(PLAINFIELD, NJ) -- Plainfield Symphony Orchestra and music director Charles Prince present a "Vienna New Year's Celebration" on Saturday, November 22, 2025 at Crescent Avenue Presbyterian Church. You may be dancing in the aisles as PSO rings in the holiday season, largely featuring music by Johann Strauss with returning artist, baritone Steven Scheschareg. Showtime is 7:00pm.
Johann Strauss II, known as "the Waltz King," was a prolific composer famous for his Viennese waltzes, songs, and operettas. You will be treated to a selection of some of his most famous works, including the Overtures to The Gypsy Baron and Die Fledermaus, the Pizzicato Polka, the Thunder and Lightning Polka and several of his most endearing waltzes: Blue Danube and Tales from the Vienna Woods. The Sphärenklänge, Walzer, Op. 235 by brother Josef Strauss will also be presented.
Tickets are available for purchase online. Tickets are available before the performance at the performance venue at the Crescent Avenue Presbyterian Church (716 Watchung Avenue) in Plainfield, New Jersey.. Cash, checks and credit cards are accepted for available seats on a first-come, first-served basis.
New York native Steven Scheschareg, a winner of the prestigious George London Prize of the Vienna State Opera and Grammy Award nominee, gained his early experiences in numerous Broadway musicals. Scheschareg began his operatic career in Europe and he continues to be invited to sing in theaters throughout the globe. As a concert singer, he performs regularly in Vienna's Musikverein, Konzerthaus, Salzburg Festival, New York's Lincoln Center, and other prestigious venues.
Steven is thrilled to be returning to perform the music of his ancestral homeland with the Plainfield Symphony, having helped celebrate its 100th Anniversary. He has also had the honor of performing Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde and a Wagner Gala featuring arias from The Flying Dutchman and Die Walküre.
Mr. Scheschareg will sing "Mein Sehnen, mein Wähnen" from Erich Korngold's opera Die tote Stadt. He will also treat us to several vocal gems by Johann Strauss II: "Als flotter Geist", "Einst träumte mir" from his operetta Fürstin Ninetta, and "Her die Hand, es muss ja sein" from the operetta Der Zigeunerbaron; as well as "Ob blond, ob braun" by Robert Stoltz from the movie Ich liebe alle Frau'n.
The Plainfield Symphony is New Jersey's oldest community symphony and the third oldest in the country. The Plainfield Symphony Orchestra is operated for educational and charitable purposes by the Plainfield Symphony Society, Inc. The Society’s mission is to prepare and present musical programs; stimulate interest in symphonic music in the central New Jersey area; provide educational opportunities through youth and family-oriented concerts and other educational opportunities; and provide a forum in which talented non-professional musicians can perform in an orchestral setting.
