January 22, 2025

By Nancy Plum

Musical ensembles often observe the significant birthdays of composers of the past or anniversaries of their leaders. Princeton Symphony Orchestra took this idea one step further by celebrating the 60th birthday of Music Director Rossen Milanov earlier in January with presentations of two monumental orchestral works. The concert on the night of Saturday, January 11 at Richardson Auditorium (the program was repeated the following afternoon) brought together Orchestra musicians, conductor Milanov, one of his long-term collaborators, and two of his favorite pieces in the ensemble’s annual Edward T. Cone commemorative events.

Joining Princeton Symphony in Igor Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto in D Major was guest soloist Leila Josefowicz, who has played with the Orchestra numerous times in past seasons. A violinist with a solid international reputation, Josefowicz clearly demonstrated a strong connection to both Milanov and the players while showing her own brand of performance fire.  more

December 25, 2024

By Nancy Plum

Princeton Pro Musica pulled out all the stops recently for a performance of international music for the season, much of which was arranged by the ensemble’s Artistic Director Ryan J. Brandau. The concert on December 15 attended by a festive full house at Richardson Auditorium brought together chorus, orchestra, and two vocal soloists for an eclectic afternoon of music spanning the globe, multiple centuries, and languages.

Brandau has established a deserved reputation as an arranger and orchestrator, and a significant part of Pro Musica’s program showed off his talents. “Mash-ups” of two or more musical numbers put together are popular in the choral world, and Brandau included several of his own in the performance. The concert opened with a combination piece of “O Come Emmanuel” and “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen,” as set by Brandau. With supertitles and Pro Musica’s trademark precise diction, Brandau’s composition moved seamlessly between the medieval chant and the 17th-century English carol. Introduced by solo cellist Melissa Meell and delicately accompanied by harpist André Tarantiles, the two selections well demonstrated Pro Musica’s blended choral sound. more

December 11, 2024

By Nancy Plum

The Christmas season and choral music are practically synonymous. To many audience members, the only choral concerts attended during the year are annual Messiah performances or carol sings. The Princeton area has always had many high-quality musical Christmas events to choose from, and one of the finest this year took place this past weekend. Chanticleer, a professional men’s vocal ensemble based in San Francisco, brought its special artistry to the Princeton University Chapel on Saturday night as part of the Princeton University Concerts series. The 12-member ensemble’s music director, Tim Keeler, was a 2011 graduate of Princeton, and the chorus has maintained a close association with the community. The nearly-full house in the Chapel on Saturday night was a tribute to both Chanticleer and the region’s appreciation for choral music in the holiday season.

Saturday night’s concert featured more than 20 choral selections grouped in a variety of ways, including works on the same texts by composers of different eras sung in succession. Chanticleer opened the evening with a candlelight procession singing four settings of a ninth-century Christian hymn of praise to the Virgin Mary. Beginning with the stark open chords of early 15th-century composer Guillaume Du Fay and leading to the complex melodic writing of Renaissance master Tomás Luis de Victoria, Chanticleer’s presentation of “Ave maris stella” traced the evolution of music history at the highest level of singing. With six counter-tenors, the upper voices carried well through the expansive Chapel space as the singers made their way down the long Chapel center aisle. As with most of the music within a given “set,” the works were sung one after another without pause, and before the audience knew it, 150 years of music history had passed, and the musicians were in position on the chancel steps.  more

November 27, 2024

By Nancy Plum

It would be hard to choose who was the greater teenaged composer — Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart or Felix Mendelssohn. The prodigious musical childhood of Mozart has long been documented, but the works of the young Mendelssohn were no less remarkable. The New York City-based Renaissance String Quartet brought one of Mendelssohn’s early works to life in a concert last Thursday night at McCarter Theatre Center’s Matthews Theatre. Violinists Randall Goosby and Jeremiah Blacklow, violist Jameel Martin, and cellist Daniel Hass played Mendelssohn’s youthful String Quartet No. 1 in E-flat Major in an evening beginning with the early 19th century and ending with a composer born almost at the turn of the 21st century.

The Renaissance Quartet’s inventive approach to chamber music was evident from the moment the musicians came onstage. The Quartet began Mendelssohn’s first published work —emphasizing a sadness in the opening “Adagio” — with expressive motivic gestures which may have been meant as a tribute to the recently deceased Beethoven. The Quartet musicians kept chipper passages bright, with violist Martin bringing out lush melodic lines. The second movement “Canzonetta” reflected Mendelssohn’s ballet A Midsummer Night’s Dream, with an elfin middle section abounding with fluttering fairies in the violins. The Quartet showed its playful side in this music, but never lost the required rhythmic precision.  more

November 20, 2024

By Nancy Plum

The glee club tradition dates back to late 18th-century London, with musical groups informally gathering to perform short compositions and popular songs. Named after the Baroque-era English “glee” part song, these ensembles were until the mid-20th century comprised of male voices, with countertenors taking the upper parts. While late 19th-century glee clubs in London were superseded by large choral societies, they became very popular in U.S. high schools and universities, and more so after opening their ranks to women. A number of local collegiate institutions have glee clubs dating back to the mid-1800s, and Princeton University is no exception. The Princeton University Glee Club, founded in 1874, has grown far beyond the “short song” repertoire to become the largest choral organization in the University’s campus, with a commitment to complex works and commissioning new music.

The University Glee Club, currently under the direction of Gabriel Crouch, celebrated its 150th anniversary this past weekend with three days of concerts, rehearsals, and alumni reunions. Continuing its long-standing commitment to collaborating with world-class musical organizations, the Glee Club opened last weekend’s festivities with a join concert with The King’s Singers. Considered the “gold standard” of a cappella singing, the six-member all-male ensemble has been a pillar of choral excellence for the past 55 years. Glee Club conductor Crouch was a member of the chorus for eight years, and since then has built a solid partnership between the University choral program and the renowned vocal sextet.  more

November 13, 2024

By Nancy Plum

Certain musical pieces are tailor-made for specific ensembles. Princeton Pro Musica, now celebrating its fourth decade of music-making, has long excelled at choral/orchestral works requiring precision, block sound and expert counterpoint. Eighteenth-century Austrian composer Franz Joseph Haydn composed numerous sacred masses combining chorus, soloists, and orchestra, but fewer oratorios. The first of these was Die Schöpfung (The Creation), Haydn’s musical interpretation of the creation of the Earth, the animal world, and man. Premiered in 1798, The Creation was an immediate hit in Vienna, receiving instant acclaim and becoming an unofficial anthem of Vienna until falling into obscurity toward the end of the 19th century. Revived in the mid-20th century, The Creation is now a staple of choral societies worldwide and an audience favorite.

Led by Artistic Director Ryan J. Brandau, Princeton Pro Musica presented Haydn’s illustrative oratorio Sunday afternoon at Richardson Auditorium. Together with a chamber orchestra and three vocal soloists, the 100-member chorus performed Haydn’s uplifting music showing solid preparation and command of the music. Conductor Brandau began the long orchestral introduction with restraint, as the earth slowly came into being. The string sections demonstrated an ability to play very quietly, with wind solos depicting life forms emerging amid the murky chaos. Clearly rooted in the oratorio tradition of George Frideric Handel, The Creation also showed the influence of Mozart in lyrical arias and poignant duets.  more

November 6, 2024

By Nancy Plum

It is not easy to find a connection among composers from Mexico, Austria and Russia, but New Jersey Symphony brought these three cultures together this past weekend with its opening concert of the 2024-25 Princeton series. Led by Music Director Xian Zhang, the Symphony successfully wound a musical thread through the works of contemporary Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz, 18th-century Austrian Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and 19th-century Russian Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.

The key to the three pieces performed Friday night in Richardson Auditorium seemed to be the composers’ use of winds for innovative orchestral color. In Ortiz’s Kauyumari, wind solos reflected the diverse musical influences which surrounded Ortiz in her native Mexico. The one-movement Kauyumari, commissioned in 2021 by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, depicts the ancient “blue deer” rite of Mexico which allows the Huichol people to communicate with ancestors and reaffirm their role as guardians of the planet. Channeling the sounds of Latin America into a classical work, Ortiz created a piece to capture both the blue deer, with its power to “enter the world of the intangible,” and the reopening of live music following the pandemic.  more

October 23, 2024

By Nancy Plum

The works performed by Princeton Symphony Orchestra this past weekend may not have all been from the Baroque and Classical periods, but they were all tied in some way to the 18th and early 19th-centuries. The trio of pieces by Michael Abels, Sergei Prokofiev, and Ludwig van Beethoven demonstrated to the audience at Richardson Auditorium how music from these earlier eras has stood the test of time in a concert also showcasing two of the Orchestra’s own members.

Music Director Rossen Milanov and the Orchestra began Saturday night’s performance (the concert was repeated Sunday afternoon) with a compositional new twist on an old favorite. Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Michael Abels has been commended for his “unique ability to blend diverse elements.” In his 1999 More Seasons, the “elements” blended were themes from Antonio Vivaldi’s popular The Four Seasons, with Abels using motives from the “Spring” and “Summer” movements to create what he has called “Vivaldi in a Mixmaster.”  more

October 16, 2024

By Nancy Plum

Princeton University Concerts combined the 16th century with the very contemporary world last week with a presentation by a jazz singer who draws inspiration from all periods of history and all forms of music. French singer, composer, and visual artist Cécile McLorin Salvant first appeared on the University Concerts series in 2023 with a program commissioned to create a work inspired by the writings of Princeton University Professor Toni Morrison. Salvant brought her diverse talents back to Richardson Auditorium last Wednesday night as part of this year’s series to demonstrate her unique fusion of vaudeville, blues, theater, jazz and the baroque era, with a particularly new take on a traditional vocal form.

English Renaissance composer and lutenist John Dowland initially published Book of Ayres in 1597. Clearly very popular, this collection of “lute songs” for solo voice was reprinted several times in his lifetime. In Wednesday night’s performance, Salvant brought the expected harpsichord, lute and theorbo to sing her version of “Book of Ayres,” but Dowland surely would never have expected his delicate madrigals and love songs to be complemented by a 20th century synthesizer and percussion.  more

October 9, 2024

By Nancy Plum

The Princeton University Orchestra launched its 2024-25 season this past weekend with a unique combination of works from Ukraine, the U.S., and Russia, demonstrating that music knows no political boundaries. Led by conductor Michael Pratt, the more than 100-member Orchestra showed in the annual concerts honoring former faculty member Peter Westergaard what could be accomplished in the few short weeks since the University semester started.

Sunday afternoon’s performance in Richardson Auditorium (the concert was also presented Saturday night) began with the American premiere of a piece with a University connection. Princeton graduate Hobart Earle has achieved great success conducting Ukraine’s Odesa Philharmonic Orchestra, leading the ensemble through the sounds of artillery in the background and against incredible odds. In 2023, Earle and the Philharmonic commissioned noted Ukrainian composer Evgeni Orkin, and the resulting Elegy in the Memory of the Victims in Odessa captures the horrors of war both in mournful darkness and hopeful light.  more

September 18, 2024

By Nancy Plum

Princeton Symphony Orchestra opened its 2024-25 classical series this past weekend with two performances at Richardson Auditorium. Led by Orchestra Music Director Rossen Milanov, the ensemble presented music of two 19th-century compositional giants, as well as a contemporary piece with a Princeton connection.

Saturday night’s performance (the concert was repeated Sunday afternoon) opened with an unusual work by New Zealand composer Gemma Peacocke, currently a Ph.D. fellow in composition at Princeton University. Peacocke has been commissioned by ensembles worldwide, including New Zealand’s Orchestra Wellington and Arohanui Strings. These two organizations commissioned Peacocke in 2023 to create the one-movement Manta, a musical description of the oceanic manta rays which migrate to the seas around Peacocke’s native Aotearoa region. Perceived as solitary creatures, manta rays are in reality quite active, demonstrating acrobatic movements which would translate well to musical composition.  more

July 24, 2024

By Nancy Plum

On the 55th anniversary of man landing on the moon, it was fitting that New Jersey Symphony showed Princeton the future of musical composition. As part of its commitment to contemporary works, the Symphony sponsored its annual, weeklong, tuition-free Institute devoted to “enhancing the careers of four emerging composers” who, through in-depth coaching and rehearsals with the Symphony, were able to hone their craft and “move the ball forward” with orchestral music. This year’s culminating Edward T. Cone Composition Institute concert was held last Saturday night at Richardson Auditorium, featuring new pieces exploring a wide range of ideas. Conducted by Christopher Rountree, the performance brought well-deserved attention to four distinctive individuals with clear futures in the performing arts.

Composer Leigha Amick believes that music has the potential to “reflect on both the current and the timeless human experience, to provide grounds for intellectual fascination, and to quench the need for emotional expression.” Her extensive repertory, for both instrumental and vocal ensembles as well as electronics, has been performed nationwide. Amick’s Cascade, inspired by a composition by American Carl Stone for electronics, bagpipes and organ, was built around an altered passacaglia in which the character changed with each of a series of harmonic cycles.  more

July 17, 2024

By Nancy Plum

Princeton University Summer Chamber Concerts continued its 2024 season this past week with a presentation by three instrumentalists who have put their collective talents together to create an exciting new experience for their audiences. Violinist Friedemann Eichorn, cellist Peter Hörr, and pianist Florian Uhlig each have had successful international solo careers and have joined forces in the past five years to explore chamber repertory as the Phaeton Piano Trio. Named for a mythological character but performing with solid down-to-earth musicianship, the Trio came to Richardson Auditorium last Monday night for an evening of Franz Joseph Haydn, Felix Mendelssohn, and Antonin Dvorák. The ensemble may be relatively new, but its playing style is rooted in centuries-old performance practice and interpretation of the classics. more

July 10, 2024

By Nancy Plum

Audiences usually identify the saxophone with such jazz and blues superstars as Charlie Parker and John Coltrane, but New Century Saxophone Quartet has shattered that image. For more than 30 years, this ensemble has shown that four saxophones can well match the pitch and dynamic range of a string quartet, amassing an impressive repertory for this combination of instruments along the way. The four members of New Century Saxophone Quartet brought their combination of “skillful artistry and down-home fun” to Richardson Auditorium last Tuesday night as part of the 57th season of the Princeton University Summer Chamber Concerts series. Performing music spanning more than 270 years, the Quartet well demonstrated the saxophone’s abilities to emerge from smoky jazz clubs to the forefront of the classical concert stage.  more

June 26, 2024

By Nancy Plum

Princeton Festival switched gears this past Thursday night to chamber music with a return visit from the popular ensemble The Sebastians, which draws its moniker from the middle name of towering Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach. Surmising that Bach might actually have been called “Sebastian” by his friends, the instrumentalists first came together with the goal of playing “mixed chamber music at a high musical level, with friends.” Twelve members of The Sebastians came to Princeton’s Trinity Church last Thursday night as part of Princeton Festival, performing music of their namesake, as well as Bach’s contemporaries. Demonstrating the range and capabilities of 18th-century strings, flute and harpsichord, the conductor-less chamber orchestra showed how Bach’s influence is still felt to this day.

Although German composer Georg Philipp Telemann was more recognized than Bach in his own lifetime, his music was overshadowed by other 18th-century composers until the early 20th century. Since then, his music has been recognized as equally complex and intricate as the more well-known Bach and Antonio Vivaldi. Telemann’s Concerto in A Major for Flute, Violin and Cello was initially published in a collection known as “musique de table,” in the tradition of musicians performing while guests were enjoying a meal. The Sebastians began Telemann’s four-movement work gracefully, with David Ross’ Baroque flute providing a richer and more mellow sound than its 21st-century counterpart.

The combination of a slightly lower Baroque pitch, warm period instruments, and animated music seemed to bring down the temperature on a sultry evening as the ensemble created its own world of precise rhythms and tapered phrase endings. Joining Ross as Concerto soloists were violinist Daniel Lee and cellist Ezra Seltzer. All players watched one another well, with each soloist providing clean melodic passages. The second movement “Allegro” featured Lee and Seltzer in duet under extended trills from Ross. A courtly third movement showed Seltzer plying a wide-ranging cello line, while the light orchestration enabled the audience to hear Kevin Devine’s excellent harpsichord accompaniment.

Violinists Lee and Nicholas DiEugenio were showcased in Telemann’s Gulliver Suite for Two Violins in D Major, inspired by Jonathan Swift’s 1726 satirical novel Gulliver’s Travels. Throughout this narrative piece, Lee and DiEugenio frequently played in pure thirds, effectively bringing to life the Laputians and Lilliputians through fleeting passages played with precision and a bit of humorous acting at the close.

The Sebastians are known for Bach, and even with one Brandenburg Concerto cut from Thursday’s program, there was plenty of the Baroque master to enjoy. Concerto No. 6 in B-flat Major was the only one of Bach’s set of six pieces that did not use violins; the composer scored the three-movement work instead to feature two violas da braccio, which were relatively new at the time and which were expertly played in this performance by Jessica Troy and Kyle Miller. The orchestration often juxtaposed the violas against two more familiar violas da gamba, stylistically played by Matt Zucker and Adrienne Hyde. The Concerto’s key of B-flat and the absence of violins kept the texture mellow, as Troy and Miller maintained a lively dialog with cellist Ezra Seltzer and the two da gambas provided a solid foundation to the sound. Cadences were short and clean, and phrases well tapered. The third movement gigue-like “Allegro” was chipper without being too fast, and was especially noteworthy for Seltzer’s nimble cello lines.

The closing Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Major brought the strings of The Sebastians to the stage, with the resulting performance being energized and refreshing. Quick thematic passages were passed down the row of violins and then to the violas, and the instrumentalists showed uniform dynamic contrasts. The second movement “Adagio” was originally composed as only two notes, with the intention that players would improvise a bridge between the two faster movements. Violinist Lee provided a quick improvisation over the two harmonic chords, before the orchestra was off to the races again to close the concert in spirited 18th-century fashion.

June 19, 2024

By Nancy Plum

It all began with a bet. Three male buddies were arguing over everyone’s favorite topic — fidelity. To prove his point that women are fickle, one dared his companions to entice their fiancées to betray them by pretending to be two other suitors. The companions agreed, and mayhem ensued — all to the delicious music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. This, of course, is the plot of Mozart’s popular opera Così fan tutte, which musically addresses the age-old question, “Are women really all like that?” Premiered less than two years before Mozart’s death and full of challenging music for both singers and instrumentalists, Così has remained a popular staple of opera repertory for more than 200 years. The Princeton Festival brought this classic to life this past weekend as a cornerstone presentation of its two-week series of performances and lectures. Accompanied by the Princeton Symphony Orchestra and led by conductor Rossen Milanov, six singers took on the daunting assignment of interpreting Mozart’s complex score, delving into the realm of the theatrically silly along the way.

Sunday afternoon’s performance at the pavilion of Princeton’s Morven Music & Garden (the opera officially opened last Friday night) brought a full house under a tent on a perfect weather night for opera. The “Overture” that opened the production was short by 18th-century standards, but set the scene for the action to come. Milanov and the Princeton Symphony players found an elegant Viennese flow to the music, aided by wind solos from oboist Kemp Jernigan and flutist Scott Kemsley. Stage Director James Marvel took the opportunity to introduce the characters during the “Overture” — sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella, their respective fiancés Guglielmo and Ferrando, the streetwise maid Despina, and the scheming “philosopher” Don Alfonso. Mozart’s original setting was 1790s Naples, but scenic designer Blair Mielnik and costume designer Marie Miller moved the opening scene far from the 1700s to what looked more like a flamboyant beach community.  more

June 12, 2024

By Nancy Plum

New Jersey Symphony ended its 2023-24 Princeton series with a concert of American works featuring two longtime collaborators. Led by Music Director Xian Zhang, Friday night’s performance in Richardson Auditorium included George Gershwin’s immortal Porgy and Bess, as encapsulated into a symphonic suite by noted arranger Robert Russell Bennett, along with Gershwin’s towering Concerto in F Major for Piano and Orchestra with guest piano soloist Daniil Trifonov. Complementing these two American classics was a world premiere of Daniel Bernard Roumain’s orchestral concerto Autumn Days and Nights, which Roumain, the Symphony’s resident artistic catalyst, had dedicated to Zhang.  more

June 5, 2024

By Nancy Plum

Performing 17th- and 18th-century music from a 21st-century perspective is always a challenge. Instruments have evolved over the past centuries, as have acoustical tuning and performance techniques. While orchestras and choruses are often looking for the next new thing, there are ensembles dedicated to preserving performance practice the way Baroque composers intended. One such ensemble is La Fiocco, which presented a season-ending concert this past Saturday at Christ Congregation Princeton.

Specializing in music of the late Renaissance, Baroque and early Classical eras on period instruments, La Fiocco featured three singers and eight instrumentalists in a program devoted to the music from “Henry Purcell’s London.” Like Mozart, Purcell lived hard and died young as a composer, producing an expansive repertory of music in his 36-year life. He composed under the patronage of England’s last two Stuart kings and musically ushered in the age of William and Mary. For this performance, La Fiocco brought together three experienced and accomplished singers in soprano Laura Heimes, tenor Stephen Ng, and baritone Brian Ming Chu to perform songs and ayres of the esteemed late 17th-century composer, as well as works of Purcell’s contemporaries. Throughout the evening, the three soloists showed themselves to be animated and theatrical, adapting their voices well to the very acoustically-live space of the church.  more

May 22, 2024

By Nancy Plum

For 40 years, Princeton Singers has presented chamber choral concerts of unique repertoire in some of the more unusual spaces in the area. Comprised of 16 professional choristers, the Singers has maintained a strong commitment to high-level presentation of music of all periods, especially advocating for the creation of new choral works. Led by conductor Steven Sametz (celebrating his 25th year as artistic director), the ensemble observed both its commendable history and Sametz’s significant anniversary this past Saturday night with a concert of “The Best of The Princeton Singers” at Trinity Church in Princeton.  more

May 15, 2024

By Nancy Plum

Instrumental concertos have been audience blockbusters for centuries. Such composers as Mozart and Beethoven cast themselves as leading stars in their own compositions, and contemporary performers have made stellar careers of exploring the repertory. Princeton Symphony Orchestra presented one of Ludwig van Beethoven’s challenging piano/orchestral works this past weekend, featuring a soloist who maintains an active repertoire of more piano concertos than almost anyone. Led by conductor Rossen Milanov and with soloist Sara Davis Buechner at the keyboard, the musicians of Princeton Symphony Orchestra brought Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major to life, bracketed by a contemporary work honoring nature and a towering Schumann symphony.  more

May 8, 2024

By Nancy Plum

The centuries-old tradition of boys’ choirs has always had a strong presence in the Princeton area. The American Boychoir School musically trained and educated hundreds of young men in its six-decade history in Princeton. Following closure of the Boychoir School, the Westrick Music Academy chose to expand its highly-successful Princeton Girlchoir program by incorporating a boys’ choir under its umbrella, and in the fall of 2017 launched the Princeton Boychoir. Aimed at singers grades three through 12, this program not only provided a musical extension to former American Boychoir members, but has also appealed to a new clientele of talented young performers. Today, the program includes three choirs addressing all stages of the changed and unchanged voice while imparting principles of “confidence, character, and leadership” to create fine young men.

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May 1, 2024

By Nancy Plum

Members of professional orchestras often have successful performing careers on their own, both individually and as part of chamber ensembles. Princeton Symphony Orchestra principal cellist Alistair MacRae maintains a bi-coastal performing life, with faculty and principal appointments on the West Coast in addition to New Jersey. One of his affiliations is as a member of the Puget Sound Piano Trio, ensemble-in-residence at the University of the Puget Sound School of Music in Tacoma, Washington. Princeton Symphony Orchestra presented MacRae and his colleagues in the Trio, violinist Maria Sampen and pianist Ronaldo Rolim, in a concert at Princeton’s Trinity Church last Wednesday night. With the music of Franz Joseph Haydn, Miguel del Aguila, and Felix Mendelssohn, the Trio showed how its four-decade history has created both musical cohesion and high-level performance.  more

April 24, 2024

By Nancy Plum

The period in England between 17th-century composer Henry Purcell and the early 20th century was bleak for native composers. Ralph Vaughan Williams began putting British composition back on the map in the late 19th century, soon joined by Sir Edward Elgar, who had been knocking at the door of recognition for quite a while before the premiere of his epic choral/orchestral The Dream of Gerontius. Taking the practice of incorporating chorus into symphonic works to a new level, Elgar’s Gerontius traces the journey of the title character from deathbed to judgement before God. The Princeton University Orchestra and Glee Club joined forces this past weekend to present this monumental work at Richardson Auditorium. A combined Walter L. Nollner and Stuart B. Mindlin memorial concert, this performance also acknowledged graduating seniors of both ensembles, sending them off into the world celebrating a musical achievement and contemplating the cycle of life questions Elgar raised.  more

March 13, 2024

By Nancy Plum

Princeton Symphony Orchestra combined innovative performance with contemporary music this past weekend with a pair of collaborative performances with Time for Three, a groundbreaking ensemble crossing boundaries of classical, Americana, and singer-songwriter genres with virtuosic playing. Led by Princeton Symphony Orchestra Music Director Rossen Milanov, the two ensembles alone and together presented an evening of late 19th-century and early 20th-century ballet, as well as a newly-composed work written for Time for Three. The combined performance of these instrumentalists brought the audience to its feet with the dazzling playing of Time for Three double bassist Ranaan Meyer and violinists Nick Kendall and Charles Yang.  more

March 6, 2024

By Nancy Plum

The annual Princeton University Orchestra Concerto Competition has always shown the depth of talent in the University student body. This year was no exception, with the Orchestra performing a showcase concert of the Competition winners this past weekend. Under the direction of PUO Conductor Michael Pratt, the Orchestra played three full and complex concerti featuring tuba, cello, and violin soloists. As a bonus, the ensemble presented a world premiere of a collaborative work with the University’s African Music Ensemble and the West African Dafra Kura Band.

The Concerto Competition winners were young this year, with three underclassmen displaying impressive technical dexterity in the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams, Robert Schumann, and Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Sophomore Wesley Sanders and the University Orchestra opened Friday night’s performance in Richardson Auditorium (the concert was repeated Saturday night) with Vaughan Williams’ Concerto for Bass Tuba. The first major concerto ever written for tuba and orchestra, the 1954 concerto packed within its three movements virtuosic requirements well illustrating the full capabilities of the instrument. more