New Jersey Symphony Orchestra
Encyclopedia
The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO) is a symphony orchestra
located in the state of New Jersey
, United States
. Philip James
founded the orchestra in 1922. The orchestra is headquartered in Newark, New Jersey
. Neeme Järvi
, the NJSO's music director from 2005 to 2009, is currently the orchestra's conductor laureate and artistic advisor. Since January 2007, the NJSO's President and Chief Executive Officer is André Gremillet.
. Currently, the NJSO does not have a single performance venue. Instead, the orchestra gives concerts at venues in seven cities around the state:
A 2007 internal evaluation by the orchestra studied the trends of attendance at each of the venues over the six seasons prior to the 2007-2008 season:
in Millburn. The 2009-2010 NJSO season schedule does not currently list the Paper Mill Playhouse among its performance venues.
, for its string players, purchased from the collection of Herbert R. Axelrod
in 2003. Lawrence Tamburri, then the orchestra's president and chief executive officer, speculated that this purchase would help make the orchestra more of a tourist attraction. Neeme Järvi has stated that this was one major reason that he chose to accept the NJSO music directorship. The orchestra named this collection the "Golden Age" string collection, and had hoped that this acquisition would enhance the prestige of the orchestra, and attract increased audiences and donations.
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. However, it turned out that the $17 million value was closer to the current market value. Furthermore, newsreporter investigations raised doubts as to the complete claimed authenticity of several of the instruments in the collection. The later criminal charge and guilty plea of Axelrod for an unrelated charge of federal tax fraud caused embarrassment to the NJSO on this transaction. In spite of the unfavourable publicity as a result of this controversy, the NJSO had planned to retain the violins and not sell them, as of July 2006.
In April 2004, Simon Woods became the NJSO's president, after Tamburri had left the NJSO for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
. Woods himself left the NJSO in July 2005 for the Royal Scottish National Orchestra
. The investigation into the Golden Age collection had occurred during Woods' tenure. The appointment of Gremillet as the orchestra's next chief executive after Woods was in October 2006.
In March 2007, Gremillet and the NJSO stated that, faced with severe budgetary fiscal and deficit issues, they would try to sell the Golden Age instrument collection. The original agreement with Axelrod was that the orchestra would retain the instruments for at least 10 years, but Axelrod gave his assent to allow the orchestra to try to sell them. The intentions were to use the funds from the sale of the instruments to retire orchestra debt and to build up the orchestra's endowment fund. The orchestra had stated that their ideal scenario would be that the collection would be bought as a whole and then lent back to the orchestra, but commentators noted the difficulty of realizing such a plan.
In addition, a Vienna actress, Kyra Sator, had alleged that she is the proper owner of one of the instruments in this collection and threatened legal action against the orchestra in February 2007. Gremillet stated that the orchestra would "vigorously defend our title to this instrument" and noted that it was "extremely puzzling to receive such a letter four years after the deal". As well, the Newark newspaper The Star-Ledger
had reported that Järvi might reconsider extending his contract with the NJSO in light of this planned sale of the instruments. When asked about this in 2007, he stated: "It's very possible, but I haven't thought about it yet."
In November 2007, the NJSO announced that they had sold the Golden Age instruments to the American investment bankers (and twin brothers) Seth Taube and Brook Taube, along with a group of other investors, for USD $20 million and a portion of the proceeds from any future sales of the instruments. Part of the agreement allowed the orchestra to retain playing rights to 28 of those instruments for a minimum of 5 years.
The NJSO has had a series of radio broadcasts in the US since the 2006-2007 season. Gremillet announced in October 2007 that the radio broadcasts would continue. In addition, he stated the NJSO's accumulated debt is at USD $15 million as of October 2007. After the announcement of the November 2007 sale of the Golden Age instruments, Gremillet stated that their scheduled sale cost will allow the orchestra to retire its accumulated debt of USD $14.2 million, and restore USD $3.1 million used from the NJSO endowment used for the purchase of the instruments.
In December 2007, the NJSO announced the retirement of Victor Parsonnet as the orchestra's chairman of the board, a post he has held since 1991, effective 1 January 2008. Stephen Sichak and Ruth Lipper are scheduled to replace Parsonnet as co-chairs of the board.
In November 2008, Jacques Lacombe
guest-conducted the NJSO for the first time, in a concert that received critical acclaim. In October 2009, the NJSO announced the appointment of Lacombe as its 13th music director, effective with the 2010-2011 season. Lacombe is to hold the title of music director designate for the 2009-2010 season. His initial contract as music director is for 3 years.
The NJSO has made several records for the Delos label with former music director Zdeněk Mácal, including works of Hector Berlioz
, Antonín Dvořák
, Reinhold Glière
and Modest Mussorgsky
.
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
located in the state of New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Philip James
Philip James
Philip James was an American composer, conductor and music educator.Note: Composer and shakuhachi player Phil James is listed as Phil Nyokai James.-Life:...
founded the orchestra in 1922. The orchestra is headquartered in Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
. Neeme Järvi
Neeme Järvi
Neeme Järvi is an Estonian-born conductor.-Early life:Järvi studied music first in Tallinn, and later in Leningrad at the Leningrad Conservatory under Yevgeny Mravinsky, and Nikolai Rabinovich, among others...
, the NJSO's music director from 2005 to 2009, is currently the orchestra's conductor laureate and artistic advisor. Since January 2007, the NJSO's President and Chief Executive Officer is André Gremillet.
Location and venues
During the 1940s, the orchestra performed at Newark Symphony HallNewark Symphony Hall
Newark Symphony Hall at 1020 Broad Street in Newark, New Jerseywas built in 1925 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. It was known for many years as The Mosque Theater.-Design and construction:...
. Currently, the NJSO does not have a single performance venue. Instead, the orchestra gives concerts at venues in seven cities around the state:
- NewarkNewark, New JerseyNewark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
: New Jersey Performing Arts CenterNew Jersey Performing Arts CenterThe New Jersey Performing Arts Center , in downtown Newark, New Jersey, United States, is the sixth largest performing arts center in the United States...
(NJPAC) - EnglewoodEnglewood, New JerseyEnglewood is a city located in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 27,147.Englewood was incorporated as a city by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of...
: Bergen Performing Arts Center (bergenPAC) - Red BankRed Bank, New Jersey-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 11,844 people, 5,201 households, and 2,501 families residing in the borough. The population density was 6,639.1 people per square mile . There were 5,450 housing units at an average density of 3,055.0 per square mile...
: Count Basie TheatreCount Basie TheatreThe Count Basie Theatre is an historic landmark that operates as a theatre for performing arts in Red Bank, New Jersey. It opened as the Carlton Theater in 1926 and was renamed in 1984 to honor jazz great and Red Bank native William “Count” Basie. It has seating capacity for 1,543 patrons... - MorristownMorristown, New JerseyMorristown is a town in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 18,411. It is the county seat of Morris County. Morristown became characterized as "the military capital of the American Revolution" because of its strategic role in the...
: Community Theatre at Mayo Center for the Performing Arts - New BrunswickNew Brunswick, New JerseyNew Brunswick is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, USA. It is the county seat and the home of Rutgers University. The city is located on the Northeast Corridor rail line, southwest of Manhattan, on the southern bank of the Raritan River. At the 2010 United States Census, the population of...
: State Theatre - PrincetonPrinceton, New JerseyPrinceton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
: Princeton UniversityPrinceton UniversityPrinceton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, Richardson Auditorium - TrentonTrenton, New JerseyTrenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...
: Patriots Theater at the War Memorial
A 2007 internal evaluation by the orchestra studied the trends of attendance at each of the venues over the six seasons prior to the 2007-2008 season:
"Gremillet said the organization looked at every concert performed at the seven venues during the last six seasons and ranked the venues financially and artistically. Financially, the best city was Morristown, where the average concert at the Community Theatre at the Mayo Center for the Arts lost 11 percent over the six-year span. The worst was Trenton, where an average concert at the Patriots Theatre at the War Memorial lost 114 percent. Princeton's Richardson Auditorium, New Brunswick's State Theatre and NJPAC in Newark were in the top grouping; the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank and BergenPAC in Englewood at the bottom. NJPAC was at the top of the artistic ranking, while Trenton again was at the bottom.In February 2008, the NJSO announced the addition of a further performance venue effective with the 2008-2009 season, the Paper Mill Playhouse
Gremillet said the programming changes resulted from a six-month effort that began last January. A committee of staff, board members and musicians examined all areas of the company to create a three-year road map to financial viability.
Paper Mill Playhouse
Paper Mill Playhouse is a regional theatre with approximately 1200 seats, located in Millburn, New Jersey, less than 25 miles from Manhattan. Due to its location, it can draw from the pool of actors who live in New York City. Its location, as well as its focus on producing large-scale shows, makes...
in Millburn. The 2009-2010 NJSO season schedule does not currently list the Paper Mill Playhouse among its performance venues.
"Golden Age" string collection
In recent times, the NJSO is known for its purchase of 30 string instruments, including several made by StradivariAntonio Stradivari
Antonio Stradivari was an Italian luthier and a crafter of string instruments such as violins, cellos, guitars, violas, and harps. Stradivari is generally considered the most significant artisan in this field. The Latinized form of his surname, Stradivarius, as well as the colloquial, "Strad", is...
, for its string players, purchased from the collection of Herbert R. Axelrod
Herbert R. Axelrod
Herbert Richard Axelrod is a tropical fish expert, publisher of pet books, and entrepreneur. In 2005 he was sentenced in U.S. court to 18 months in prison for tax fraud.-Early life:...
in 2003. Lawrence Tamburri, then the orchestra's president and chief executive officer, speculated that this purchase would help make the orchestra more of a tourist attraction. Neeme Järvi has stated that this was one major reason that he chose to accept the NJSO music directorship. The orchestra named this collection the "Golden Age" string collection, and had hoped that this acquisition would enhance the prestige of the orchestra, and attract increased audiences and donations.
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. However, it turned out that the $17 million value was closer to the current market value. Furthermore, newsreporter investigations raised doubts as to the complete claimed authenticity of several of the instruments in the collection. The later criminal charge and guilty plea of Axelrod for an unrelated charge of federal tax fraud caused embarrassment to the NJSO on this transaction. In spite of the unfavourable publicity as a result of this controversy, the NJSO had planned to retain the violins and not sell them, as of July 2006.
In April 2004, Simon Woods became the NJSO's president, after Tamburri had left the NJSO for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The orchestra's home is Heinz Hall, located in Pittsburgh's Cultural District.-History:...
. Woods himself left the NJSO in July 2005 for the Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
The Royal Scottish National Orchestra is Scotland's national symphony orchestra. Based in Glasgow, the 89-member professional orchestra also regularly performs in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee, and abroad. Formed in 1891 as the Scottish Orchestra, the company has performed full-time since 1950,...
. The investigation into the Golden Age collection had occurred during Woods' tenure. The appointment of Gremillet as the orchestra's next chief executive after Woods was in October 2006.
In March 2007, Gremillet and the NJSO stated that, faced with severe budgetary fiscal and deficit issues, they would try to sell the Golden Age instrument collection. The original agreement with Axelrod was that the orchestra would retain the instruments for at least 10 years, but Axelrod gave his assent to allow the orchestra to try to sell them. The intentions were to use the funds from the sale of the instruments to retire orchestra debt and to build up the orchestra's endowment fund. The orchestra had stated that their ideal scenario would be that the collection would be bought as a whole and then lent back to the orchestra, but commentators noted the difficulty of realizing such a plan.
In addition, a Vienna actress, Kyra Sator, had alleged that she is the proper owner of one of the instruments in this collection and threatened legal action against the orchestra in February 2007. Gremillet stated that the orchestra would "vigorously defend our title to this instrument" and noted that it was "extremely puzzling to receive such a letter four years after the deal". As well, the Newark newspaper The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to The Jersey Journal of Jersey City, The Times of Trenton and the Staten Island Advance, all of which are owned by Advance Publications.The Newark Star-Ledgers daily...
had reported that Järvi might reconsider extending his contract with the NJSO in light of this planned sale of the instruments. When asked about this in 2007, he stated: "It's very possible, but I haven't thought about it yet."
In November 2007, the NJSO announced that they had sold the Golden Age instruments to the American investment bankers (and twin brothers) Seth Taube and Brook Taube, along with a group of other investors, for USD $20 million and a portion of the proceeds from any future sales of the instruments. Part of the agreement allowed the orchestra to retain playing rights to 28 of those instruments for a minimum of 5 years.
Additional History
Other press comments have noted that in spite of the financial troubles and controversy over this instrument collection, the orchestra has improved artistically during Järvi's tenure. In October 2007, the NJSO announced that Järvi had extended his contract as music director through the 2008-2009 season, with a commitment to 6 weeks of subscription concerts. In February 2008, the orchestra confirmed the conclusion of Järvi's tenure as the NJSO's music director at the end of the 2008-2009 season. In March 2009, the NJSO indicated that Järvi had agreed to serve as the orchestra's artistic adviser after the conclusion of his contract as music director. The orchestra also reduced its staff and the number of subscription concerts, from 70 to 61, scheduled for the 2009-2010 season.The NJSO has had a series of radio broadcasts in the US since the 2006-2007 season. Gremillet announced in October 2007 that the radio broadcasts would continue. In addition, he stated the NJSO's accumulated debt is at USD $15 million as of October 2007. After the announcement of the November 2007 sale of the Golden Age instruments, Gremillet stated that their scheduled sale cost will allow the orchestra to retire its accumulated debt of USD $14.2 million, and restore USD $3.1 million used from the NJSO endowment used for the purchase of the instruments.
In December 2007, the NJSO announced the retirement of Victor Parsonnet as the orchestra's chairman of the board, a post he has held since 1991, effective 1 January 2008. Stephen Sichak and Ruth Lipper are scheduled to replace Parsonnet as co-chairs of the board.
In November 2008, Jacques Lacombe
Jacques Lacombe
Jacques Lacombe is a Canadian conductor.Lacombe began his musical learning with choral singing. He later trained as an organist, and continued his studies at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal and at the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna...
guest-conducted the NJSO for the first time, in a concert that received critical acclaim. In October 2009, the NJSO announced the appointment of Lacombe as its 13th music director, effective with the 2010-2011 season. Lacombe is to hold the title of music director designate for the 2009-2010 season. His initial contract as music director is for 3 years.
The NJSO has made several records for the Delos label with former music director Zdeněk Mácal, including works of Hector Berlioz
Hector Berlioz
Hector Berlioz was a French Romantic composer, best known for his compositions Symphonie fantastique and Grande messe des morts . Berlioz made significant contributions to the modern orchestra with his Treatise on Instrumentation. He specified huge orchestral forces for some of his works; as a...
, Antonín Dvořák
Antonín Dvorák
Antonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style is sometimes called "romantic-classicist synthesis". His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music, concerti, operas and many...
, Reinhold Glière
Reinhold Glière
Reinhold Moritzevich Glière was a Russian and Soviet composer of German–Polish descent.- Biography :Glière was born in Kiev, Ukraine...
and Modest Mussorgsky
Modest Mussorgsky
Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky was a Russian composer, one of the group known as 'The Five'. He was an innovator of Russian music in the romantic period...
.
Music directors
- Philip JamesPhilip JamesPhilip James was an American composer, conductor and music educator.Note: Composer and shakuhachi player Phil James is listed as Phil Nyokai James.-Life:...
: 1922-1929 - Rene Pollain: 1929-1939
- Frieder Weissman: 1940-1947
- Samuel Antek: 1947-1958
- Matyas Abas: 1958-1960
- Kenneth SchermerhornKenneth SchermerhornKenneth Dewitt Schermerhorn was an American composer and orchestra conductor, most notably for the Nashville Symphony.-Biography:Schermerhorn was born in Schenectady, New York, where he studied clarinet, violin, and trumpet in school. At age 14, he forged a baptismal certificate to appear older so...
: 1962-1968 - Henry Lewis: 1968-1976
- Thomas Michalak: 1977-1983
- Hugh WolffHugh WolffHugh Wolff is an American conductor.He was born in Paris while his father was serving in the U. S. Foreign Service, then spent his primary-school years in London. He received his higher education at Harvard and at Peabody Conservatory...
: 1985-1991 - Zdeněk MácalZdenek MácalZdeněk Mácal is a Czech conductor.Mácal began violin lessons with his father at age four. He later attended the Brno Conservatory and the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts, where he graduated in 1960 with top honors. He became principal conductor of the Prague Symphony Orchestra and...
: 1993-2002 - Neeme JärviNeeme JärviNeeme Järvi is an Estonian-born conductor.-Early life:Järvi studied music first in Tallinn, and later in Leningrad at the Leningrad Conservatory under Yevgeny Mravinsky, and Nikolai Rabinovich, among others...
: 2005-2009 - Jacques LacombeJacques LacombeJacques Lacombe is a Canadian conductor.Lacombe began his musical learning with choral singing. He later trained as an organist, and continued his studies at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal and at the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna...
: 2010-