The Princeton Symphony Orchestra (locally known as the PSO) is a professional U.S. orchestra based in
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...
.
Rossen Milanov
Rossen Milanov ( bg, Росен Миланов) is a Bulgarian conductor. He is Music Director of the Princeton Symphony Orchestra & New Jersey's Symphony in C. He is also Principal Conductor of Orquesta Sinfonica del Principado de Asturias, in ...
has been music director since 2009, leading the orchestra in critically acclaimed performances. All orchestra concerts take place at the 900-seat
Richardson Auditorium Richardsonian Romanesque
Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revival style incorporates 11th and 12th century southern French, Spanish, and Italian Romanesque ...
, a historic concert hall located on the campus of
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
.
History
The Princeton Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1980 by Portia Sonnenfeld (at the time also the director of the orchestra program at Princeton High School) and was originally a chamber ensemble known as the Little Orchestra of New Jersey. Sonnenfeld's vision was supported by a dedicated board of trustees, including composer and philanthropist
Edward T. Cone
Edward Toner Cone (May 4, 1917 – October 23, 2004) was an American composer, music theory, music theorist, pianist, and philanthropist.
Life and career
Cone was born in Greensboro, North Carolina. He studied composition under Roger Sess ...
.
After Sonnenfeld's death in 1986, Mark Laycock was appointed music director. During Laycock's 22-year tenure, the ensemble grew into a fully professional symphony orchestra and saw significant artistic growth. In 2009, after an extensive two-year search, the PSO appointed high-profile conductor Rossen Milanov as its third music director. Today, the orchestra attracts large and diverse audiences from New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.
Performances
The orchestra performs six Classical Series concerts, two PSO POPS! concerts, and four Chamber Series concerts each season. The orchestra season runs September through May.
The PSO’s Classical Series concerts feature both classical masterworks and new music by living composers. The orchestra has been praised for offering "a model of what a new music premiere should be." Past and upcoming Classical Series guest artists of particular note include violinists
Leila Josefowicz
Leila Bronia Josefowicz ( ; born October 20, 1977) is an American-Canadian classical violinist.
Biography
Josefowicz was born in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. When she was a young child her family moved to Los Angeles, California, where she sta ...
,
Jennifer Koh
Jennifer Koh (born 1976) is an American violinist, born to Korean parents in Glen Ellyn, Illinois.
Life and career
Koh earned a B.A. in English Literature from Oberlin College, as well as a Performance Diploma from the attached Oberlin Conservat ...
, and
Lara St. John
Lara St. John (born April 15, 1971) is a Canadian violinist.
Early life
Lara St. John was born in London, Ontario, and spent her early childhood there.John Terauds, "Violinist Lara St. John Keeps Herself Guessing," ''Toronto Star'', October 22, ...
; cellist
Joshua Roman
Joshua Roman (born December 16, 1983) is an American cellist.
Background
An Oklahoma native, Joshua Roman attended the Cleveland Institute of Music. At CIM, he studied with Richard Aaron and Desmond Hoebig. Roman received his Bachelor of Music ...
; flutist
Eugenia Zukerman
Eugenia Rich Zukerman (born September 25, 1944, Cambridge, Massachusetts) is an American flutist, writer, and journalist. An internationally renowned flute virtuoso, Zukerman has been performing with major orchestras and at major music festivals i ...
; clarinetist
David Krakauer; and pianist
Anthony Hewitt
Anthony Hewitt (born in 1971) is a classical pianist from the Lake District, England.
Described by ''The Gramophone'' as "a remarkably gifted artist", and by Alfred Brendel
Alfred Brendel KBE (born 5 January 1931) is an Austrian classical p ...
. The PSO has also collaborated on concerts with the acclaimed choirs of
Westminster Choir College
Westminster Choir College (WCC) is a historic conservatory of music currently operating on the campus of Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Rider's Westminster College of the Arts, the college under which the historic institution has b ...
.
PSO POPS! concerts include a December holiday concert and a Broadway concert. Notable singers who have joined the orchestra for Broadway pops programs include
Barbara Cook
Barbara Cook (October 25, 1927 – August 8, 2017) was an American actress and singer who first came to prominence in the 1950s as the lead in the original Broadway musicals ''Plain and Fancy'' (1955), ''Candide'' (1956) and ''The Music Man'' (19 ...
,
Norm Lewis
Norm Lewis (born June 2, 1963) is an American actor and singer. He has appeared in Europe, on Broadway, in film, television, recordings and regional theatre. Productions that he has been involved in include '' Dessa Rose'', ''Miss Saigon'', '' T ...
, and
Brent Barrett
Brent Barrett (born February 28, 1957) is an American actor and tenor who is mostly known for his work within American theatre. Barrett has performed in musicals and in concerts with theatres, symphony orchestras, opera houses, and concert halls ...
.
The PSO’s Chamber Series programs are designed to complement the themes explored in Classical Series concerts, presenting chamber music at the
Institute for Advanced Study
The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholar ...
in Princeton and at two local retirement communities.
Community outreach
The Princeton Symphony Orchestra has a stated mission to build understanding and appreciation of classical music in the Princeton community. To this end, the orchestra presents numerous concerts and other events free of charge, including Chamber Series concerts, lectures in collaboration with the
Princeton Public Library
The Princeton Public Library serves the town of Princeton, New Jersey. It is the most visited municipal public library in New Jersey with over 860,000 annual visitors who borrow 550,000 items, ask more than 83,000 reference questions, log onto li ...
, and lectures on new music by living composers. The PSO also collaborates with the Princeton Adult School to present adult education classes in connection with each Classical Series concert.
Some past program notes are available online.
Music education initiatives are a central component of the orchestra’s activities. In 1995, the PSO debuted BRAVO!, an education program through which small ensembles of PSO musicians travel to local elementary schools and introduce students to the instruments of the orchestra. PSO BRAVO! has since expanded to include a program for middle school students that explores the connections between music and visual art, and masterclasses for high school and college instrumentalists, taught by PSO guest artists. Every spring, more than 2,000 Central New Jersey elementary school students attend the PSO BRAVO! children's concert. Altogether, PSO BRAVO! serves 10,000 students annually.
Music directors
*Portia Sonnenfeld (1980–1986)
*Mark Laycock (1986–2007)
*Rossen Milanov (2009 – present)
References
External links
*
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Musical groups established in 1980
Princeton, New Jersey
Orchestras based in New Jersey
1980 establishments in New Jersey