NJSO Hosts 'Ms. Maestro: Women Leaders in Music': A Special Q&A Event with Susanna Mälkki

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra hosts "Ms. Maestro: Women Leaders in Music"-a special Q&A event featuring highly regarded guest conductor Susanna Mälkki-on Saturday, April 6, at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, following the Orchestra's 8 pm concert. NJSO Assistant Conductor Gemma Newwill lead the discussion with Mälkki; the two will speak about their extraordinary careers in a traditionally male-dominated field.

A special ticket package includes the "Ms. Maestro" event and NJSO concert ticket for 50% off of the regular ticket price. Reservations for the post-concert event must be made when purchasing tickets for the April 6 NJSO concert, using the promotion code LEADER13.

Mälkki leads the Orchestra in a concert program featuring Strauss' Don Juan and Tod und Verklärung (Death and Transfiguration), along with Messiaen' Les offrandes oubliées (The Forgotten Offerings); pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet joins the NJSO for Debussy's Fantasie for Piano and Orchestra.

Of the two Strauss tone poems, Music Director Jacques Lacombe says: "Don Juan is a very flashy and tragic work. [When Strauss composed] Death and Transfiguration, he was a young man, but I find the piece to be his most moving, most sincere work. There is a sense of the spirit of his life and his ambition, but there is also something really profound that speaks to the soul."

Debussy's only piano concerto, Fantasie for Piano and Orchestra, features pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet. "Jean-Efflam and I have been friends for many years," Lacombe says. "I worked with him in Metz, France, and I have wanted to introduce him to New Jersey. He has had an amazing international career, and he is a champion of French and 20th-century music. I am excited to welcome the wonderful Susanna Mälkki to lead this program."

Tickets start at $20 and are available for purchase online at www.njsymphony.org or by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476). To reserve a space for the "Ms. Maestro" event and save 50% on concert tickets ($20 tickets are not discounted), use promotion code LEADER13. For more information, visit www.njsymphony.org/leader.