New Jersey Symphony Presents Beethoven's PASTORAL, Now thru 1/20

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Jacques Lacombe present Beethoven's "Pastoral" Sixth Symphony on a program that celebrates three generations of Viennese composers. NJSO Principal Trumpet Garth Greenup performs Haydn's Trumpet Concerto, and the Orchestra performs Brahms' Variations on a Theme by Haydn.

"This program was created with the idea of the baton passing from Haydn to Beethoven to Brahms," Lacombe says. "Haydn was the father of the symphony and influenced Beethoven's life; Brahms was [in many ways] the direct successor of Beethoven. To include Brahms' piece inspired by Haydn brings the program full circle."

Of presenting one of the Orchestra's principal musicians as a soloist, Lacombe says: "There is an amazing amount of talent in this Orchestra. To give a musician like Garth the room to express himself as a soloist is a great opportunity for our audiences to hear the artistry of our musicians. The NJSO musicians give incredible support to their colleagues [who perform solo], and I think that pride and support add to the excitement of a performance."

Performances take place tonight, January 18, (7:30 p.m.) at the War Memorial in Trenton, Saturday, January 19, (8 p.m.) at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank and Sunday, January 20, (3 p.m.) at bergenPAC in Englewood.

TICKETS Tickets start at $20 and are available for purchase online at www.njsymphony.org or by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476).

THE PROGRAM

Beethoven's 'Pastoral' Friday, January 18 at 7:30 pm
War Memorial in Trenton Saturday, January 19 at 8 pm
Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank Sunday, January 20 at 3 pm
bergenPAC in Englewood

Jacques Lacombe, conductor
Garth Greenup, trumpet

BRAHMS Variations on a Theme by Haydn
HAYDN Trumpet Concerto
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 6, "Pastoral"

Jacques Lacombe, conductor
NJSO Music Director Jacques Lacombe is renowned as a remarkable conductor whose artistic integrity and rapport with orchestras have propelled him to international stature.

Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal from 2002 to 2006, he led the orchestra in more than 100 performances. He served for three years as Music Director of both orchestra and opera with the Philharmonie de Lorraine in France; he has been Music Director of the Orchestre Symphonique de Trois-Rivières since 2006.

Following the stunning Mahler 9 concerts that closed the NJSO season in June 2012, Lacombe returned to the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden to lead performances of Puccini's La bohème starring Roberto Alagna and Angela Georghiu.

In the 2012-13 season, Lacombe conducts the Opéra de Nice in an all-orchestra program and leads subscription weeks with the symphony orchestras of Québec, Toledo and Montreal, the last in a program of Bernstein and Debussy with pianist Kirill Gerstein; he also makes his Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra debut. He returns to the Deutsche Oper Berlin to lead Carmen and to the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris for a performance of Les Pêcheurs de Perles with Alagna.