New Jersey Performing Arts Center Presents Leading Classical Artists This Winter including Yo-Yo Ma, Ray Chen, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and More,

Sat 01.03 @ 8:00 p.m. HOLLYWOOD IN NEW JERSEY: DAVID NEWMAN & SEBASTIAN KNAUER with the NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY
New Jersey Symphony  
Sebastian Knauer - piano
David Newman - conductor
 
Hooray for Hollywood! Hear some of the most iconic film music of all time performed by The New Jersey Symphony. Guest conductor and Oscar-nominated film composer David Newman carries on the legacy of his father, Alfred Newman, the golden-age composer of legendary film scores (and creator of the famous 20th Century Fox fanfare). Award-winning German pianist Sebastian Knauer joins the orchestra for an evening of silver-screen favorites. You’ll hear music from a variety of composers, including the Newman family, who have amassed 13 Academy Awards and an incredible 93 nominations. A Beautiful Mind, Spartacus, The Robe, How the West Was Won, Basic Instinct — and more!
 
Sun 01.25 @ 3:00 p.m. (pre-show talk @ 2:00 p.m.) THE ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA with RAY CHEN, CONDUCTED by VASILY PETRENKO
Vasily Petrenko - conductor
Ray Chen – violin 
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

“The flourishing partnership between Vasily Petrenko and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is vital in both senses of the word. Together they are making indispensable music in performances that are invariably alive, deeply considered and anything but routine…a shattering performance of volcanic power.” - Bachtrack

Celebrating its 80^th anniversary this season, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra returns to NJPAC. Under the baton of the brilliant Vasily Petrenko, hear the UK’s most in-demand orchestra perform Nielsen’s Helios Overture, Sibelius’s Symphony No. 2, and Tchaikovsky’s blazing Violin Concerto featuring guest soloist Ray Chen. The Washington Post raves: “Ray Chen can do pretty much anything he wants on the violin.”  As well as a busy schedule of national and international performances, the Orchestra enjoys an annual season of concerts in London’s Royal Albert Hall (where the RPO is Associate Orchestra), the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall and Cadogan Hall, where it recently celebrated its 20th Season as Resident Orchestra. The RPO was the first UK orchestra to launch its own record label achieving well over 50 million streams of its recorded music each year. The RPO is recognized as one of the world’s most open-minded, forward-thinking and accessible symphony orchestras. 
 
Free for ticketholders, Classical Overtures is a pre-show talk held an hour prior to the show in the Chase Room. It is an interactive presentation hosted by Maestro George Marriner Maull of New Jersey’s Discovery Orchestra.
 
Thu 2.05 @ 7:30 p.m. YO-YO MA

“the greatest cellist ever” – The Washington Post

“…his forays into the outer limits of the classical repertory (and beyond) continue to refine what is at once his greatest and rarest gift, one recognized long ago by his peers at Juilliard: transcendence.”  
– San Francisco Classical Voice

Technical prowess and emotional depth combine to make Yo-Yo Ma endlessly watchable and listenable. A United Nations Messenger of Peace since 2006, he uses those extraordinary musical gifts to bring people together across nations and cultures, always reinforcing our shared humanity. Despite the grandeur of the venue, this solo performance promises to be particularly intimate, with a curated selection of his favorite pieces. Yo-Yo has recorded more than 120 albums, is the winner of 19 Grammy Awards, and has performed for nine American presidents, most recently on the occasion of President Biden’s inauguration. He has received numerous awards, including the National Medal of the Arts, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Birgit Nilsson Prize. He has been a UN Messenger of Peace since 2006, and was recognized as one of TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2020.
 
About NJPAC
New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), located in downtown Newark, New Jersey, is an anchor cultural institution for both the city of Newark and the state of New Jersey. It is an artistic, cultural, educational and civic center where great performances and events enhance and transform lives every day. NJPAC brings communities together both on and off of our campus – on stages, in schools and community settings – providing access to the arts for all and showcasing the state’s and the world’s best artists, while acting as a leading catalyst in the revitalization of its home city. Through its extensive Social Impact programs, NJPAC leverages the arts to advance positive outcomes in education, health and well-being, civic engagement and community development. NJPAC has attracted more than 12.7 million visitors (including more than two million children) since opening its doors in 1997. Learn more at njpac.org.