(LAKEWOOD, NJ) -- Georgian Court University, in conjunction with the Strand Theater, will host a special seminar and Q&A session with famed music producer Tony Visconti on Saturday, April 27 from 10:00am to noon on GCU’s historic Lakewood campus.
Mr. Visconti will be in Lakewood to conduct two songs with the Terra Nova Orchestra as part of the Strawbs 50th Anniversary weekend, slated for Friday, April 26 through Sunday, April 28. Mr. Visconti also has written new orchestral scores for Sandy Denny’s “Who Knows Where The Time Goes,” first recorded with Strawbs, and “Oh How She Changed,” the 1969 single by Strawbs.
The lifelong producer, arranger, musician, mixer, and exemplary collaborator is considered to be among the greatest and most genuine musical souls of the industry.
During his seminar and Q&A at Georgian Court, Mr. Visconti will speak about his historic career and what it was like to work with artists like David Bowie, T Rex, The Moody Blues, Strawbs and many others. A question and answer period will follow the Saturday morning discussion at Georgian Court. Tickets are available at www.strawbs50.com/shop for $25 per person. In addition, tickets for Strawbs 50th Anniversary shows are available at www.strand.org.
Visconti, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., has been described as one of the most important producers in the history of rock. “Get It On (Bang A Gong)” and “Cosmic Dancer” by T. Rex are true cornerstones of rock and roll, and David Bowie’s “Young Americans,” “Heroes” and “The Man Who Sold The World” are masterpieces. The Moody Blues’ “Your Wildest Dreams” and “I Know You’re Out There Somewhere” are indelibly etched into rock’s collective memory.
In 2017, Mr. Visconti received two Grammys for David Bowie’s Blackstar as Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical and Best Alternative Music Album. That same year, he received three MPG Awards in London: Outstanding Contribution to UK Music, International Producer of the Year; and as producer on the UK Album of the Year for Blackstar.
Previously, Mr. Visconti produced Angelique Kidjo’s Grammy-winning Djin Djin, featuring guest artists Alicia Keys, Josh Groban, Peter Gabriel, Carlos Santana, Joss Stone and Ziggy Marley; the work earned him a Grammy for Best Contemporary World Music Album. Visconti also had a #1 release with Morrissey’s solo album, Ringleader of the Tormentors, just a year earlier!
His 2009 autobiography, Bowie, Bolan and the Brooklyn Boy (Harper Collins UK) is an evocative, brilliant overview of his musical beginnings, and adventures in London with David Bowie, Marc Bolan, Thin Lizzy and Paul McCartney and so much more.
The Visconti style is versatile and mercurial, vis-à-vis Thin Lizzy, Luscious Jackson, The Strawbs, U2, Fall Out Boy, Alejandro Escovedo, Gentle Giant, Mercury Rev, Sparks, Badfinger, The Alarm, D-Generation, Kristeen Young and Elaine Paige, the queen of British musical theater.
Founded in 1908 and sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy, Georgian Court University is Central and South Jersey’s only Catholic university. GCU is a comprehensive, coeducational university with a strong liberal arts core and a historic special concern for women. As a forward-thinking university that supports diversity and academic excellence, Georgian Court expands possibility for more than 2,400 students of all faiths and backgrounds in 35 undergraduate majors and 10+ graduate programs.
Join us for McCarter at the Museum - renowned performing artists in one-night only events at the Princeton University Art Museum.
Jason Robert Brown is a four-time Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist of The Last Five Years, Parade, Songs for a New World, 13, The Bridges of Madison County, Honeymoon In Vegas and The Connector, has performed as a soloist or with his band in venues around the world, including sold-out shows at the London Palladium and Carnegie Hall. His albums as a singer-songwriter include Wearing Someone Else’s Clothes and How We React and How We Recover on Ghostlight, and Coming From Inside the House and Live In Concert with Stephen Sondheim on Concord.
With Special Guest Tony nominee Betsy Wolfe. Tony Award-nominated actress Betsy Wolfe is currently starring as Audrey in the acclaimed Off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors, following her recent Broadway run as Madeline Ashton in the hit musical Death Becomes Her. She previously originated the title role in Joy, the new musical inspired by inventor Joy Mangano, and earned a 2023 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her celebrated performance as Anne Hathaway in & Juliet. Other Broadway credits include starring as Jenna in Waitress, Cordelia in the acclaimed revival of Falsettos, Bullets Over Broadway, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Everyday Rapture, and 110 in the Shade, as well as her critically acclaimed performance as Cathy in the Off-Broadway revival of The Last Five Years. Wolfe made her Metropolitan Opera debut in Die Fledermaus and has appeared as a guest artist with more than 65 symphony, pops, and philharmonic orchestras worldwide, including the New York Philharmonic and BBC Symphony Orchestra, with performances at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. Her screen credits include First One In, Estella Scrooge, CBS’s Instinct, and the film adaptation of The Last Five Years. Wolfe is also the co-founder of BroadwayEvolved, the acclaimed musical theatre training program she launched in 2018 to train and mentor the next generation of theatre artists.
A limited number of early access tickets for McCarter Director’s Circle members and members of the Museum’s Partner Circle are available, on sale Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 12:00 PM. General public on sale begins Friday, September 18, 2026 at 12:00 PM.
Please be aware there is no public drop-off or parking at the Museum. For visitors with mobility needs, please contact the Museum at least three business days in advance of your visit to request special access to the Museum via Elm Drive. Call 609-258-3788 and select option 1 to speak to a visitor services staff member, or email Louise Barrett at [email protected].
