The New Jersey Symphony in a recent concert in Newark. Credit: Grace Liu Anderson
“The New Jersey Symphony’s 99th season came to a close Sunday afternoon with a rousing and eclectic concert,” writes James C. Taylor in Monday’s (6/13) Star-Ledger (Newark, NJ). “The program at New Jersey Performing Arts Center featured two world premieres commissioned by the orchestra, plus two American-themed works … The concert opened with the premiere of ‘We Shall Not Be Moved: Symphonic Scenes and Samples’ by Daniel Bernard Roumain, the symphony’s Resident Artistic Catalyst…. [Music Director Xian] Zhang and the orchestra gave the score both a sweeping sense of drama and a healthy dose of soul…. [For] the next premiere, … ‘Various: Surreal Sketches for Horn, Jazz Trio and Orchestra’… principal horn player Chris Komer was the soloist and he also came up with the idea[of] four different composers all riffing on [artist Salvador] Dalí and surrealism.” The composers were Vivian Li, Christian McBride, Paquito D’Rivera, and Gary Morgan. “After intermission, it was time for ‘The American Rhapsody,’ a multi-media work featuring a spoken word tribute of sorts to George Washington, with music by Samuel Coleridge Taylor. This 2019 mash-up is the creation of Aaron Dworkin, who performed the spoken part on Sunday, while Zhang led the orchestra through … [Coleridge Taylor’s] ‘Symphonic Variations on an African Air.’ ” Gershwin’s “An American in Paris” concluded the concert.
