By Mabel Pais

The New Jersey Symphony will present a special performance for the 2025 Lunar New Year Celebration ringing in the Year of the Snake. Music Director Xian Zhang will conduct the performance on Saturday, January 25, 2025, at 7:30 pm at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.

The orchestral Celebration Concert will then feature a program that blends Eastern and Western musical traditions. Xian Zhang will conduct the New Jersey Symphony, who will be joined by pianist Min Kwon, tenor Michael Fabiano, the Peking University Alumni and Starry Arts Children’s Choruses and the Edison Chinese School Lion Dance Team.

First developed by Zhang in 2019, the Lunar New Year Celebration weaves together the best in classical music from the East and the West. Zhang leads a program that includes Li Huanzhi’s ‘Spring Festival Overture,’ selections from Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23, ‘Arirang,’ ‘Yuan Ri,’ ‘The Red Dragonfly’ arranged by Nicholas Hersh and Puccini’s ‘E Lucevan le stelle’ from ‘Tosca’ and selections from ‘Turandot.’

Min Kwon and Michael Fabiano are set to perform, with special appearances from Starry Arts Children’s Chorus and Peking University (PKU) Alumni Chorus, which consists of former members of PKU’s student choir alongside singers from the Chinese community in New York and New Jersey. The evening will also feature a performance by the Edison Chinese School Lion Dance Team.

Earlier this year, the Symphony held a composition competition and invited New Jersey-based composers of all backgrounds, ages and ability levels to submit their own solo piano arrangement of the Korean folk song ‘Arirang.’ Patricio Molina, the winner of the competition, will have his arrangement performed at the concert by pianist Min Kwon. Leading up to the performance, Molina will also participate in at least one workshop with Kwon.

PROGRAM

All ticket holders are invited to attend a pre-concert Cultural Exchange Festival in the Prudential Hall lobby that will feature artisans and performers from Prince Kung’s Palace Museum in Beijing. Gates will open at 6 pm.

2025 Lunar New Year Celebration with Xian Zhang

Celebration of the Year of the Snake

Xian Zhang conductor

Min Kwon piano

Michael Fabiano tenor

Peking University Alumni Chorus

Starry Arts Children’s Chorus | Rebecca Shen, director

Edison Chinese School Lion Dance Team

New Jersey Symphony

Newark – Saturday, January 25, 7:30 pm, New Jersey Performing Arts Center

Li Huanzhi Spring Festival Overture

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Selections from Piano Concerto No. 23

Traditional arr. Patricio Molina Arirang

Traditional ‘Yuan Ri’

Traditional arr. Nicholas Hersh ‘The Red Dragonfly’

Giacomo Puccini ‘E Lucevan le stelle’ from ‘Tosca’

Giacomo Puccini Selections from ‘Turandot’

For more information and updates on concerts and tickets, visit njsymphony.org/events.

TICKETS

To purchase tickets to the Concert, visit my.njsymphony.org.

Concert Tickets

Saturday, January 25 – Gates Open at 6 pm

Cultural Exchange Festival

Welcome the Year of the Snake with a cultural exchange.

The event commences with a Cultural Exchange Festival in a tradition that invites all audience members to a celebration of community and cultural exchange before the concert. This year’s event will feature artisans and performers from Prince Kung’s Palace Museum in Beijing.

7:30 pm: Celebration Concert in Prudential Hall

VIP tickets

5:30 pm: Cultural Exchange Festival & VIP Reception

VIP ticket holders will receive early access to the festival before it opens to the public.

VIPs will sip cocktails and savor a tasty dinner buffet at the VIP reception, which overlooks the lobby festival and performances.

To purchase VIP Tickets, visit njsymphony.org/events/detail/2025-lunar-new-year-celebration-vip-event

SPONSORSHIP

For sponsorship details, visit njsymphony.org/assets/doc/LNY25-Sponsorship-Brochure-121323-2-d6f122b47b.pdf

Xian Zhang

Zhang has an exceptional ear for balance, as well as the ability to draw the softest, most transparent tones imaginable from the orchestra….With such skills and obvious audience appeal, Zhang should prove a valuable addition to the Met’s conduction staff.” – New York Classical Review.

2024–25 marks the GRAMMY and Emmy Award-winning conductor Xian Zhang’s ninth season as music director of the New Jersey Symphony. Starting in 2025–26, Zhang will also hold the role of music director at Seattle Symphony. Zhang holds the position of conductor emeritus of Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano, having previously held the position of music director between 2009–2016.

The 2024–25 season sees Zhang return to the Metropolitan Opera in New York to conduct David McVicar’s acclaimed production of Puccini’s Tosca.

Zhang is in high demand as a guest conductor, appearing regularly with Philadelphia Orchestra and Los Angeles Philharmonic, returning to both in 2024–25. Her recording with Philadelphia Orchestra and Time for Three, Letters for The Future (released 2022 on Deutsche Grammophon), won multiple GRAMMY Awards in the Best Contemporary Classical Composition (Kevin Puts’ Contact) and Best Classical Instrumental Solo categories.

Zhang previously served as principal guest conductor of the BBC National Orchestra & Chorus of Wales, the first female conductor to hold a titled role with a BBC orchestra and principal guest conductor of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. In 2002, she won first prize in the Maazel-Vilar Conductor’s Competition. She was appointed New York Philharmonic’s assistant conductor in 2002, subsequently becoming their associate conductor and the first holder of the Arturo Toscanini Chair. Learn more at xianzhangconductor.com.

Min Kwon

“To say the audience was thrilled with the performance would be an understatement of high order…..a truly grand performance. – The Daily Performance.”

Korean-born American pianist Min Kwon excels in a versatile career that encompasses concerti, solo recitals and chamber music appearances, while in high demand around the world as pedagogue, arts advocate and administrator. She has held professional engagements in over 60 countries on seven continents and all 50 US states.

Professor of piano at Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University since 2002, Dr. Kwon is also the founder and director of the Center for Musical Excellence (CME), a non-profit dedicated to mentoring and supporting gifted young musicians. As artistic director of ‘Music Made Here,’ a concert series inaugurated in 2018 and ‘CME in Harding Homes,’ Kwon brings world class talent to intimate venues.

As soloist, Kwon has performed extensively in Europe, North and South America and Asia, with such orchestras as Philadelphia, North Carolina, Atlanta, New Jersey and Fort Worth and more. Among the distinguished conductors with whom she has collaborated are James Conlon, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Alan Gilbert, Vaktang Jordania, Gerhardt Zimmerman and Xian Zhang.

As recitalist, Kwon has performed at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, where she returns each year as artistic director of critically acclaimed, themed concerts featuring Rutgers pianists.

An avid chamber musician, she has performed in numerous duo and chamber recitals around the world including recent appearances in New York, Madrid, Rome, Curaçao, Malaysia, Vienna, Prague, Luxembourg and Serbia.

With her sister, violinist Yoon Kwon (first violin at the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra), she has given over 200 recitals on Community Concert Tours (CAMI).

In addition to her collaboration with Yoon Kwon on concert tours, the duo made a recording for RCA Red Seal/BMG in 1996 as the first Koreans to do so in the Company’s 100-year history.

A recent release, ‘CME Presents: Piano Celebration’—for which she was producer, artistic director and performer—celebrates composers and pianists from 17 countries.

Kwon holds Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School and a Bachelor of Music degree from The Curtis Institute of Music, completing post-doctoral studies in Salzburg. From 2015–2018, she served on the Juilliard Council as the first and only alumnus/a to be invited. She counts among her teachers and mentors Eleanor Sokoloff, Martin Canin, Leon Fleisher, Hans Leygraf, Dorothy DeLay, Jerome Lowenthal and Leif Ove Andsnes. Kwon is a Steinway Artist.

Michael Fabiano

Born in Montclair, New Jersey, this tenor of Italian descent attended the University of Michigan and the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. He was the recipient of the 2014 Beverly Sills Artist Award and the 2014 Richard Tucker Award, Fabiano is the first singer to win both awards in the same year. Learn more at michaelfabianotenor.com.

Peking University Alumni Chorus

Peking University (PKU) Alumni Chorus was founded in 2014. It consists of former members of PKU Student Choir and seasoned singers from the Chinese community in the Greater New York area. In the past nine years, the ensemble has performed at every Chinese New Year Concert organized by PKU Alumni Association of Greater New York, as well as made appearances at major stages in the New York area such as Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center and Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center. In 2019, the chorus performed Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with other choruses at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle and Carnegie Hall. In February 2019, the chorus appeared in the New Jersey Symphony’s first Lunar New Year concert. This year marks the seventh consecutive year of collaboration between the chorus and the NJ Symphony.

Conductor and pianist Conrad Chu has served as the chorus’ conductor since 2016 being well-versed in opera, orchestral and choral repertoire, with a strong affinity for contemporary styles.  Learn more at english.pku.edu.cn.

Starry Arts Children’s Chorus

In 2015, violin educator and experienced children’s choir conductor Rebecca Xiaoxing Shen founded the Starry Arts Group Children’s Chorus. The chorus regularly performs at a variety of community events, including at libraries, nursing homes, care centers and multicultural festivals, earning widespread praise. From 2019 to 2023, the chorus was invited to collaborate with the New Jersey Symphony for five consecutive years, performing at the Lunar New Year Celebration Concert at NJPAC, where it received enthusiastic applause at each performance. In September 2023, it was invited to perform as part of a thousand-person choir at the “World Culture Festival” in Washington, DC Most recently, the chorus won first place in the group competition at the Global Elite Talent Competition, which concluded in January 2024.

Edison Chinese School Lion Dance Team

The Edison Chinese School Lion Dance Team was founded in 2014 by Peter Shen with the goal of using lion dance as a cultural ambassador to share Chinese traditions with the community. Combining both dance and martial arts, the team regularly performs at significant events such as Chinese New Year celebrations, National Day, and other important occasions.

The team’s coach, David Shen, is a professional dancer and martial artist. He has choreographed many pieces for the young performers, tailoring each to fit the specific event and the needs of the group.

Over the years, the team has performed at a variety of venues, including libraries, parks, schools, senior centers and other locations, bringing the rich Chinese cultural heritage to diverse audiences.

The New Jersey Symphony

New Jersey Symphony is a GRAMMY and Emmy Award-winning orchestra. Under the direction of the Music Director Xian Zhang, the Symphony performs more than 60 concerts at mainstage venues across the state, including Newark, Princeton, New Brunswick, Red Bank and Morristown as well as schools and public spaces statewide.

Programming at the Symphony reflects an unwavering commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion while providing students across the state unparalleled opportunities to achieve musical excellence through its Youth Orchestra and other outreach programs.

In 2024, the Symphony announced it would continue to deliver its statewide activities from a new, permanent office, rehearsal and concert space in Jersey City, set to open in 2026. For more information about the New Jersey Symphony, visit the website at njsymphony.org or the newsroom for press releases and photos.

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(Mabel Pais writes on The Arts and Entertainment, Business, Social Issues, Spirituality, Cuisine, Health & Wellness, and Education)