PSO BRAVO! Project to Feature a 'Musical Offering' From the Princeton Symphony Orchestra

Musicians of the Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) perform Johann Sebastian Bach's Das Musikalische Opfer (The Musical Offering), BWV 1079 over four musical episodes, released weekly on the orchestra's website Wednesday, February 17 - Wednesday, March 10. The PSO's assistant conductor, Nell Flanders, is curating the project, which is being individually recorded in musicians' homes then combined digitally. Each segment features 1-6 musicians, and is hosted by Flanders who introduces the music in tandem with conversations centering on Bach and his work. Each episode is free to the online community. The project is a community extension of the orchestra's PSO BRAVO! Education Programs, and includes plans to actively involve student musicians of the Youth Orchestra of Central Jersey and Trenton Music Makers in supplemental programming.

PSO Executive Director Marc Uys says, "These recorded presentations of Bach's music are a gift from the Princeton Symphony Orchestra with participation by almost all of the PSO's tenured musicians. We're pleased to be able to offer this excursion into Bach's measured world, a mental escape from the pandemic stresses of today. For students of music, there is an opportunity for hands-on exploration of Baroque music forms such as canon and round."

Nell Flanders holds the recently named position of Princeton Symphony Orchestra's Georg and Joyce Albers-Schonberg Assistant Conductor. She brings her varied experiences as a professional conductor, violinist, and educator to her work, and has conducted the orchestra in ballet, popular classics, and holiday concerts. Ms. Flanders is deeply committed to educating the next generation of musicians and music lovers. Through a partnership of the PSO and the Youth Orchestra of Central Jersey (YOCJ), she now serves as the conductor of the YOCJ's Symphonic Orchestra.

This PSO BRAVO! program is free to the general public thanks to the support of generous sponsors who believe in arts education. To learn more about PSO BRAVO! education programs or to offer support, call the symphony office at (609) 497-0020.