PRINCETON, NJ Restaurant Dining Guide Announcement

The Princeton Festival Announces Schedule for 10th Anniversary Season

THREE-WEEK PRINCETON FESTIVAL FEATURES “PORGY AND BESS”

 Other Performances Include Jazz, Chamber and Choral Music, Cuban Fusion Band, Youth Orchestra, Puppet Theater

PRINCETON, NJ (April 7, 2014) –The Princeton Festival (www.princetonfestival.org) has announced the schedule for its 10^th anniversary season, “The New World: Voices of the Americas,” anchored by three performances of the great American classic, Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess.

The Festival, which runs from June 7 to June 29 at venues throughout the Princeton area, offers a rich array of musical events, informative lectures, workshops, and a piano competition for young artists.

Full descriptions of all events are available on the Festival website, with instructions for ordering tickets by phone, email, or online.

Performance overview

This year’s program offers twelve performances by outstanding artists and ensembles.

·      A cappella jazz: featuring ensembles Round Midnight, Blue Jupiter, and West Side 5, Saturday, June 7, Clark Music Center, The Lawrenceville School

·      Greater Princeton Youth Orchestra: Saturday, June 7, Richardson Auditorium, Princeton University

·      Instrumental jazz: Martin Wind Quartet, Sunday, June 8, Clark Music Center

·      Chamber music: Concordia Chamber Players,  Saturday, June 14, Miller Chapel, Princeton Theological Seminary

·      Paper Moon Puppet Theatre: “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”, Sunday, June 15, Matthews Acting Studio, Princeton University

·      Piano competition for Young Artists, Finals: June 15, Clark Music Center

·      World music with Cuban roots: Jose Conde y Ola Fresca, Friday, June 20, Clark Music Center

·      Piano recital: Evan Wong, Saturday, June 21, Taplin Auditorium, Princeton University

·      Opera: Porgy and Bess: Sunday, June 22,  Friday, June 27, Sunday, June 29, McCarter Theatre, Princeton

·      Choral concert: Master Class and Youth Chorus, Saturday, June 28, Trinity Church, Princeton

Program Details

Porgy and Bess, a glorious meld of jazz, Tin Pan Alley, and European classical tradition, has been called both musical and opera. Full of humanity’s laughter, struggles and tragedies, it contains some of America’s best-loved songs, including the standards “Summertime” and “It Ain’t Necessarily So.”

Artists renowned for their portrayals of the characters will sing the leading roles in this production on June 22 and 29 at 3 pm and June 27 at 8 pm. Free lectures and musical previews of Porgy and Bess will take place at the Grounds for Sculpture and local libraries throughout June.

Jazz opens the Festival with three prominent a cappella vocal groups on June 7 and the virtuoso Martin Wind Quartet the next afternoon.

Concordia Chamber Players, an annual highlight of the Festival, offers a program of Ingolf Dahl, Ives, Gershwin and Debussy on June 14.  The next day beckons the entire family with a modern day Goldilocks and the Three Bears presented by Paper Moon Puppet Theatre. 

The finals of the seventh annual Young Artists Piano Competition are also June 15, at a different time from the puppet theater.

The weekend beginning June 20 opens with Jose Conde y Ola Fresca. This unique band plays a fresh blend of Cuban music, salsa and funk. The rising piano virtuoso Evan Wong plays a program of music from the Americas and Europe on June 21, with selections by Leon Kirchner, Frederic Rzewski, Beethoven, Schumann, Villa-Lobos, and Ravel.

A choral concert on June 28 is the culmination of the five-day Choral Conducting Master Class, with participants leading the Festival chorus. It will also include participants in the first ever Youth Chorus Workshop for students grades 6-12.

For more information and tickets, visit www.princetonfestival.org or call McCarter Theatre at 609-258-2787.