von Weingartner's Die Dorfschule and Carl Orff's Gisei – Das Opfer.

Lacombe made his Carnegie Hall debut as part of the May 2012 Spring for Music Festival with the NJSO. In recent seasons, Lacombe made his debut 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, Zemlinsky's Der Traumgörge and concert performances of Waltershausen's rarely heard Oberst Chabert at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. Oberst Chabert was released as a live CD by CPO in 2011. He has also led operatic productions at the Metropolitan Opera and Teatro Regio in Turin, given the world premiere of Vladimir Cosma's Marius et Fanny at l'Opéra de Marseille and worked abroad with orchestras in Nice, Toulouse and Halle, as well as with the Orchestre Lamoureux in Paris, Slovakia Philharmonic, Budapest Symphony, Royal Flemish Philharmonic, Victoria Orchestra Melbourne and New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. For high-resolution artist photos, visit www.njsymphony.org/pressroom. THE NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA 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 and Neeme Järvi as its Conductor Laureate. 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. United is the official airline of the NJSO. The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra continues its major fundraising initiative-the NJSO Comprehensive Campaign. To date, more than $30 million towards a $32 million goal has been raised in support of the Orchestra.

For information about contributing to this historic campaign, contact Nicole Kagan, Vice President of Development, at 973.735.1720. For more information about the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, 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/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, along with many other foundations, corporations and individual donors.

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