Maja Bogdanovic, photo by Sarah Wijzenbeek
(PRINCETON, NJ) -- Serbian cellist Maja Maja Bogdanovic makes her anticipated Richardson Auditorium debut with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) at concerts the weekend of May 9-10, 2026. Designated as this year's Edward T. Cone concert, the program features Ms. Bogdanović in performances of Camille Saint-Saëns' melodic Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 33. Other works include Aaron Copland's Letter from Home and Sergei Prokofiev's Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, Op. 100. Both concerts are conducted by Edward T. Cone Music Director Rossen Milanov.
The PSO is honored to present the Edward T. Cone Concert as an annual tribute to the memory of Edward T. Cone (1917-2004). Mr. Cone was a composer, pianist, author, and teacher. He enjoyed a distinguished career as a professor of music at Princeton University, and he produced several scholarly books, many of them classics in their field. He was a remarkable and generous man who played an exceptional role in sustaining and guiding the development of the PSO from its inception. He was a kind and generous patron of multiple arts organizations in Princeton and beyond.
Maestro Milanov says of Cone, “I never had the pleasure of meeting Edward Cone, but I am deeply thankful for his and the Edward T. Cone Foundation’s help in preserving Cone’s legacy of support for the performing arts. This year’s concert features my friend Maja, who plays the cello with such artistry and passion. I look forward to collaborating with her for the first time at Richardson on Saint-Saëns’ concerto, one of the most popular works in the cello repertoire.”
Maestro Milanov will conduct both concerts at Richardson Auditorium, on the campus of Princeton University. Maja Bogdanović will join the Maestro in conversation at the May 10 pre-concert talk at 3:00pm, free to Sunday ticket holders in the concert hall.
Single tickets start at $40; youths 5-17 receive a 50% discount with an adult purchase. Visit the Princeton Symphony Orchestra website at princetonsymphony.org or call 609-497-0020. Richardson Auditorium is located on the campus of Princeton University in Alexander Hall (68 Nassau Street) in Princeton, New Jersey.
Maja Bogdanović has performed on the orchestra’s chamber series and with a chamber orchestra at the Princeton Festival, but never before with the full Princeton Symphony Orchestra at Richardson Auditorium. Following her recital debut at Carnegie’s Weill Hall, Maja has taken her place among today’s foremost cellists as a soloist, chamber musician, and educator. An avid chamber musician, Maja is a frequent guest at the world’s leading chamber music festivals. In 2023, the new Arethusa Quartet was born. It brings Maja together with the like-minded spirits of violinists Daniel Rowland and Floor Le Coultre, and violist Dana Zemtsov. Maja has released several internationally praised albums. Her releases for Challenge Records include Pas de Deux with violinist Daniel Rowland. Laureate of numerous international competitions, Maja won First Prize at the third Aldo Parisot Cello Competition in South Korea and received the Second Prize and Special Audience Award at the Gaspar Cassado International Competition in Tokyo. She was awarded the Special Prize at the Concours Rostropovich in Paris. Maja’s instrument was custom made for her by French luthier Frank Ravatin. She lives in Amsterdam with her husband Daniel Rowland and their two daughters.
Camille Saint-Saëns’ romantic first cello concerto consists of a single movement blending three distinct sections showcasing the instrument’s range and an artist’s virtuosity. Aaron Copland’s Letter from Home is an emotional wartime offering in Copland’s unmistakable voice, and Sergei Prokofiev’s fifth symphony completes the program with a powerful message of hope.
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 [email protected] or (609) 905-0931. Note: some services require at least two weeks’ notice to arrange.
Programs, artists, dates, and times are subject to change.
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 only independent, professional orchestra to make its home in Princeton, the PSO performs at historic Richardson Auditorium on the campus of Princeton University.
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.
