New Jersey Symphony Unveils Summer 2026 Concerts, Composition Institute, and Inaugural Jersey City Music & Arts Festival
Performances at Branch Brook Park, Saint Elizabeth University, and Princeton will highlight the season.
New Jersey Symphony has announced a slate of summer programming for the 2025–26 season, with concerts and events across four communities: Florham Park, Jersey City, Newark, and Princeton.
The summer programs feature outdoor and indoor orchestral performances, the annual Edward T. Cone Composition Institute concert in Princeton, free chamber music in Jersey City's public libraries, and the inaugural Jersey City Music & Arts Festival.
SUMMER CONCERTS IN JUNE
New Jersey Symphony will present two summer concerts in June 2026, as part of its annual Summer with the Symphony programming, conducted by Kyle Ritenauer.
- Indoor concert at Saint Elizabeth University in Morristown on Saturday, June 20, as part of Morris Arts' Giralda: An Evening of Pure Imagination fundraiser. Ticket reservations required. More details and tickets available at morrisarts.org.
- Free outdoor concert with fireworks at Newark's Branch Brook Park on Friday, June 26, presented in partnership with Essex County Parks. The program features a medley of timeless classics, Broadway themes, and America 250-inspired patriotic favorites the whole family will love. More information available at njsymphony.org/summer.
The program includes:
- John Stafford Smith/arr. Walter Damrosch - The Star-Spangled Banner
- Leonard Bernstein - Overture to Candide
- Duke Ellington/arr. Calvin Custer - Duke Ellington! A Medley for Orchestra
- Igor Stravinsky - “Infernal Dance” and “Finale” from The Firebird Suite (1919)
- Valerie Coleman - Seven O'Clock Shout
- Aaron Copland - “Variations on a Shaker Melody” from Appalachian Spring
- John Williams - “Main Title” from Star Wars
- Various - Armed Forces Salute
- John Philip Sousa - The Stars and Stripes Forever
The June 20 concert is presented by Morris Arts. The June 26 concert is sponsored by the County of Essex.
NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY MOBILE SOUNDSTAGE UPDATE
In July of 2025, New Jersey Symphony's mobile soundstage—originally delivered to the Symphony in the 1970s and purchased through a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Jr. Charitable Trust—toured the state for the last time. Using two cranes and a flatbed trailer, the mobile stage was removed from Liberty State Park, deemed beyond reasonable repair after an electrical fire and a subsequent hydraulic failure, and was towed to the scrap yard.
New Jersey Symphony is in the process of seeking funding to replace the mobile sound stage, but to date has not been able to secure that funding. The organization will continue to search for funding support from many sources and hopes to deliver the entire series of much-loved summer parks concerts again in 2027.
NEW SCORES: THE CONE COMPOSITION INSTITUTE CONCERT
In July, New Jersey Symphony will perform new works by the 2026 Edward T. Cone Composition Institute composers at a concert in Princeton, conducted by Eric Jacobsen. The 2026 composers and their works are:
- T. Gregory Bloomfield - fragrances of something sweet
- Apollonio Maiello - Staring at the Sun
- Gillian Rae Perry - if we looked, would we see?
- Max Vinetz - Any Thing Passes
In addition, the orchestra will perform selections from Institute Director and concert host Steven Mackey's Concerto for Orchestra, the full composition of which will have its East Coast premiere during New Jersey Symphony concerts in May 2027.
The Symphony invites the audience to a post-concert reception to meet the composers and enjoy a special cone-inspired ice cream flavor crafted for the occasion by our friends at The Bent Spoon. Tickets for the concert are $20 and include the post-concert reception. Concert information and tickets: njsymphony.org/newscores.
More information about the Edward T. Cone Composition Institute and the composers are available here: njsymphony.org/cone.
Major underwriting support for the New Jersey Symphony Edward T. Cone Composition Institute is generously provided by the Edward T. Cone Foundation and Princeton University. New Jersey Symphony presents the Edward T. Cone Composition Institute in collaboration with Princeton University Department of Music. The Edward T. Cone Composition Institute is presented in partnership with EarShot, a program of the American Composers Orchestra.
SYCOPHONY IN THE STACKS: JERSEY CITY LIBRARY CONCERTS
New Jersey Symphony and the Jersey City Free Public Library present Symphony in the Stacks at five branches this summer—free chamber music programming for both children and adults that brings stories and culture to life through music, performed by the New Jersey Symphony Chamber Players. Registration is required.
- Priscilla Gardner Main Library | July 22 at 2 pm and Aug 13 at 4:30 pm
- Earl Morgan Branch | July 29 at 1 pm and Aug 5 at 12 pm
- Five Corners Branch | Aug 6 at 11 am and Aug 10 at 6 pm
- Glen D. Cunningham Branch | July 15 at 4 pm and Aug 22 at 3 pm
- Miller Branch | Aug 8 at 6 pm and Aug 12 at 2 pm
Visit www.jclibrary.org for more information on each program and to register.
Funding for Symphony in the Stacks is provided in part through the NJEDA A.R.T. Grant Program – Phase II.
INAUGURAL JERSEY CITY MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL, PRESENTED BY NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY
New Jersey Symphony is proud to announce the newly established Jersey City Music & Arts Festival, a 10-day celebration of music, dance, and community in Jersey City's Powerhouse Arts District. The festival will run September 24 through October 3, 2026.
Festival highlights include:
- New Jersey Symphony musicians performing chamber music alongside Jersey City and Hudson County collaborators, including Nimbus Dance, Riverview Jazz, Kulture Kool, and Let's Talk Women's Health and Wellness.
- A Kids Day on Saturday, September 26 with hours of family-friendly performances and interactive activities, including a Bollywood dance celebration, a chance to try your hand at playing orchestra instruments, Zombie Opera appearances, and the Jersey City Free Public Library bookmobile.
- Further programming, event dates and locations, and additional information to be announced.
All events are free and open to the public. For updates on events, join the notification list here: njsymphony.org/jcnews.
Funding for the Jersey City Music & Arts Festival, presented by New Jersey Symphony, is provided in part through the NJEDA A.R.T. Grant Program – Phase II.
NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY
New Jersey Symphony is a GRAMMY and Emmy Award-winning orchestra. Under the direction of Music Director Xian Zhang, the Symphony performs more than 55 mainstage concerts across the state at venues in Newark, Princeton, New Brunswick, Red Bank, and Morristown, as well as at schools and public spaces statewide. Programming at the Symphony reflects an unwavering commitment to diverse communities throughout the state, while providing students unparalleled opportunities to achieve musical excellence through its Youth Orchestra and other education programs. In 2024, the Symphony announced it would continue to deliver its statewide activities from a new, permanent office, rehearsal, and concert space in Jersey City, set to open in 2027. For more information about New Jersey Symphony, visit our website at njsymphony.org or our newsroom for press releases and photos.
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