Ocean Grove Summer Stars Organ And Orchestra Finale to Present SYMPHONIC CONCERTOS

The 2025 Summer Stars series will come to a grand conclusion with "Symphonic Concertos!" This special finale features the 65-member MidAtlantic Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Jason Tramm, joined by celebrated soloists Christine Kwak (violin), Byung Kook Kwak (viola), and Dr. Gordon Turk (organ)-all performing within the Great Auditorium of Ocean Grove.

This evening's program shines a spotlight on two important orchestral works: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola, and Orchestra in E-flat major, K. 364 - A crowning jewel of Mozart's early maturity, this 1779 masterpiece fuses the grace of a concerto with the interplay of chamber music. Written shortly after Mozart's inspiring visit to Mannheim and Paris, the Sinfonia Concertante is renowned for its warmth, elegance, and its poignant slow movement-often considered one of Mozart's most emotionally expressive.

Joseph Jongen's Symphonie Concertante for Organ and Orchestra, Op. 81 - Composed in 1926, this tour de force for organ and orchestra stands as one of the most dazzling examples of 20th-century organ literature. Belgian composer Joseph Jongen masterfully blends lush French Romanticism with modern harmonic richness, culminating in a finale that is both exuberant and awe-inspiring. It's a rare treat to hear this work performed live-and even rarer to hear it brought to life by the Ocean Grove's historic Hope-Jones Organ.

Our performance will take place on Thursday, July 31 at 7:30pm in the Great Auditorium. Tickets are $20 for adults and $12 for children and can be purchased at www.oceangrove.org/stars or by clicking here.

Additional highlights of our concert season include Handel's Messiah Spectacular on August 2 at 7pm and our Sacred Masterworks Concert on August 24 at 7pm - featuring Arthur Honegger's majestic oratorio, King David.

About Our Featured Artists:

Jason Tramm (Conductor):

Maestro Tramm has been hailed as a "conductor to watch" by Symphony Magazine, "filled with Italianate passion" by the Huffington Post, and an "orchestra Pied Piper" by the New York Concert Review. Maestro Tramm's work in the operatic, symphonic, and choral realms has received critical acclaim throughout the United States and abroad. He holds the following appointments: Executive Director, Light Opera of New Jersey, the Director of Music Ministries, Ocean Grove Great Auditorium, Artistic Director, MidAtlantic Artistic Productions, Music Director of both the Taghkanic Chorale and Putnam Chorale. Dr. Tramm serves as an Associate Professor and Director of Choral Activities at Seton Hall University, where he conducts the University Chorus, Chamber Choir, and Orchestra. As a guest conductor, he has led symphonic and operatic performances in Italy, Romania, Hungary, Czech Republic throughout the Unites States.

Dr. Gordon Turk (Organist):

A critically acclaimed concert organist, Gordon Turk has performed throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. He was winner of the John Cerevalo Prize for "Excellence in the performance of the music of J. S. Bach," and has been a prizewinner in the national improvisation competition of the American Guild of Organists. Dr. Turk travels nationally and internationally for concert performances, and has played in Carnegie Hall, NYC, the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, and other landmark concert halls in the US. He has performed in the legendary Bolshoi Philharmonic in St. Petersburg, Russia, and other cities of Russia, and in international organ festivals of Switzerland and the Ukraine. He has made two concert tours in Japan, and recently returned from his second concert tour in the Ukraine, playing solo performances and also concertos with orchestra.

Gordon Turk was selected as one of the leading organists of the nation, to play in the opening recitals for the inauguration of the new pipe organ at Philadelphia's Kimmel Center in May 2006. In June he appeared at Kimmel Center in concert with American folk singers, Peter, Paul and Mary, and in November returned to Kimmel to play another organ recital. He has also collaborated with other musicians of note, in concert: Phillip Smith, Principal Trumpet, NY Philharmonic; Joseph Alessi, Principal Trombone, NY Philharmonic; David Kim, Concertmaster, Phila. Orchestra; Elizabeth Hainen, Principal Harp, Phila. Orchestra; Kathleen Bride, Chair, Harp Dept., Eastman School of Music. He has made television appearances in concert, and has played live concert broadcasts for National Public Radio. He has performed in concert and conducted master classes at universities throughout the US and in Europe, as well as for national and regional conventions of the American Guild of Organists, and has also served as Dean of the Philadelphia chapter of the AGO.

A graduate of the famed Curtis Institute of Music, he studied piano with Vladimir Sokoloff and organ with Alexander McCurdy. He also studied with New York composer and organist McNeil Robinson at the Manhattan School of Music, earning the Master's degree and the Doctor of Musical Arts, both with honors. He taught as Professor of Organ at West Chester University in PA, from 1992 - 1999. As Resident Organist of the historic Auditorium in Ocean Grove, NJ, he plays weekly recitals on the organ of over 11,600 pipes, during the summer season. He is also Founder and Artistic Director of the Summer Stars Chamber Music Festival, presenting outstanding talents from the US and abroad. He has recorded several CDs, and his CD "French Spectaculars on the Ocean Grove Auditorium Organ" recorded on the Dorian label, has been critically acclaimed.