A new era for the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra begins on September 14, when Jacques Lacombe takes the podium for a Gala Opening Night Celebration-his inaugural concert as the Orchestra's 13th Music Director. To mark the occasion, special guests Joshua Bell and Jeanine De Bique join Lacombe for a program highlighting the new music director's love of music from the orchestral to opera and ballet. The concert, at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark, begins at 7 p.m.
"The idea around Opening Night is to present a program that can be a portrait of my musical personality," Lacombe says. "I wear multiple hats-I am a symphony conductor, but I also conduct operas and ballets. I love all these art forms, I love French music and I have a great love of modern music as well."The special program encompasses all of those genres. Excerpts from Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Bellini's I Capuleti e I Montecchi, Gounod's Roméo et Juliette and Massenet's Thaïs mingle with Stravinsky's The Firebird, Gershwin's "Summertime" from Porgy and Bess and Saint-Saëns' violin showpiece Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso.The landmark concert features the world premiere of Montclair State University faculty member Robert Aldridge's Suite from Elmer Gantry, the first piece the NJSO presents in its groundbreaking New Jersey Roots Project-an initiative through which the Orchestra will present works from composers who were either born in New Jersey or whose time spent in the Garden State influenced their artistic identity.
Videos