Season 2, Episode 5: Behind every summer is a community that keeps Fire Island alive. This episode explores the history of the beloved Pines Pantry through the eyes of its iconic Pantry Girls, alongside the volunteer firefighters of The Pines and Cherry Grove who protect the island from fires, hurricanes, beach erosion, and an uncertain future.
With just three programs remaining on the 2025–26 season, Music Director Xian Zhang will conduct Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Requiem, the composer's final composition last performed by New Jersey Symphony in 2018. Mysteriously commissioned and incomplete at the time of Mozart's death, the Requiem is widely regarded as one of the composer's most accomplished works. Written for a funeral Mass, the music is intensely emotional, ranging from powerful drama to languid sorrow to serene tenderness.
Four outstanding soloists appear onstage with the following 2025–26 highlights: soprano Mei Gui Zhang (San Francisco Opera, The Monkey King); mezzo-soprano Taylor Raven (English National Opera, Così fan tutte and LA Phil, Die Walküre); tenor Eric Ferring (Messiah with Charlotte and Knoxville Symphonies); and bass-baritone Dashon Burton (Cleveland Orchestra, Fidelio). Complete biographies below.
The program opens with Gabriel Fauré's Pavane, getting its name from the Italian pavana, a short 16th-century court dance. Originally written for orchestra, the composer added an optional chorus so the work could be both danceable and singable. Gustav Mahler's Songs of a Wayfarer also appears on the program—a cycle of songs written at a time when the composer was scorned by love and considered to be his first masterpiece. Bass-baritone Dashon Burton solos.
Performances take place on Thursday, April 16, at 1:30 pm and Saturday, April 18, at 7:30 pm at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark; and Sunday, April 19, at 2 pm at the State Theatre New Jersey in New Brunswick. The Thursday matinee will be a Relaxed Performance, designed to accommodate the differing needs of patrons of all abilities, including individuals with autism, sensory sensitivities, or cognitive and physical differences. The Saturday evening performance includes a Concert Prelude at 6:30 pm featuring the New Jersey Symphony Youth Orchestra's Curtland E. Fields Ensemble.
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