(NEWARK, NJ) -- The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra presents Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto and a pair of Finnish works May 3–6 in Englewood, Newark and Morristown. Violinist Ning Feng performs Mendelssohn’s masterwork. Dima Slobodeniouk conducts the program, which also features Sibelius’ Fifth Symphony and the NJSO premiere of Fagerlund’s Isola.
Performances take place on Thursday, May 3 at 7:30pm at bergenPAC in Englewood; Saturday, May 5 at 8:00 pm at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark; and Sunday, May 6 at 3:00pm at the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown.
Slobodeniouk “performed perfectly, acting with great precision but strong enough expression to communicate even the subtlest nuances to the orchestra,” European Culture Newswrites. The Lahti Symphony Orchestra Principal Conductor and Sibelius Festival Artistic Director has previously recorded the Fagerlund work he leads in its NJSO debut.
NJSO Accent events include a post-concert talkback about the orchestral audition process with a panel of NJSO musicians on May 3 and a post-concert talkback with Personnel Manager Adria Benjamin about the process of assembling the orchestra each week on May 6. Classical Conversations begin one hour before the May 5 and 6 performances.
Concert tickets start at $20 and are available for purchase online at www.njsymphony.org or by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476).
THE PROGRAM
Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto
Thu, May 3, at 7:30 pm | bergenPAC in Englewood
Sat, May 5, at 8 pm | NJPAC in Newark
Sun, May 6, at 3 pm | Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown
Dima Slobodeniouk, conductor
Ning Feng, violin
New Jersey Symphony Orchestra
FAGERLUND Isola (NJSO Premiere)
MENDELSSOHN Violin Concerto
SIBELIUS Symphony No. 5
NJSO ACCENTS:
Talkback—Thu, May 3, after the concert
NJSO Behind the Scenes: don’t miss a panel of NJSO musicians describe the often grueling, but genuinely fascinating audition process.
Classical Conversation—Sat, May 5, at 7 pm and Sun, May 6, at 2 pm
Enjoy a lively Classical Conversation before the performance. Learn more about the music from NJSO musicians, guest artists and other engaging insiders.
Talkback—May 6, after the concert
NJSO Behind the Scenes: Ever wondered how the orchestra is put together for a concert? Listen as Personnel Manager Adria Benjamin describes the process of assembling the orchestra each week.
Full concert information is available at www.njsymphony.org/events/detail/mendelssohns-violin-concerto.
THE ARTISTS
Dima Slobodeniouk, conductor
Dima Slobodeniouk is principal conductor of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra and artistic director of the Sibelius Festival. Lauded for his deeply informed and intelligent artistic leadership, Slobodeniouk is also music director of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia. Linking his native Russian roots with his musical studies in Finland, he draws on the powerful musical heritage of these countries.
In 2017–18, Slobodeniouk makes his debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Sydney Symphony Orchestra and New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. Return engagements include the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Iceland Symphony Orchestra and Orchestre National de Lyon.
Slobodeniouk’s discography includes works by Lotta Wennäkoski with Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (Ondine). Maintaining an active collaboration with BIS Records, he has recorded Finnish composer Sebastian Fagerlund with Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. Forthcoming CDs for BIS include works of Stravinsky, Prokofiev and Kalevi Aho.
Slobodeniouk studied violin at the Central Music School under Zinaida Gilels and J. Chugajev and at the Middle Finland Conservatory, as well as the Sibelius Academy under Olga Parhomenko.
Ning Feng, violin
Established at the highest level in China, Ning Feng performs regularly in his native country with major international and local orchestras. Now based in Berlin and enjoying a global career, Ning has developed a reputation internationally as an artist of great lyricism and emotional transparency, displaying tremendous bravura and awe-inspiring technical accomplishment.
Recent successes for Ning have included returns to Budapest Festival Orchestra and Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as successful debuts with Los Angeles Philharmonic, Frankfurt Radio Symphony and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Highlights of Ning’s 2017–18 season include debuts with City of Birmingham Symphony, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony and New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. Ning also returns to Bilbao Symphony Orchestra, China Philharmonic, Guangzhou Symphony and Hong Kong Philharmonic.
Chamber music highlights include returns to Schubertiade to perform with Igor Levit and Daniel Müller-Schott, two all-Schubert programs with Nicholas Angelich and Edgar Moreau in Lucerne and his debut at Moritzburg Festival.
NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Named “a vital, artistically significant musical organization” by The Wall Street Journal, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra embodies that vitality through its statewide presence and critically acclaimed performances, education partnerships and unparalleled access to music and the Orchestra’s superb musicians.
Music Director Xian Zhang—a “dynamic podium presence” The New York Times has praised for her “technical abilities, musicianship and maturity”—continues her acclaimed leadership of the NJSO. The Orchestra presents classical, pops and family programs, as well as outdoor summer concerts and special events. Embracing its legacy as a statewide orchestra, the NJSO is the resident orchestra of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark and regularly performs at State Theatre New Jersey in New Brunswick, Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, Richardson Auditorium in Princeton, Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown and bergenPAC in Englewood. Partnerships with New Jersey arts organizations, universities and civic organizations remain a key element of the Orchestra’s statewide identity.
In addition to its lauded artistic programming, the NJSO presents a suite of education and community engagement programs that promote meaningful, lifelong engagement with live music. Programs include school-time Concerts for Young People; NJSO Youth Orchestras family of student ensembles, currently led by José Luis Domínguez; and El Sistema-inspired NJSO CHAMPS (Character, Achievement and Music Project). NJSO musicians annually perform original chamber music programs at community events in a variety of settings statewide through the NJSO Community Partners Program.
For more information about the NJSO, visit www.njsymphony.org or email information@njsymphony.org. Tickets are available for purchase by phone 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476) or on the Orchestra’s website.
The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra’s programs are made possible in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, along with many other foundations, corporations and individual donors.
