(WESTFIELD, NJ) -- On Sunday, December 31, 2024 at 7:00pm, under the baton of Maestro David Wroe, New Jersey Festival Orchestra again presents one of New Jersey’s most popular New Year’s Eve musical celebrations. This year’s performance, “The Great American Songbook,” promises a superb review of the best of Broadway’s song and dance showstoppers to herald the arrival of the New Year.
This year’s intergenerational program reads like a Who's Who of American Musical Theater. It’s “eclectic, dynamic and a grand retrospective of the some of the choice song and dance numbers from Broadway,” said Music Director David Wroe. “All the great composers are represented.”
Songs by classic American musical composers Rodgers and Hammerstein, Irving Berlin, Lerner and Loewe, Kander and Ebb, Cole Porter, Stephen Sondheim and more will be featured.
(LEFT) Jeremy Brauner (RIGHT) Paige Faure
This year’s guest soloists all come from the Broadway stage and beyond — Paige Faure, (Miss Saigon, Bullets Over Broadway) Jill Pierce and Jeremy Brauner (NJFO Holiday Tenor). Dancers from Dance Theatre of Harlem will also join the cast for some dazzling dance numbers.
“Maestro Wroe has put together a fabulous program,” said guest vocalist Paige Faure, who many will remember performing to great acclaim at the 2022 New Year’s celebration. “ Its music that calls for dramatic interpretation - it’s passionate as well as comedic, and I’m thrilled to come back to NJFO for such an exciting celebration.”
Continued Wroe: “This concert is an opportunity for adults to reminisce to songs they all know, for kids to learn more about some of the most exciting characters to grace the stage and screen, and for us all to revel in the genius of America’s finest composers. And it’s a great way for a family to celebrate New Year’s Eve together”.
“People want safe, familiar and uplifting events to bring in the New Year, and the NJ Festival Orchestra has built a tradition of being the place to be on this special night,” commented NJFO Board President Keith S. Hertell. “It also fits perfectly in people’s plans — the 800 plus audience members either come directly from a dinner, or leave the concert to head off to their final dinner or party. The event is a highlight of the year for our community.”
The NYE concert will take place on New Year's Eve at 7:00pm in Westfield High School auditorium, 550 Dorian Road in Westfield, and will finish at approximately 9:00pm. The concert will be repeated on New Year’s Day at Sieminsky Theater, Fellowship Cultural Arts Center, Basking Ridge. Both concerts are presented through the generous support of The PNC Bank, The Westfield Foundation, The NJ State Council on the Arts, and Helene and Jerome Dreskin.
Tickets range from $40-$85 with a special discount price of only $25 for kids (under 18) are available on line at www.njfestivalorchestra.org or by calling (908) 232-9400.
The New Jersey Festival Orchestra is a premier, fully professional, symphony orchestra. Founded in Westfield in 1983, NJ Festival Orchestra has grown to become one of New Jersey’s largest professional orchestras, having a presence throughout many cultural communities of New Jersey, and appearing as far afield as Carnegie Hall on a regular basis.
The name New Jersey Festival Orchestra reflects an ongoing celebration of the diversity of music and the creation of experiences that stretch the boundaries of traditional classical performances. NJFO programs include classics from the orchestral repertory as well as offerings that showcase the fusion of fine arts and popular culture. This unique and dynamic approach to programming further brings classical music to life and creates an ongoing 'festival' of compelling presentations worthy of their name.
In addition to an adventurous subscription season, popular concerts near and far, and a rousing New Year’s Eve celebration, the New Jersey Festival Orchestra sponsors educational and music therapy programs throughout the state of New Jersey.
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