In Friday’s (3/30) Times of Trenton, Ross Amico writes, “The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra is doing what it can to ensure that art remains as vital as the society that breeds it, with an added dash of local pride, as it explores the past, present and future of musical New Jersey. Its New Jersey Roots Project was established to celebrate the broad range of world-class music written by composers who were born in, or were in some way influenced by, the state of New Jersey. Now in its second season, the series brings to the concert hall works that will be new to most audiences. Last year, music director Jacques Lacombe presented a world premiere by Robert Aldridge, as well as music of Tobias Picker, Peter Maxwell Davies and Princeton composer Roger Sessions. … This weekend brings a new work by Montclair resident George Walker. Only a few months shy of his 90th birthday, Walker is something of an elder statesman of American music. His career has spanned more than 80 years, with a Pulitzer Prize bestowed for his work, ‘Lilacs’—four songs for soprano and orchestra, after texts of Walt Whitman—in 1996. He made history by becoming the first African-American composer to be so honored.”
Photo of Jacques Lacombe by Saed Hindash/The Star-Ledger
Posted March 30, 2012
