New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Presents Enigma Variations 11/27-28

On Thanksgiving weekend, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Jacques Lacombe present a vibrant program featuring Elgar's timeless Enigma Variations and NJSO Concertmaster Eric Wyrick performing Princetonian Edward T. Cone's Concerto for Violin and Small Orchestra, as part of the Orchestra's New Jersey Roots Project. The program also includes Webern's orchestration of Bach's "Ricercare" from The Musical Offering.

Performances take place on Saturday, November 27 (8 p.m.), at New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark and Sunday, November 28 (3 p.m.) at the State Theatre in New Brunswick. Classical Conversations begin one hour before each performance and are free to all ticketholders.

Lacombe says Enigma Variations is "probably one of-if not the-best pieces ever written to represent the spirit of the British. It has the qualities that make England so great, so special. The melancholy, wit, humor ... it's almost like a national anthem!

"It's no secret why this piece has been Elgar's most performed-it leaves us with a question no one has answered. But the quality of the inspiration is marvelous; like a concerto for orchestra, everyone shines. To combine the Enigma Variations with this piece by Bach, especially in this orchestration, creates such amazing different orchestral colors. Melodies aren't played on one single instrument-every one contributes, changes the sound. It creates a very mystical experience."

The NJSO's innovative New Jersey Roots Project highlights composers who were born in New Jersey or whose time in the Garden State influenced their artistic identity. On this program, the project intersects with Wyrick's annual solo performance with the NJSO.

"I'm very happy that Eric wanted to learn this concerto, which has been rarely performed, and only in Princeton," Lacombe says. "It speaks for itself to know that our concertmaster has added this challenging concerto to his repertoire and to help promote the music of Cone, who was so important as a professor at Princeton University. Cone's music is not very well known. He was a great composer, but he didn't have a big interest in getting his music performed. We're going to try to fix that! I want to allow this music to become alive."

 

For more information on the New Jersey Roots Project, visit www.njsymphony.org/NJroots. Tickets range in price from $20 to $82 and are available for purchase online at www.njsymphony.org or by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476).

From the beginning of his career, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Music Director Jacques Lacombe has been highly praised as a remarkable conductor whose artistic integrity and rapport with orchestras have propelled him to international stature.

Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal from 2002 to 2006, he led the orchestra in more than 100 performances, including programs from the central European classics to the French and Russian literature, as well as several world premieres. He served for three years as Music Director of both orchestra and opera with the Philharmonie de Lorraine in France; he has been Music Director of the Orchestre Symphonique de Trois-Rivières since 2006.

In addition to his collaborations with all the major Canadian orchestras, including several tours and recordings with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, Lacombe has worked abroad with orchestras in Monte-Carlo, Nice, Toulouse and Halle, as well as Orchestre Lamoureux in Paris, Slovakia Philharmonic, Budapest Symphony, Royal Flemish Philharmonic, Victoria Orchestra Melbourne and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

A regular guest at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, where he has led numerous productions, including Zemlinsky's Der Traumgörge and von Walterhausen's rarely performed Oberst Chabert, Lacombe conducted the world premiere of Vladimir Cosma's Marius et Fanny at the Opéra de Marseille starring Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna. He has also led operatic productions at the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, Teatro Regio in Turin and Opéra de Monte-Carlo, along with opera companies in Milwaukee, Minnesota, Philadelphia, Montreal, Québec and Vancouver.

He has recorded for the Analekta label and has been broadcast on PBS, the CBC, Arte TV in France and on Hungarian Radio-Television.

Born in Cap-de-la-Madeleine, Québec, Lacombe received his musical training at the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal and at the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna.

Concertmaster of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, violinist Eric Wyrick is recognized as an exceptional solo and chamber musician and orchestral leader. He is artistic director of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.

Born in New York City, Wyrick started playing the violin at 4 and began studying at The Juilliard School with Dorothy DeLay at 6. His varied orchestral career began with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic at age 14. As a teenager, he was appointed concertmaster of the Christmas String Seminar under the direction of Alexander Schneider and went on to become concertmaster of the American Symphony Orchestra. He is currently concertmaster of the Bard Festival Orchestra and is a frequent leader of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Wyrick has had much operatic experience as associate concertmaster of the New York City Opera Orchestra and as concertmaster of L'Opera Français New York.

In addition to annual NJSO solo appearances, Wyrick has appeared as a soloist with Danish Radio Orchestra, Orchestre de Toulouse, the Hudson Valley Philharmonic and the San Angelo Symphony Orchestra, as well as solo television appearances in the American Playhouse production of Andre's Mother, in the Dance in America presentation of Chausson's Poème for American Ballet Theater, on PBS as a featured soloist and in the BBC's "Great Composers" series playing Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 5. An active chamber musician, Wyrick can be heard frequently with the NJSO Chamber Players; he performed at the Bard Chamber Music Festival in August. He has recorded for Bridge Records, Vanguard and with Orpheus for Deutsche Grammophon. Wyrick plays on the Guarneri del Gesú 1737 ex-Goodman violin.

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra is comprised of some of the country's finest musicians. The Orchestra is proud to have Jacques Lacombe as its Music Director and Neeme Järvi as its Conductor Laureate. Artistic excellence, innovative programming and community engagement are hallmarks of its mission. To best serve the people of New Jersey, the orchestra brings its programs to seven outstanding venues throughout the state. Education and community engagement programs enrich the listening experience for children and adults alike. The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Broadcast Series is a syndicated radio program broadcast regionally on WWFM and throughout North America. Continental Airlines is the official airline of the NJSO.

For more information about the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, visit www.njsymphony.org or e-mail information@njsymphony.org. Tickets are available for purchase by phone 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/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, along with many other foundations, corporations and individual donors.

 

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