Yo-Yo Ma Headlines Classical Season at NJPAC
The lineup begins this December.
By: Stephi Wild May. 12, 2025
The New Jersey Performing Arts Center has announced its 2025-26 Winter Season of Classical Music Including Yo-Yo Ma, Chanticleer, and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with Ray Chen, Conducted by Vasily Petrenko.
Sat 12.06 @ 3:00 p.m. A CHANTICLEER CHRISTMAS
The multiple Grammy Award-winning all-male vocal ensemble Chanticleer returns to NJPAC for a one-night only performance. For nearly 50 years, the San Francisco-based Chanticleer has graced listeners with their lyrical line and blended harmony. One of the world's most admired acapella ensembles, Chanticleer gives voice to authentic Renaissance madrigals, jazz, pop, and more. Chanticleer will warm Newark's holiday heart as their voices ring through NJPAC's Victoria Theater in Christmas classics and carols.
Sun 01.25 @ 3:00 p.m. (pre-show talk @ 2:00 p.m.) THE ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA with RAY CHEN, CONDUCTED by VASILY PETRENKO
Vasily Petrenko - conductor
Ray Chen - violin
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Celebrating its 80th anniversary this season, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra returns to NJPAC. Under the baton of the brilliant Vasily Petrenko, hear the UK's most in-demand orchestra perform Nielsen's Helios Overture, Sibelius's Symphony No. 2, and Tchaikovsky's blazing Violin Concerto featuring guest soloist Ray Chen.
As well as a busy schedule of national and international performances, the Orchestra enjoys an annual season of concerts in London's Royal Albert Hall (where the RPO is Associate Orchestra), the Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall and Cadogan Hall, where it recently celebrated its 20th Season as Resident Orchestra. The RPO was the first UK orchestra to launch its own record label achieving well over 50 million streams of its recorded music each year. The RPO is recognized as one of the world's most open-minded, forward-thinking and accessible symphony orchestras.
Free for ticketholders, Classical Overtures is a pre-show talk held an hour prior to the show in the Chase Room. It is an interactive presentation hosted by Maestro George Marriner Maull of New Jersey's Discovery Orchestra.
Thu 2.05 @ 7:30 p.m. YO-YO MA
Yo-Yo Ma - cello
Technical prowess and emotional depth combine to make Yo-Yo Ma endlessly watchable and listenable. A United Nations Messenger of Peace since 2006, he uses those extraordinary musical gifts to bring people together across nations and cultures, always reinforcing our shared humanity. Despite the grandeur of the venue, this solo performance promises to be particularly intimate, with a curated selection of his favorite pieces.
Yo-Yo has recorded more than 120 albums, is the winner of 19 Grammy Awards, and has performed for nine American presidents, most recently on the occasion of President Biden's inauguration. He has received numerous awards, including the National Medal of the Arts, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Birgit Nilsson Prize. He has been a UN Messenger of Peace since 2006, and was recognized as one of TIME magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2020.
New Jersey Awards - Live Stats
Best Musical - Top 3
1.
THE LITTLE MERMAID (HOWELL PAL THEATRE COMPANY)
3.2% of votes
2.
GREASE (Plays-in-the-Park)
2.9% of votes
3.
SCHOOL OF ROCK (Playhouse 22)
2.9% of votes
Videos