By Nancy Plum
Princeton Festival presented its final performance of the 2026 season this past Sunday, capping off two weeks of performing arts activities. Led by Music Director Rossen Milanov, the Princeton Symphony Orchestra was joined by Broadway star Julie Benko for a celebratory concert of Americana and Broadway. Preceded by an afternoon of “family fun,” Sunday’s performance in the Performance Pavilion of Morven Garden & Museum combined patriotic numbers with hits from the Great White Way to both commemorate America’s 250th birthday and provide a lighthearted afternoon of music.
Aaron Copland’s 1942 Fanfare for the Common Man, inspired by America’s entrance into World War II, was appropriately stirring in its scoring for solely brass and percussion. In Princeton Symphony’s performance, Milanov placed horns and trombones in front of the stage, with the heroic opening trumpet theme well punctuated by timpanist Jeremy Levine. The trombones were particularly rich in timbre as Milanov led an interpretation which was simultaneously festive, solemn, and contemplative.
Princeton Symphony structured the final Festival concert around classical works alternating with lighter vocal and instrumental numbers. The more traditional music included Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s well-known 1812, Overture solonelle, composed in 1880 to commemorate Russia’s success over Napoleon and renowned for its cannon fire, brass writing, and tubular bells. Milanov and the orchestra cut to the chase right away with its version of Tchaikovsky’s concert overture, beginning with crisp brass playing the French “La Marseillaise,” followed by a flurry of bells signifying victory. Clean brass and a decisive bass drum representing the composer’s original intention of cannon fire kept the audience on its toes and engaged.
The third “classical” piece was one with which concert-goers may not be familiar, but which is gaining traction in the performing arena. Valerie Coleman composed Seven O’Clock Shout during the pandemic as a tribute to frontline workers who were honored daily in a number of cities at 7 p.m. from windows and balconies. Capturing the cacophony of a New York street during difficult times, Sunday afternoon’s performance featured numerous wind solos, including from oboists and English horn players Lillian Copeland and Erin Gustafson, flutist Denis Savelyev and clarinetist Nuno Antunes.
Vocalist Benko has built a career appearing in such productions as Les Misérables and Funny Girl, and the selections she shared with the Pavilion listeners reflected her stage achievements. Benko’s presentation of “The Trolley Song,” from the film Meet Me in St. Louis, was animated, as she showed an appealing voice and solid comfort with the cabaret format of the concert. “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Misérables was sung with a buoyant vocal spin to the sound, and Benko’s rendition of “Don’t Rain on My Parade” (not an easy song to sing) was unmistakably in her wheelhouse.
The patriotic instrumental works played were intended as just plain fun, along with a musical nod to the branches of the U.S. military. Robert Lowden’s Armed Forces Salute brought the audience together to recognize their colleagues, and Alfred Reed’s setting of Samuel A. Ward’s America the Beautiful was reflective and gracefully played. Princeton Symphony Orchestra ended the concert enthusiastically with John Philip Sousa’s 1896 flag-waving The Stars and Stripes Forever, taking a very quick tempo and involving the crowd from the outset. Piccolo players Savelyev and Hilary Jones demonstrated quick fingering on the final instrumental trio, as the Symphony ended the concert, and this year’s Festival season, on a rousing note.
Princeton Symphony Orchestra has announced its 2026-27 season, which will include six classical programs ranging from Mozart and Beethoven to Mahler. Guest artists include pianists Dmitry Shishkin and Maxim Lando, violinist Simone Porter, cellist Joshua Roman and soprano Christine Goerke. Ticket information can be obtained by visiting princetonsymphony.org.