Community Calendar

As the nation’s premier ensemble dedicated to performing, commissioning, and recording modern orchestral repertoire, BMOP continues bridging the conservative and progressive traditions of American classical music from the past century.

Anthony De Ritis’s Jiggedy, Jingle, Jaunty, Jaunty, a world premiere for orchestra and electronics, pays homage to two 20th-century giants, James Joyce and Luciano Berio ,through a dialogue that stretches across time. BMOP welcomes soprano Julia Bullock for Samuel Barber’s iconic Knoxville: Summer of 1915, a setting of James Agee’s 1938 prose text whose childlike recollection of a summer evening remains one of Barber’s most beloved creations. In addition, Ms. Bullock also performs two movements from Matt Aucoin’s The No One’s Rose, settings of poems by Paul Celan that explore memory, language, and loss. The evening concludes with Charles Wuorinen’s Delight of the Muses, a homageto Mozart based on material from Don Giovanni. Outlandish, sentimental, and a rousing good time, this ballet shows this iconic American composer at his irreverent best.

Rick Steves host
New Jersey Symphony

Usually you’ll find Rick Steves touring the great destinations of Europe. Now you can join him on a different journey: A Symphonic Journey. In this unique concert, Rick Steves teams up with the New Jersey Symphony for a performance that combines Europe’s most stirring romantic-era anthems with beautiful high-definition cinematography and Rick’s insights into European history.

Rick Steves host
New Jersey Symphony

Usually you’ll find Rick Steves touring the great destinations of Europe. Now you can join him on a different journey: A Symphonic Journey. In this unique concert, Rick Steves teams up with the New Jersey Symphony for a performance that combines Europe’s most stirring romantic-era anthems with beautiful high-definition cinematography and Rick’s insights into European history.

Join the fun and celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Jackson Branch of the Ocean County Library on Tuesday, November 10.

The festivities will begin at 10 a.m. with words from local representatives and a commemorative cake-cutting ceremony.

From 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. pianist and vocalist Jay Daniels will present “Jersey Boys and Jersey Girls: Music Born in the Garden State.” This concert will pay homage to legendary Garden State musicians such as Frank Sinatra, Whitney Houston, Dionne Warwick, and Bruce Springsteen. Listen to these beloved artists with a jazz-inspired twist. This program is generously sponsored by the Jackson Friends of the Library.

From 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. Asbury Park Cotton Candy Co. will be making their trademark cotton candy for all to enjoy. Have a sweet treat in honor of the branch’s anniversary.

Registration is required to attend the Jay Daniels performance. To register, visit tinyurl.com/DanielsJA, call 732-928-4400, or stop by the branch at 2 Jackson Drive.

Looking for a meaningful musical experience for your middle schooler? Mosaic Youth Chorus (MYC) announces the launch of Fall Troubadours, a non-auditioned 8 week program serving children in grades 4, 5, and 6. Troubadours will provide instruction in vocal technique, musicianship, ensemble skills, and leadership. MYC provides a nurturing environment where every young person can thrive and express their authentic artistic selves. We focus on giving youth voice and addressing topics of importance to young people. Troubadours provides foundational instruction to start young singers on this journey.
Mosaic Youth Chorus website, http://mosaicyouthchorus.org.

Meadowmount School of Music presents Hong Kong violinist Hiu Sing Fan, recipient of the fourth annual Gurrena Fellowship. Fan is joined by pianist Cameron Akioka, his friend and colleague at Northwestern University, with whom he has collaborated regularly for the past two years.

For the tour, Fan has built a program of fantasy and imagination, stepping away from the traditional recital format with repertoire that ranges from Milstein's Paganiniana to Messiaen's Theme and Variations, and Schumann’s Sonata No. 2 in D Minor.

DCINY presents Spirit of Freedom, an unforgettable evening of new music, patriotic pride, and holiday joy with three of the most performed names in American choral music conducting their own work. Joseph Martin brings passion and energy to the podium for the Carnegie Hall premiere of his new work The Four Freedoms, a dynamic tour de force of orchestral power and choral grandeur celebrating our democracy's 250th birthday. Joel Raney conducts the Carnegie Hall premiere of his Sing We Noel, a five-suite Christmas collection that captures the joy and majesty of the season. Craig Courtney brings sacred artistry to the stage conducting a program of his most beloved choral works, including his famed trilogy Divine Encounter, an epic musical arc of Invitation, Offering, and Blessing. Bringing these incredible Composer/Conductors' works to life are critically acclaimed choirs and Individual Singers from across the globe united in the Distinguished Concerts Singers International with the Distinguished Concerts Orchestra.

New York, NY — Following his acclaimed debut last season, renowned Hungarian pianist János Balázs returns to Carnegie Hall for a solo recital honoring the legacy of György Cziffra, one of the 20th century’s legendary masters.

Known for his technical brilliance, improvisational freedom, and expressive range, Cziffra redefined what was possible on the instrument and remains an enduring figure of artistic resilience. Channeling that same spirit, as part of the Cziffra Festival, Balázs brings a blend of depth, nuance, and effortless command to New York, showcasing the distinct identity of the Hungarian piano tradition.

Steering clear of standard programming, Balázs offers a captivating selection of Romantic works. The evening opens with the warmth of Schumann’s Widmung (transcribed by Liszt) and the vivid storytelling of Carnaval. The music then flows through the energy of Liszt’s Spanish Rhapsody, the elegance of Chopin’s Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante, and Liszt’s iconic Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12, before concluding with a dramatic finish in Ravel’s La Valse. Presented by Cziffra Festival with support from the National Cultural Fund.

Leading the vanguard in interabled opera, Opera Praktikos presents the world premiere of its latest project La Sonnambula (The Sleepwalker) as part of National Sawdust’s 2026 makemake Festival. In a one-night only concert performance on Wednesday, November 18, 2026, this unique 90-minute work transforms Bellini-Romani’s classic masterwork into an unparalleled integrated experience where Italian song and American Sign Language become one expressive whole. Featuring arrangement and orchestration by Spicer Carr, ASL translation & integration by Brandon Kazen-Maddox, Director of Artistic Sign Language by Patrice Creamer; Book, and English translation by Marianna Mott Newirth, this production integrates ASL and Deaf culture into the narrative of a classic opera setting the standard for what’s possible when Disability-creativity is brought into the field.

Eric Jacobsen conductor
Christian McBride double bass
Chris Komer horn
New Jersey Symphony

Jazz and classical meet in this genre-defying program full of color, rhythm, and fun. Montclair’s own jazz legend and nine-time GRAMMY Award-winner, Christian McBride debuts with your New Jersey Symphony in a concerto tailor-made for him. Eric Jacobsen, hailed by The New York Times as “an interpretive dynamo,” returns with the perfumed hues of Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun and Rachmaninoff’s final orchestral work, written in New York City and full of longing for his Russian home.

Claude Debussy Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
George Duke Dark Wood: Bass Concerto for Christian McBride
Christian McBride Fried Bacon
Sergei Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances

This concert is part of the TD James Moody Jazz Festival and is presented in collaboration with the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.