New Jersey Stage logo
New Jersey Stage Menu



 

Plainfield Symphony Orchestra Announces 100th Season

originally published: 05/30/2019


(PLAINFIELD, NJ) -- The Plainfield Symphony Orchestra, New Jersey’s oldest community orchestra has announced its 100th season. The 2019-2020 series will feature an American premiere of a noted work performed by its composer; internationally acclaimed soloists; and a repertoire that will draw from the Symphony’s celebrated past while looking to the future.

“Creating the centennial concert programs has been a true labor of love for me,” said Charles Prince, PSO’s music director. “PSO is actually a national treasure, and our rich history of talented performers and conductors offers many exciting highlights to bring in during this season.” Prince, an internationally acclaimed conductor, is celebrating his 11th season with PSO.

“Batik and Bartok” opens the season on Saturday, October 12, 2019, with Roland Batik as guest pianist. Batik, an Austrian pianist, composer, and jazz musician fuses classical elements with jazz. He will perform in the American premiere of his Piano Concerto No.1 Meditation on Peace. The program will also feature Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra.

November 23, 2019 will see the return of the annual Pops concert, always a standing room only event. This year PSO will ring in the holiday season with “Strauss Meets Sousa” on Saturday, November 23. The concert will feature selections from Strauss performed by international vocalists. “Strauss will pair nicely with John Phillips Sousa, who holds a high place in Plainfield history,” said Prince. “The first concert with the band he formed after leaving the United State Marine Corps was held in Plainfield in 1892, so we’re acknowledging that history with this concert.”

PSO’s annual Free Children’s Concert will be held on January 25, 2020, at 3:00 p.m. “Peter and the Wolf,” Prokofiev’s classic composition, will enthrall and educate young listeners. The performance will be narrated by a surprise celebrity guest. This free performance, PSO’s gift to the City of Plainfield, plays to an overflow crowd each year. 




Follow New Jersey Stage on social media
Facebook, Threads, Instagram, Twitter, Bluesky



“Spring Festival – Brahms and Schumann” on March 21, 2020 highlights violinist Evelyn Estava, PSO’s concertmaster, with Brahms Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77 and Schumann’s Symphony No. 1 in B flat Major, Op. 38, popularly known as “the Spring Symphony.”

The centennial season will conclude on April 25, 2020 with Mahler’s 2nd Symphony (The Resurrection Symphony). “I’ve wanted to conduct PSO in Mahler’s 2 nd Symphony for some time, and it’s fitting that it will crown the performances of this special season,” said Prince, who is noted for his Mahler interpretations. The performance will feature an accompanying chorus.

In addition to the musical highlights, the 2019-2020 season will include spectacular social events. “Plainfield Symphony Centennial Showcase” on September 21, 2019, PSO’s annual blacktie gala, will be held this year at the Plainfield Country Club. This year’s gala will feature the music of Peter Duchin and his Orchestra, a return performance for Duchin, who performed at PSO’s 65th anniversary celebration, also at the Plainfield Country Club, in 1966.

Saturday, December 7, 2019, is PSO’s annual Holiday Boutique, held this year at the Plainfield Country Club. The Boutique features exceptional exclusive vendors offering unique holiday gifts of jewelry and décor. This year’s boutique will offer brunch at PCC by reservation, making this a delightful day of shopping and socializing.

The 100th season will also feature concert after parties offering a full buffet supper in historic Plainfield private residences, a longstanding PSO tradition.

Concert and ticket information are available online at www.plainfieldsymphony.org or by phone (908) 561-5040. Subscriptions and individual tickets can be purchased online, by mail, and at the door. PSO performs in the sanctuary of historic Crescent Avenue Presbyterian Church, 716 Watchung Avenue, Plainfield, NJ. All concerts begin at 7:00pm, except for the January Afternoon Family Concert, which begins at 3:00pm.

As New Jersey’s oldest community symphony and the third oldest continuously operating community symphony in the United States, the Plainfield Symphony Orchestra represents the highest standard in musical excellence in programs designed to educate and uplift local audiences. Funding has been made possible in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Department of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, through a grant administered by the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs.




Follow New Jersey Stage on social media
Facebook, Threads, Instagram, Twitter, Bluesky





FEATURED EVENTS

ART | COMEDY | DANCE | FILM | MUSIC | THEATRE | COMMUNITY

To narrow results by date range, categories,
or region of New Jersey
click here for our advanced search.


Tuesday

Tuesday Night Record Club - Crowded House

Tuesday, July 01, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Monmouth University - The Great Hall
400 Cedar Avenue, West Long Branch, NJ 07764
category: music

Click here for full event listing

 

Curtis

Curtis Salgado

Wednesday, July 02, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Lizzie Rose Music Room
217 E. Main Street, Tuckerton, NJ 08087
category: music

Click here for full event listing

 

John

John Lee & Friends

Thursday, July 03, 2025 @ 7:30pm
The Morris Museum Back Deck
6 Normandy Heights Road, Morristown, NJ 07960
category: music

Click here for full event listing

 

Blues

Blues People with Special Guest: Jeff Levine

Saturday, July 05, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Lizzie Rose Music Room
217 E. Main Street, Tuckerton, NJ 08087
category: music

Click here for full event listing

 

Straight

Straight No Chaser - Summer: The 90’s Part 2

Tuesday, July 08, 2025 @ 7:00pm
Bergen Performing Arts Center (bergenPAC)
30 North Van Brunt Street, Englewood, NJ 07631
category: music

Click here for full event listing

 

More events

Event Listings are available for $10 and included with our banner ad packages




 

EVENT PREVIEWS

Two

Two NJ Jazz Musicians Will Play with The Jazz Ambassadors in Morristown

Pianist Anthony Pocetti grew up in Hamilton, NJ, studying piano, "doing sort of traditional piano lessons. I have an uncle who was always encouraging me to get into the jazz thing. He gave me the (Miles Davis) Kind of Blue CD, and he knew that the jazz pianist Jim Ridl was living in Hamilton."



Asbury

Asbury Lanes presents There, There - A Tribute to Radiohead

(ASBURY PARK, NJ) -- Asbury Lanes presents There, There on Saturday, July 12, 2025 at 8:00pm. They are the premier Radiohead tribute act, playing songs from throughout the band's iconic multi-decade catalogue.



bergenPAC

bergenPAC presents Straight No Chaser - Summer: The 90's Part 2

(ENGLEWOOD, NJ) -- After a totally fly 2024 summer tour packed full of 90s boy band, pop, and R&B hits, RIAA-certified Gold a cappella group Straight No Chaser is back by popular demand with "Straight No Chaser Summer: 90s Part 2." The tour comes to Bergen Performing Arts Center (bergenPAC) on Thursday, July 8, 2025 at 7:00pm.



Blue

Blue Curtain presents 2025 Summer Concert Series in Princeton

(PRINCETON, NJ) -- Blue Curtain returns to Pettoranello Gardens Amphitheater this July with a free three-concert series. The 2025 season opens on Saturday, July 12 at 8:00pm with a performance by internationally acclaimed trombonist, composer, and bandleader Jimmy Bosch, also known as El Trombon Criollo.



NJPAC

NJPAC presents KEM with special guest Melania Fiona

(NEWARK, NJ) -- New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) presents a special evening with KEM, known as Soul's Greatness, on Friday, July 18, 2025 at 8:00pm. Special guest Melanie Fiona will open the night.