(LEFT) Melissa Errico, photo by David Kenas (RIGHT) Renee Fleming, photo by Marvin Joseph
(PRINCETON, NJ) -- The Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) is set to launch its 2025 Princeton Festival with performances spotlighting beloved superstars of popular music, opera, and Broadway. New Jersey's premier performing arts festival, the Princeton Festival opens Friday, June 6 with ICONS: The Voices that Changed Music followed by Renée Fleming with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra on Saturday, June 7, and Sondheim in the City with Melissa Errico on Sunday, June 8. All three performances take place in the grand performance pavilion on the grounds of Morven Museum & Garden.
The Princeton Festival runs June 6-21 and includes pops concerts, opera, an evening of dance, a Vivaldi concert and a Motown tribute, plus a joy-filled finale featuring the music of ABBA. A Baroque concert and bluegrass-infused violin recital take place at nearby Trinity Church. There are also a Community Day and Juneteenth events.
Executive Director Marc Uys says, “This year’s Festival is a celebration of music that moves you, literally and emotionally. Whether you want to dance in the aisles, be awed by the voice of today’s biggest opera star, or get lost in the original music of Stephen Sondheim, there is a place for you here at the Princeton Festival’s opening and two weeks beyond.”
On Friday, June 6, ICON: The Voices That Changed Music features songs immortalized by gold and platinum-selling artists such as Prince, Whitney Houston, Gladys Knight, Elvis Presley, Diana Ross, and Stevie Wonder. Festival veterans Capathia Jenkins and Ryan Shaw provide energizing vocals, accompanied by the Princeton Symphony Orchestra conducted by Lucas Waldin. Festival fans may recall Capathia and Ryan’s rousing performances during the 2023 Aretha Franklin tribute which brought on a spontaneous dance party.
The incomparable soprano Renée Fleming performs with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra on Saturday, June 7. The 5-time Grammy® Award-winning soprano sings her favorite arias and songs including “Musette svaria sulla bocca viva” from La Bohème and “O mio babbino caro” from Gianni Schicchi as well as Rogers and Hammerstein’s “The Sound of Music” and Three American Songs by Princeton University alum Alan Fletcher, class of 1978. Rossen Milanov conducts the concert, which is near capacity with a waiting list begun. Additional seats may open up closer to the event.
Sunday, June 8 is Community Day at the Festival with morning Yoga, a new Festival Farmers’ Market, student art exhibit, and free family fun activities punctuated by magician Bob Yorburg and his band wagon, “The Wizard.” The day culminates in a ticketed, cabaret-style performance of Sondheim in the City with Broadway star Melissa Errico. Ms. Errico is known as the preeminent interpreter of Sondheim’s music. The New York Times call's Melissa Errico's tribute to Sondheim “A New York house tour of thrill and heartbreak.” The Sondheim evening honors the legacies of Judy Scheide and Nina Wainwright, who loved the Princeton Symphony Orchestra and were instrumental in the success of the PSO POPS! series.
The Festival’s outdoor venue features concessions and space for attendees to gather outdoors before performances and during intermissions. Patrons are encouraged to check the Festival’s website’s Accessibility & Visitor Information page for access, parking, and onsite vendor information.
The complete 2025 Princeton Festival performance line-up is as follows:
* Friday, June 6 at 7:00pm – ICON: The Voices That Changed Music
* Saturday, June 7 at 8:00pm – Renée Fleming with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra
* Sunday, June 8 at 4:00pm – Sondheim in the City with Melissa Errico
* Thursday, June 12 at 7:00pm (Trinity Church) – Tessa Lark, Violin: Stradgrass
* June 13, 15 & 17 – Puccini’s Tosca (4:00pm Sunday matinee and other performances at 7:00pm)
* Saturday, June 14 at 7:00pm – An Evening of Pas de deux with American Repertory Ballet and the Princeton Symphony Orchestra
* Wednesday, June 18 at 3:00pm & 7:00pm (Trinity Church) – The Sebastians: Baroque Brilliance
* Thursday, June 19 at 7:00pm – Masters of Soul A Motown Revue
* Friday, June 20 at 7:00pm – Viva Vivaldi! with Daniel Rowland and Maja Bogdanović and PSO Strings
* Friday, June 21 at 7:00pm – ARRIVAL from Sweden: The Music of ABBA
The two-week Princeton Festival includes three weekends of opera, concerts, and dance, with additional music-filled evenings and ancillary events during the week. The complete performance line-up can be found online, with tickets available by phone at (609) 497-0020 and via the Festival website.
The Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) is a cultural centerpiece of the Princeton community and one of New Jersey’s finest music organizations, a position established through performances of beloved masterworks, innovative music by living composers, and an extensive network of educational programs offered to area students free of charge. Led by Edward T. Cone Music Director Rossen Milanov, the PSO presents orchestral, pops, and chamber music programs of the highest artistic quality, supported by lectures and related events that supplement the concert experience. Its flagship summer program the Princeton Festival brings an array of performing arts and artists to Princeton during multiple weeks in June. Through PSO BRAVO!, the orchestra produces wide-reaching and impactful education programs in partnership with local schools and arts organizations that culminate in students attending a live orchestral performance.
The PSO receives considerable support from the Princeton community and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, regularly garnering NJSCA’s highest honor. Recognition of engaging residencies and concerts has come from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the PSO’s commitment to new music has been acknowledged with an ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming and a Copland Fund Award. The only independent, professional orchestra to make its home in Princeton, the PSO performs at historic Richardson Auditorium on the campus of Princeton University.
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