In celebration on Women’s History Month, the Office of Cultural Affairs and the South Orange Performing Arts Center have joined together to bring the region a concert of music showcasing the music of women composers throughout the last 200 years. The concert features members from the Garden State Philharmonic Orchestra with Music Director and Conductor Diane Wittry and the South Orange Symphony under the leadership of Conductor Susan Haig. It is rare to have two Symphony Orchestras conducted by women in the same region. The majority of the performers on this concert will also be women.
Two prominent women composers featured during the program are Valerie Coleman, a living African-American composers who was named Performance Today’s 2020 “Classical Woman of the Year,” and Florence Price, who was the 1st African-American composer to have a work performed by a major Symphony Orchestra – in 1933 the Chicago Symphony performed her Symphony No. 1. The concert will include “Umoja” (which means “Unity” in Swahili) by Coleman, and the “Andante” from String Quartet No. 2 by Price.
Music by Gabriela Lena Frank, another living composer who is of Latin-American heritage will also be performed. Ms. Frank is currently the Composer in Residence with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Her piece “Coqueteos” from Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout mixes elements from the western classical and Andean folk music traditions.
Other pieces on the concert include Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel’s String Quartet in Eb Major, and the final movement of Polish composer Grazyna Bacewicz’s award winning String Quartet No. 4. Fanny was the sister of the famous composer Felix Mendelssohn, and Grazyna Bacewicz’s music won numerous awards and recognition during her lifetime.
Garden State Philharmonic, a professional orchestra based at the Jersey Shore, has been bringing music to the residents of New Jersey for over 65 years. Under the artistic leadership of Conductor Diane Wittry, the GSP has expanded their concert season and is now performing in Essex and Monmouth Counties, as well as Ocean County.
The South Orange Symphony, is a community orchestra comprised of local amateur and professional musicians whose mission is to bring family-oriented concerts and community outreach in an effort to provide education and exposure to those who may not be familiar with classical music.