Sō Percussion, photo by Victoria Pickering

(PRINCETON, NJ) -- Fresh from their 2025 GRAMMY® win for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance, Sō Percussion will appear with Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) at concerts the weekend of March 8-9, 2025. The ensemble will perform Viet Cuong's concerto for percussion quartet, Re(new)al. Edward T. Cone Music Director Rossen Milanov conducts the program which includes Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68 "Pastoral" and Carlos Simon's Four Black American Dances. Both performances are at Richardson Auditorium, on the campus of Princeton University.

“I’m excited to perform with Sō Percussion as they are a fearless ensemble, musically gifted and always seeking to push artistic boundaries with new techniques and sound experimentation,” says Maestro Milanov.

Sō Percussion are celebrated for a dazzling range of work: for live performances which bring to life the vibrant percussion repertoire; for an extravagant array of collaborations in classical music, pop, indie rock, contemporary dance, and theater; and for their work in education and community. Committed to the creation and amplification of new work, Sō’s collaborative composition partners include David Lang, Julia Wolfe, Nathalie Joachim, Dan Trueman, Kendall K. Williams, among others. This season, Sō and Caroline Shaw (as well as Ringdown, Shaw’s duo) perform a program highlighting their 2025 Grammy® Award-winning album, Rectangles and Circumstance, at East Coast venues and in Europe. Sō Percussion are Princeton University’s Edward T. Cone performers-in-residence.

Carlos Simon’s lively Four Black American Dances showcases dance styles with cultural significance to Black American communities, and Viet Cuong’s Re(new)al is a fascinating work inspired by the power of hydro, wind, and solar energies. Completing the concert program is Beethoven’s programmatic “Pastoral” Symphony; its five movements evoking visions of the countryside with translated wording such as “Scene by the Brook,” “Thunder and Storm,” and “Shepherd’s Song.”

Single tickets start at $40. Youths 5-17 receive a 50% discount with an adult purchase. For tickets and information, visit the Princeton Symphony Orchestra website at princetonsymphony.org or call 609-497-0020.

Sunday’s concert includes a 3:00pm pre-concert talk hosted by Rossen Milanov discussing the works to be performed. The talk is free to ticket holders with general seating in Richardson Auditorium.

Programs, artists, dates, and times are subject to change.

Accessibility - The Princeton Symphony Orchestra is committed to ensuring all programming is accessible for everyone, working with venues such as Richardson Auditorium to provide needed services. Contact Mika Godbole for questions about available services at mgodbole@princetonsymphony.org or (609) 905-0931. Note: some services require at least two weeks’ notice to arrange.

Rossen Milanov conducting the PSO, photo by PSO staff

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.