New Jersey Symphony Orchestra
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The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO) is a symphony orchestra located in the state of New Jersey. It was founded in 1922 by Philip James.
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[edit] Location and venues
It does not have a single main performance venue. Instead, the NJSO makes a point of performing at venues in seven cities around the state:
- Newark: New Jersey Performing Arts Center
- Englewood: Bergen Performing Arts Center
- Red Bank: Count Basie Theatre
- Morristown: Community Theatre
- New Brunswick: State Theatre
- Princeton: Princeton University, Richardson Auditorium
- Trenton: Patriots Theater at the War Memorial
[edit] Music directors
Past NJSO music directors have included:
- Philip James: 1922-1929
- Rene Pollain: 1929-1939
- Frieder Weissman: 1940-1947
- Samuel Antek: 1947-1958
- Matyas Abas: 1958-1960
- Kenneth Schermerhorn: 1962-1968
- Henry Lewis: 1968-1976
- Thomas Michalak: 1977-1983
- Hugh Wolff: 1985-1991
- Zdeněk Mácal: 1993-2002
- Neeme Järvi: 2005-present
The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra is also known for its purchase of Stradivari instruments for its string sections, purchased from the collection of Herbert Axelrod in 2003. However, this purchase ran into controversy after doubts surfaced as to the actual value of the collection. Axelrod had claimed their value at USD $49 million, and sold it to the NJSO for USD $17 million[1]. However, it turned out that the $17 million value was closer to the current market value. The later criminal charge and guilty plea of Axelrod for federal tax fraud caused embarassment to the NJSO on this transaction[2] [3] [4] [5] [6].
In October 2006, the NJSO announced that André Gremillet will become the new President and Chief Executive Officer of the orchestra, succeeding Simon Woods.
[edit] References
- ^ Peggy McGlone and Mark Mueller, "FBI probes symphony purchase of violins". Star-Ledger, 13 May 2004.
- ^ Alix Kirsta, "Orchestral manoeuvres in the dark". The Guardian, 11 June 2005.
- ^ Emily Quinn, "Axelrod Pleads Guilty in Tax Case, Avoids Charges Over Instrument Sale". Playbill, 9 December 2004.
- ^ Ronald Smothers, "Violin Collector Known for Sale to Orchestra Is Sentenced to 18 Months in Tax Fraud". New York Times, 22 March 2005. (Accessible only to TimesSelect subscribers.)
- ^ Jonathan Miller, "Struggling to Shake Off Its Past". New York Times, 9 April 2006. (Accessible only to TimesSelect subscribers.)
- ^ Daniel J. Wakin, "Rare Instruments Purchase Causes Symphony's Deficit." New York Times, 19 July 2006. (Accessible only to TimesSelect subscribers.)
