NJSO Returns To Main Stage With Opening Weekend Performances in October

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Xian Zhang return to mainstage performances with an opening-weekend program featuring Beethoven's Seventh Symphony, Daniel Bernard Roumain's Voodoo Violin Concerto and the world premiere of Michael Abels' Emerge, October 8 and 10 at NJPAC in Newark.

Performances take place October 8 at 8 pm and October 10 at 3 pm. Tickets are available online at njsymphony.org or by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476).

Zhang says: "Live concerts create such a powerful connection between the musicians and the audience that the Orchestra and I cherish, and we cannot wait to perform for our patrons in the concert hall again. This season and this opening program speak to our time, as we celebrate important voices of today alongside wonderful composers of the past. Last year, our first concert film featured works by Daniel Bernard Roumain and Michael Abels that spoke very powerfully to both the Orchestra and our audiences, and I am thrilled to open this season with works by both of them alongside Beethoven's beloved Seventh Symphony. I am particularly excited to welcome Daniel, our Resident Artistic Catalyst, to the stage for his violin concerto."

Roumain takes center stage, performing the violin solo in his Voodoo Violin Concerto in his first mainstage performance with the Orchestra since being named NJSO Resident Artistic Catalyst this spring.

Roumain says: "At a time when Haiti is recovering from a devastating hurricane, the ongoing effects of COVID and the wanton assassination of its president, this concerto seeks to remind us all of the magic and majesty of Ayiti, an island nation rooted in the fight for freedom and democracy that inspires my work as a composer, violinist and artist in collaboration and communion with the same people, places and songs of hope found in our beloved New Jersey community. How far is Haiti from New Jersey? The waters and wonder meet upon the same shores of liberty!"

The season opener begins with the world premiere of Emerge, a new work the NJSO co-commissioned from Michael Abels after performing the celebrated composer's riveting Dances & Delights in the Orchestra's first concert film in November 2020. Beethoven's beloved Seventh Symphony closes the program.

NJSO President & CEO Gabriel van Aalst says: "All of us at the NJSO have greatly missed being together with our full Orchestra family of patrons and community members across the state. The emotion and energy that musicians and audiences alike felt at our recent outdoor parks concerts was overwhelming, and we are so excited to reunite with our audiences in the concert hall. The entire institution has committed all of our efforts to ensuring a safe return to our stages and communities. I am so grateful to all of our donors and patrons for the support that has enabled the NJSO to weather the challenges of the past 18 months and to return to live performances."

NJSO performances will follow safety measures in partnership with the venue and based on the guidance provided by the CDC and the State of New Jersey.

For more information, visit njsymphony.org/openingweekend.