Itzhak Perlman, photo © BYU Arts
(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- State Theatre New Jersey presents Itzhak Perlman in Recital on Saturday, February 24, 2024 at 8:00pm. This special performance is part of State Theatre’s annual Classical Season Celebration.
“We are thrilled to once again welcome Itzhak Perlman to anchor our Classical Season Celebration,” says Sarah Chaplin, State Theatre New Jersey President & CEO. “As a non-profit presenting theatre, this signature fundraiser provides essential support from our community for STNJ's year-round classical presentations and arts education programs.”
Tickets are available for purchase online or by calling State Theatre Guest Services at 732-246-SHOW (7469). State Theatre Guest Services, located at 15 Livingston Ave, New Brunswick NJ, is open by phone and email only, Tuesday through Friday from 11:00am to 5:00pm. For in-person purchases, Guest Services is open Tuesday through Friday from 12:00pm to 4:30pm. Additional ticket and transaction fees may apply.
The Classical Season Celebration includes a pre-show cocktail party, tickets to the performance, and a post-show dessert reception. Classical Season tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available at STNJ.org/CSC or call 732-247-7200, ext. 512 for more information.
The program featuring Itzhak Perlman includes Handel’s Violin Sonata in E Major, Op. 1, No. 15; Beethoven, Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 9 in A Major, Op. 47 "Kreutzer"; and Schumann, Fantasiestücke, Op. 73. For this performance Perlman will be joined by pianist Rohan De Silva.
Undeniably the reigning virtuoso of the violin, Itzhak Perlman enjoys superstar status rarely afforded a classical musician. Beloved for his charm and humanity as well as his talent, he is treasured by audiences throughout the world who respond not only to his remarkable artistry, but also to his irrepressible joy for making music.
Having performed with every major orchestra and at concert halls around the globe, Perlman was granted a Presidential Medal of Freedom—the Nation’s highest civilian honor—by President Obama in 2015, a National Medal of Arts by President Clinton in 2000, and a Medal of Liberty by President Reagan in 1986. Perlman has been honored with 16 Grammy® Awards, four Emmy® Awards, a Kennedy Center Honor, a Grammy® Lifetime Achievement Award, and a Genesis Prize.
In the 2023/24 season, Perlman brings his iconic PBS special In the Fiddler’s House program to San Francisco, Houston, Bethesda, and Palm Beach, joined by today’s klezmer stars including Hankus Netsky, Andy Statman, and members of the Klezmer Conservatory Band. His orchestral engagements include play/conduct programs with the Houston Symphony on Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 and Charleston Symphony on Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony as well as a series of concerto and conducting appearances with the Israel Philharmonic.
Pianist Rohan De Silva’s partnerships with violin virtuosos Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Cho-Liang Lin, Midori, Joshua Bell, Benny Kim, Kyoko Takezawa, Vadim Repin, Gil Shaham, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, and James Ehnes have led to highly acclaimed performances at recital venues all over the world.
He has performed on the stages of Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall and Alice Tully Hall, Kennedy Center, Los Angeles’ Disney Concert Hall, Wigmore Hall and Barbican Centre in London, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Philharmonie de Paris, Munich Gasteig, Mozarteum Salzburg, La Scala in Milan, and Suntory Hall in Tokyo.
Alongside Perlman, De Silva has appeared worldwide in recital and performed multiple times at the White House, most recently in 2012 at the invitation of President Barack Obama and Mrs. Obama for Israeli President and Presidential Medal of Freedom honoree Shimon Peres and at a State Dinner in 2007, hosted by President George W. Bush and Mrs. Bush for Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh.
After major renovations, State Theatre New Jersey celebrated its 100th Anniversary in December 2021 in a fully renovated theater including newly renovated lobbies, all new restrooms, upgraded HVAC systems, a new elevator for access to all levels, and brand-new theater seats. Originally built as a silent film and vaudeville palace, State Theatre’s historic significance was honored by PBS by featuring it in its documentary series, Treasures of New Jersey, in the fall of 2018. “Treasures of New Jersey: State Theatre New Jersey” can be streamed online.
Today, State Theatre is the largest performing arts center in Central New Jersey and has welcomed more than six million people through its doors since reopening as a nonprofit performing arts center in 1988. State Theatre New Jersey is a cornerstone of the cultural vitality of Middlesex County and averages a total economic impact on New Brunswick and the surrounding area of more than $18 million a year. The mainstage programs have featured high-caliber artists such as Diana Ross, Tom Jones, Kevin Hart, Ringo Starr, Melissa Etheridge, John Leguizamo, Harry Connick, Jr., Diana Krall, and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Program offerings include Broadway, orchestra, family, dance, comedy, rock/pop, jazz, Performances for Schools, and Sensory-Friendly Performances.
State Theatre New Jersey’s programs are made possible by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. Grant funding has been provided by the Middlesex County Board of County Commissioners through a grant award from the Middlesex County Cultural and Arts Trust Fund.
