Jacques Lacombe Conducts NJSO in CARMINA BURANA and More This Weekend

Music Director Jacques Lacombe and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra open the NJSO's 2014-15 concert season this weekend, October 10-12 with Orff's Carmina Burana in Newark, New Brunswick and Morristown. The concert opens with New Jersey composer George Antheil's McKonkey's Ferry as part of both the NJSO's New Jersey Roots Project and NJ350--a celebration of the Garden State's 350th anniversary in 2014. Debussy's Nocturnes rounds out the opening program.

Performances take place tonight, October 10, at 7 pm at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark; Saturday, October 11, at 8 pm at the State Theatre in New Brunswick and Sunday, October 12, at 3 pm at the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown.

Of the ubiquitous power of Orff's masterwork, which has found its way into the popular consciousness through films, television shows and sports commercials, The New York Times once wrote that "the idea that Carmina Burana' somehow belongs to everyone instinctively rings true. Its tenacious hold on the public imagination suggests a power that transcends ... 'Carmina Burana' exists between the high and the low, the modern and the traditional, reminding listeners just how seductive such border crossings can be."

The NJSO last performed Carmina Burana on Lacombe's NJSO debut program in November 2008. The Star-Ledger praised Lacombe's Carmina interpretation, noting his "dynamic subtlety and zest" in a performance the NJSO has since released as an audio recording. The Star-Ledger later wrote: "In addition to the requisite firepower, Lacombe draws out the many textures and colors within Orff's orchestration, making for freshness even in wild celebratory movements."

Soprano Aline Kutan, tenor Jean-Francis Monvoisin, baritone Jonathan Beyer and the Westminster Symphonic Choir join the NJSO for these opening-weekend performances of Orff's masterwork.

Antheil's McKonkey's Ferry was inspired by the Revolutionary War events of Christmas night, 1776, when General George Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware River into New Jersey and camped at McKonkey's Ferry Inn on the eve of the Battle of Trenton. "This was the right year [to perform this piece], when we are celebrating New Jersey's 350th anniversary," Lacombe says. "[Antheil] was a unique figure among American composers; his music spans diverse styles in a very personal way. In this work about the Revolutionary War, he balances [military elements] with lyrical moments and some Hollywood elements reminiscent of his film music. It's a nice mixture."

The NJSO performs Debussy's Nocturnes for the first time in more than 30 years. Lacombe says: "Nocturnes is a remarkable piece that is almost visual. In 'Nuages,' you can practically see the passing of the clouds, like a painting. In the last movement, 'Sirènes,' he uses the women's chorus almost like another orchestral instrument, another texture."

Concert tickets start at $20 and are available for purchase online at www.njsymphony.org or by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476).

The Orchestra's Opening Night Gala on Friday, October 10, at NJPAC begins at 5 pm with a cocktail party and close with a gala dinner following the NJSO performance. The gala honors NJSO Board Chairman Emeritus Dr. Victor Parsonnet on the occasion of his 90th birthday. An internationally acclaimed heart surgeon, Parsonnet performed the state's first heart transplant and pacemaker implant. A passionate advocate for the arts and for New Jersey, he has dedicated 28 years of service to the NJSO and has devoted himself to improving the state's arts, healthcare and social-outreach efforts.

For more event information, visit www.njsymphony.org/openingnight or contact Alice Golembo, Senior Manager of Special Events, at 973.735.1729 or agolembo@njsymphony.org.

THE PROGRAM

Opening Night: Carmina Burana

Friday, October 10 at 7 pm | NJPAC in Newark
Saturday, October 11 at 8 pm | State Theatre in New Brunswick
Friday, October 12 at 3 pm | Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown

Jacques Lacombe, conductor
Aline Kutan, soprano
Jean-Francis Monvoisin, tenor
Jonathan Beyer, baritone
Westminster Symphonic Choir | Joe Miller, director New Jersey Symphony Orchestra

ANTHEIL McKonkey's Ferry (New Jersey Roots Project / NJ350) DEBUSSY Nocturnes
ORFF Carmina Burana

Full concert information and program notes are available at www.njsymphony.org/carmina.

THE ARTISTS

Music Director Jacques Lacombe

A remarkable conductor whose artistic integrity and rapport with orchestras have propelled him to international stature, Jacques Lacombe has been Music Director of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra since 2010 and Orchestre Symphonique de Trois-Rivie?res since 2006. He was previously Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montre?al and Music Director of orchestra and opera with the Philharmonie de Lorraine.

Lacombe has garnered critical praise for his creative programming and bold leadership of the NJSO. Time Out New York has named Orchestra's acclaimed Winter Festivals "an eagerly anticipated annual event" for the innovative concert experiences that have included a realization of Scriabin's "color organ," collaborations with theater and dance troupes and presentations of Tan Dun concertos in which clay pots and water become solo instruments. The New York Times wrote that "It was an honor to be in the hall" for Lacombe and the NJSO's performance of Busoni's Piano Concerto at the 2012 Spring for Music Festival at Carnegie Hall.

Recently, Lacombe helmed a pair of unique initiatives through the New Jersey Roots Project: the NJSO launched the inaugural NJSO Edward T. Cone Composition Institute for young composers-a week of intense compositional evaluations and consultations that culminated in a live performance of the participants' works-and gave the world premiere of Cone's Symphony in a special lecture-concert. Other 2014-15 NJSO highlights include the "Sounds of Shakespeare" Winter Festival, featuring collaborations with violinist Sarah Chang and the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey.

In July, Lacombe made his Tanglewood Music Festival debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra; this season, he returns to the Deutsche Oper Berlin for productions of Carmen, The Damnation of Faust and Samson and Delilah; L'Opera de Monte Carlo for Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk and Vancouver Opera for Carmen.

He has appeared with the Cincinnati, Columbus, Que?bec, Toronto, Vancouver and New Zealand Symphony Orchestras and National Arts Centre Orchestra of Ottawa. He frequently conducts in France, Spain and Australia and has led tours and recordings with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada.

Opera highlights include all-star productions of La Bohe?me and Tosca at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and numerous productions with the Deutsche Oper Berlin and Metropolitan Opera, as well as engagements at opera houses in Marseille, Strasbourg, Turin and Munich. He has recorded for the CPO and Analekta labels; he has recorded Orff's Carmina Burana and Jana?c?ek's Suite from The Cunning Little Vixen with the NJSO. His performances have been broadcast on PBS, the CBC, Mezzo TV and Arte TV, among others.

Born in Cap-de-la-Madeleine, Que?bec, Lacombe attended the Conservatoire de Musique de Montre?al and Hochschule fu?r Musik in Vienna. He was named a Chevalier de l'Ordre national du Que?bec in 2012 and a Member of the Order of Canada in 2013-among the highest civilian honors in the country.

Aline Kutan, soprano

Canadian soprano Aline Kutan is a versatile and refined artist with experience in both operatic and concert repertoire. She has performed in such prestigious theaters as the Opera de Paris, San Carlo di Napoli, Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, Grand Theatre de Geneve, Monte Carlo, Marseille, Teatro de Santiago Chile, Capitole de Toulouse and La Scala de Milan; at the Glyndebourne Festival and Choregies d'Oranges; and with the Detroit, Arizona and New York City operas. Operatic highlights include Lakme?, The Magic Flute, Ariadne auf Naxos, The Abduction from the Seraglio and La Traviata, among others.

Concert highlights include Mozart's Mass in C Minor, Messiaen's St. Francis of Assisi and Gliere's Concerto for a Coloratura Soprano with Montreal Symphony; Beethoven's Christ on the Mount of Olives, Mahler's fourth and eighth symphonies and Handel's Messiah with the Quebec Symphony and Carmina Burana with the Grands Ballets Canadiens.

A past winner of the Metropolitan Opera Competition and the International Voice Competition in Toulouse, Kutan teaches voice at the Montreal Conservatory and McGill University. She has recordings on the Atma, Analekta and Sony BMG labels.

Jean-Francis Monvoisin, tenor

Following his studies at the Paris Conservatory, French tenor Jean-Francis Monvoisin began his career performing Chausson's Poeme de l'amour et de la mer with Radio-France and then singing the title role of The Tales of Hoffmann with Opera de Lyon, under the direction of Kent Nagano, in 1994. He began his international career in 1998.

Highlights include Bellini's The Puritans with Richard Bonynge in Italy, Scottish National Opera in Norma, Edinburgh Festival in Verdi's Joan of Arc, Cleveland Opera in Rome?o et Juliette, Opera de Paris-Bastille in Fenelon's Salambo?, Opera de Montreal in La Bohe?me and Lima Opera in Tosca and Carmen.

He has performed in The Damnation of Faust in Bremen under the direction of Gunther Neuhold; The Egyptian Helen in Cagliari, Canio and Turridu with Hawaii Opera; Aida in Lubeck; Carmen with Giuliano Carella and Ariadne auf Naxos in Marseille. In 2003, he made his debut at La Monnaie de Bruxelles with Jose van Dam in the world premiere of Odipe sur la route and at the Grand Theatre de Geneve in The Damnation of Faust.

Jonathan Beyer, baritone

The young lyric baritone Jonathan Beyer has performed with Pittsburgh Opera, Austin Lyric Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, Fort Worth Opera, Opera Santa Barbara, Chautauqua Institution, Tanglewood, Accademia Verdiana and Teatro di Verdi.

Most recently, he made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Wagner in Gounod's Faust and performed Escamillo in Carmen with Opera Company of Philadelphia, Rossini's Figaro at Teatro Petruzelli and with the Boston Lyric Opera, the Count in The Marriage of Figaro with Fort Worth Opera and Austin Lyric Opera, La Bohe?me with the Munich Philharmonic and I Vespri Siciliani with Frankfurt Opera.

In concert, he recently performed Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Haydn's Creation with Netherlands Radio Orchestra and Candide with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He also has appeared with the Chicago Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Lorin Maazel's Chateauville Foundation, Chatam Baroque, Baton Rouge Symphony, Vermont Symphony, Erie Philharmonic and the Festival at Aix-en-Provence.

He is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University.

Westminster Symphonic Choir | Joe Miller, director

Recognized as one of the world's leading choral ensembles, the Westminster Symphonic Choir has recorded and performed with major orchestras under many internationally acclaimed conductors of the past 80 years. Prepared for this performance by Westminster Director of Choral Activities Joe Miller, the ensemble is composed of students at Westminster Choir College.

The ensemble's 2014-15 season includes three series of performances with The Philadelphia Orchestra and Yannick Nezet-Seguin: Mahler's Symphony No. 2, "Resurrection," Bach's St. Matthew Passion and Bernstein's Mass. The choir also performs Brahms' German Requiem with the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Daniele Gatti.

Westminster Choir College is a division of Rider University's Westminster College of the Arts, which has campuses in Princeton and Lawrenceville, NJ. A professional college of music with a unique choral emphasis, Westminster prepares students at the undergraduate and graduate levels for careers in teaching, sacred music and performance.

In addition to his responsibilities as director of choral activities at Westminster Choir College, Joe Miller is artistic director for choral activities for the renowned Spoleto Festival USA.

THE NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Named "a vital, artistically significant musical organization" by The Wall Street Journal, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra embodies that vitality through its statewide presence and critically acclaimed performances, education partnerships and unparalleled access to music and the Orchestra's superb musicians.

Under the bold leadership of Music Director Jacques Lacombe, the NJSO presents classical, pops and family programs, as well as outdoor summer concerts and special events. Embracing its legacy as a statewide orchestra, the NJSO is the resident orchestra of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark and regularly performs at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, Richardson Auditorium in Princeton, Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown and bergenPAC in Englewood. Partnerships with New Jersey arts organizations, universities and civic organizations remain a key element of the Orchestra's statewide identity.

In addition to its lauded artistic programming, the NJSO presents a suite of education and community engagement programs that promote meaningful, lifelong engagement with live music. Programs include the three-ensemble NJSO Youth Orchestras, school-time Concerts for Young People performances and multiple initiatives that provide and promote in-school instrumental instruction-including the El Sistema-inspired NJSO CHAMPS (Character, Achievement and Music Project)-as part of the NJSO Academy. The NJSO's REACH (Resources for Education and Community Harmony) chamber music program annually brings original programs-designed and performed by NJSO musicians-to a variety of settings, reaching as many as 17,000 people in nearly all of New Jersey's 21 counties.

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