New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Presents DANCING AROUND THE WORLD, 6/1-2

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra presents "Dancing Around the World"-the finale of its 2012-13 Family concert series-on Saturday, June 1, at 2 pm at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark. NJSO Education & Community Engagement Conductor Jeffrey Grogan leads a program of dance music from cultures across the globe; performers from DanceVision add visual excitement. The program also features the world-premiere concert performances of works by the student composers of the NJSO's Young Composers Project-part of the Orchestra's New Jersey Roots Project.

Illustrating dances of different cultures worldwide, DanceVision performers join the NJSO for selections from Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker, Piazzolla's Oblivion, Gould's Tap Dance Concerto, Falla's Spanish Dance No. 1 and Borodin's Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor. The Orchestra also performs selections from Bernstein's West Side Story, Smetana's Three Dances from The Bartered Bride, Gounod's Faust Ballet Music and Arnold's Four Scottish Dances

The winning Young Composers Project students-ninth grader Graham Cohen of South Orange, 12th grader Sahil Jindal of Dover and 11th grader Michael Parsons of Stirling-have met with acclaimed composer Behzad Ranjbaran for a series of workshops and one-on-one composition sessions to develop their original orchestral works. In addition to the premiere performances of the student works on the June 1 program, the NJSO will perform the compositions during the Orchestra's school-time Concerts for Young People series in May. The winning composers were selected from elementary-, middle- and high-school composers from all over the state.

"To offer these young composers access to a well-established composer and the opportunity to have this sort of experimentation [has been] an incredible fast-forward learning experience for them," says Music Director Jacques Lacombe. "To give students opportunities to think and to dream, [and to help them] see this fascinating machine that is a symphony orchestra, is something they will never forget."

An interactive Pre-Concert Adventure begins at 1 pm in the Prudential Hall lobby. The activities, which are free to all ticketholders, include ready-to-play child-sized orchestral instruments provided by Touch the Music with Claudia Baumgaertner Lemmerz, allowing young concertgoers to play the instruments. Young concertgoers can also enjoy a craft station and photo booth.

In an annual showcase, fourth graders from the NJSO Early Strings Program will perform for FiddleFest; each fourth grader who has completed the NJSO's lauded educational program will receive a certificate of completion following their performance. Participating schools include Newark's 14th Avenue School, Franklin School, Harriet Tubman School, Maple Avenue School and Rafael Hernandez School. FiddleFest begins at 1 pm in the Prudential Hall lobby.

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