NJSO Presents PIRATES ON THE HIGH SEAS Family Concerts at NJPAC

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra takes concertgoers on a swashbuckling, sea-faring odyssey in "Pirates on the High Seas," its first family program of the season, with two performances on Saturday, November 26, at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark. Featuring music from the blockbuster film Pirates of the Caribbean, Rimsky-Korsakov'sScheherazade, Rodgers' Victory at Sea and more, this musical expedition explores how composers depict adventure and bravery on the high seas.

NJSO Education & Community Engagement Conductor Jeffrey Grogan leads the 2 pm and 3:30 pm concerts in NJPAC's Victoria Theater; actor Sid Solomon hosts. Interactive Pre-Concert Adventures begin in the lobby one hour before each performance.

In a musical experience perfect for the young and young at heart, concertgoers will hear how great composers use music to create the thrill of adventure and the drama of sailing on powerful seas. The program opens with the triumphant brass blast of Richard Rodgers'Victory at Sea, which brings to mind sailors celebrating victory as they ride over the up-and-down scales that mimic pulsing waves. Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky's The Tempest shows off the drama of the ocean, playing with volume and the contrasting sounds of the orchestra's sections to evoke the enormous power of a raging sea.

Klaus Badelt's music from the movie Pirates of the Caribbean is a musical expression of a pirate adventure, combining the swashbuckling rhythm of sailors' songs with the romantic beauty of the string section and the punchy accents of sword battle.

Scheherazade by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov was based on magical tales told to amuse a sultan, and the music is made up of the exotic, colorful sounds of foreign lands. Erich Korngold's The Sea Hawk was originally a movie soundtrack, and the bold, sweeping melody makes you think of an old-fashioned ship, headed bravely out to sea.

The steady rhythm of Ralph Vaughan Williams' Sea Songs is a clue to the fact that the piece was originally written for a British military band in 1924, using melodies taken from traditional English sailing songs. "Anchors Aweigh" by Charles Zimmerman is a written in a major key, a bold, bright sound composed to inspire feelings of patriotism.

Pre-Concert Adventures

Learn more about the music and participate in fun hands-on activities during this interactive time that's perfect for the whole family, with an instrument petting zoo and other special activities in the lobby. The Pre-Concert Adventure begins at 1 pm for the 2 pmperformance, and at 2:30 pm for the 3:30 pm performance. Ticketholders should attend the Pre-Concert Adventure immediately prior to their concert.

Patrons can bring a new, unwrapped toy to donate to the NJSO's annual Toys for Tots drive.

TICKETS

Tickets are $10 for children and $20 for adults, available for purchase online at www.njsymphony.org or by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476).

THE PROGRAM

Pirates on the High Seas

Saturday, November 26, at 2 pm | NJPAC in Newark

Saturday, November 26, at 3:30 pm | NJPAC in Newark

Jeffrey Grogan, conductor

Sid Solomon, host

New Jersey Symphony Orchestra

Program features selections from:

RODGERS Victory at Sea

TCHAIKOVSKY The Tempest

BADELT Pirates of the Caribbean

RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Scheherazade

KORNGOLD The Sea Hawk

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Sea Songs March

ZIMMERMANN Anchors Aweigh

Full concert information is available at www.njsymphony.org/events/detail/pirates-on-the-high-seas.

The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey presents the 2016-17 NJSO Family Series.

NJSO ACCENTS

Designed to inspire audiences, NJSO Accents are pre- or post-concert events that complement the concert experience and provide audience members with more opportunities to personally connect with the music and music makers.

Pre-Concert Adventure-one hour before the concert
Come early for arts and crafts, an instrument petting zoo and other special activities in the lobby. Ticketholders should attend the Adventure prior to their concert.

Toys for Tots
Bring a new, unwrapped toy to donate to the NJSO's annual Toys for Tots drive.

Learn more at www.njsymphony.org/accents.

The Prudential Foundation sponsors NJSO Accent events in Newark.

THE ARTISTS

Jeffrey Grogan, conductor

Applauded for performances "high in energy, with close attention to ebb and flow," New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Education & Community Engagement Conductor Jeffrey Grogan is hailed as an innovative musical leader. He is conductor and artistic director of the NJSO Youth Orchestras, InterSchool Orchestras of New York and New Jersey Youth Symphony. He works with an El Sistema-inspired music program-as artistic director of Paterson Music Project, sponsored by Wharton Music Center.

Grogan has served as adjudicator, conductor and clinician for prestigious national festivals including the National Orchestra Cup at Lincoln Center, Honors Performance Series with the National Youth Orchestra at Carnegie Hall and Festival Disney in Orlando. He has appeared as a guest conductor at the University of Georgia, Indiana University, Manhattan School of Music and Mannes School of Music Pre-College Division. Grogan has conducted all-state orchestras in Arkansas, Arizona, California, Georgia, Indiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas and Washington. He conducts numerous regional orchestras and festivals and has conducted performances with the Little Orchestra Society of New York, Reno Philharmonic, Adelphi Chamber Orchestra and New York Concerti Sinfonietta.

Prior to moving to the New York metropolitan area, Grogan was on the faculties of the University of Michigan, Ithaca College and Baylor University. He taught public school in the Desoto (Texas) Independent School District. Grogan graduated from Stephen F. Austin State University with a Bachelor of Music Education degree and holds Master of Music degrees in conducting and horn performance from the University of Michigan. In 2004, he was named Outstanding Music Alumnus of Stephen F. Austin State University.

Sid Solomon, host

Brooklyn-born actor and teaching artist Sid Solomon has performed with theater companies across the country, including The Acting Company, New York Classical Theatre, Guthrie Theater, Virginia Stage, Florida Rep, Georgia Shakespeare and Florida Stage, among many others.

As a teacher, he has worked with students from grade school to grad school in cities and towns from Arkansas to Ontario. From 2007-10, he served on the faculty of the Theatre Arts Training Program of the Tony Award-winning Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis. Currently, he is a member of the teaching staff of The Acting Company, and he has taught classes and workshops for Williamstown Theatre Festival, New York Classical Theatre, Northern Stage and The Studio in New Canaan, Connecticut.

Solomon is in his fifth year as the host of Musical Explorers, a concert series for elementary-school students at Carnegie Hall. He received his training at the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater BFA Actor Training Program and LaGuardia Arts High School in New York. He has been a member of Actors' Equity Association since 2010; he was elected to its National Council in 2015.

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.

The NJSO welcomes new Music Director Xian Zhang in the 2016-17 season. The Orchestra 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 New Jersey 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 school-time Concerts for Young People performances, NJSO Youth Orchestras family of student ensembles and El Sistema-inspired NJSO CHAMPS (Character, Achievement and Music Project). 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. In the 2015-16 season, Orchestra musicians performed at nearly 200 events, reaching more than 34,000 people in nearly all of New Jersey's 21 counties.

For more information about the NJSO, visit www.njsymphony.org or email information@njsymphony.org. Tickets are available for purchase by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476) or on the Orchestra's website.

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra's programs are made possible in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, along with many other foundations, corporations and individual donors.

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