NJSO Honors Curtland E. Fields at Opening Gala

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra begins the 2019-20 season-Music Director Xian Zhang's fourth season with the NJSO-with an Opening Night Celebration Gala on October 11 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark. The gala honors Turrell Fund President & CEO Curtland E. Fields and recognizes the significant contributions the fund has made to enrich the lives of children in the Greater Newark community with the experience of live symphonic music through the Orchestra's education and community engagement programs.

The opening-weekend concert program, led by Zhang at 7:30 pm, pairs music and visuals in Holst's The Planets, with NASA imagery in HD, and the NJSO premiere of Sarah Kirkland Snider's Hiraeth, with an accompanying film by Mark DeChiazza. The women of Newark Voices return to bring an ethereal element to Holst's masterwork. Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 opens the program.

The gala evening includes a pre-concert cocktail party with hors d' oeuvres and an open bar at 5:30 pm; a post-concert dinner offers opportunities to meet and mingle with Zhang, musicians and special guests. Complimentary valet parking will be provided for all gala attendees. The gala is sponsored by Investors Bank.

All proceeds from the gala event will support the NJSO as it enriches lives through its artistic, music education and community engagement programs.

The NJSO repeats the concert performance on October 12 at 8 pm at the Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank and October 13 at 3 pm at NJPAC. Concert tickets start at $20 and are available for purchase at njsymphony.org or 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476).

Individual Event Tickets

COCKTAILS & CONCERT TICKET: $280* per person (includes a tax-deductible contribution of $90)
Pre-concert cocktail party, concert seating and valet parking.

COCKTAILS, CONCERT & DINNER TICKET: $780* per person (includes a tax-deductible contribution of $485)
Pre-concert cocktail party, concert seating, gala dinner and valet parking.

*Discounted tickets are available for patrons who already have tickets to the October 11 concert.

Sponsorship and Dinner Table packages ranging from $2,000 to $25,000 are also available. For more information, please contact Laura Bessey, NJSO Manager of Special Events, at Lbessey@njsymphony.org or 973.735.1729.

Full gala information is available at njsymphony.org/openingnight.

Curtland E. Fields, Turrell Fund President & CEO

Curt Fields became a trustee of the Turrell Fund, a foundation serving children, in 1997. The fund's mission is to give at-risk children the basic elements for success in life. For more than 25 years, the Turrell Fund has generously supported the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra's education and community engagement programs in the greater Newark area, including NJSO Youth Orchestras, Concerts for Young People and the Preschool Program. These programs afford students an appreciation for the arts and the benefits of a quality music education, and they enliven our community with vibrant cultural opportunities.

Fields was appointed president & CEO of the fund in 2005, after a distinguished 31-year career with AT&T. As a senior executive officer of AT&T, Fields served as president of the $2 billion Consumer Services Division, and prior to that as president of AT&T's largest operating region, in the Midwest. His experience with the company included assignments of increasing responsibility in finance, operations and marketing, as well as key activities in the Office of the Chairman. He also served as a director of the ATC Technology Corporation until its acquisition in 2010 by privately held GENCO; Lucent Technologies, Inc., through its initial public offering; and the AT&T Universal Card, until its acquisition by Citigroup.

A native of Washington, DC, Fields holds an undergraduate degree in architecture and engineering, with high honors, from Princeton University. He also holds an MBA in finance and marketing, with honors, from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Fields serves on the Board of Directors of the Lincoln Center Theater in New York City and Caucus Educational Corporation, and he has a been an NJSO trustee for 16 years.