New Jersey Symphony Orchestra

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.

Location and venues

During the 1940s, the orchestra performed at Newark Symphony Hall. Currently, the NJSO does not have a single performance venue. Instead, the orchestra gives concerts at venues in seven cities around the state:

• Newark: New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC)
• Englewood: Bergen Performing Arts Center (bergenPAC)
• Red Bank: Count Basie Theatre
• Morristown: Community Theatre at Mayo Center for the Performing Arts
• New Brunswick: State Theatre
• Princeton: Princeton University, Richardson Auditorium
• Trenton: 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. 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.^[1]

In February 2008, the NJSO announced the addition of a further performance venue effective with the 2008-2009 season, the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn.^[2] 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 Stradivari, 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.^[3]

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^[4]. 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.^[5] 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.^{[6] [7] [8] [9] [10]} 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^[11].

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.^[12] 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.^[13] 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.^[14] The intentions were to use the funds from the sale of the instruments to retire orchestra debt^[15] and to build up the orchestra's endowment fund.^[16] 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.^[17]

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".^[18] 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."^[14]

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.^{[19] [20]}

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.^[21] 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.^[22] 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.^[2] 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.^{[23] [24]}

The NJSO has had a series of radio broadcasts in the US since the 2006-2007 season.^[25] Gremillet announced in October 2007 that the radio broadcasts would continue.^[26] In addition, he stated the NJSO's accumulated debt is at USD $15 million as of October 2007.^[27] 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.^{[19] [20]}

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.^{[28] [29]}

In November 2008, Jacques Lacombe guest-conducted the NJSO for the first time, in a concert that received critical acclaim.^[30] 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.^{[31] [32]}

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.^[33]

Music directors

• Philip James: 1922-1929
• Rene Pollain: 1929-1939
• Frieder Weissman: 1940-1947
• Samuel Antek: 1947-1958
• Matyas Abas: 1958-1960
• Kenneth Schermerhorn: 1962-1968
• Henry Lewis: 1968-1976
• Thomas Michalak: 1977-1983
• Hugh Wolff: 1985-1991
• Zdeněk Mácal: 1993-2002
• Neeme Järvi: 2005-2009
• Jacques Lacombe: 2010-

References

1. ^ Peggy McGlone, "New Jersey Symphony puts itself on a fiscal diet," The Star-Ledger, December 17, 2007. Retrieved January 6, 2008.
2. ^ ^{a b} Bradley Bambarger (13 February 2008). "New Jersey Symphony announces 2008-2009 season". Star-Ledger. http://www.nj.com/entertainment/music/index.ssf/2008/02/new_jersey_symphony_announces.html. Retrieved 2008-02-16. 
3. ^ Mark Mueller, "NJSO's cautionary tale: Economic reality stirs string sell-off". The Star-Ledger, March 11, 2007.
4. ^ Peggy McGlone and Mark Mueller, "FBI probes symphony purchase of violins," The Star-Ledger, May 13, 2004. Retrieved January 6, 2008.
5. ^ Mark Mueller, "False Notes," The Star-Ledger, August 2, 2004. Retrieved January 6, 2008.
6. ^ Alix Kirsta, "Orchestral manoeuvres in the dark," The Guardian, June 11, 2005.
7. ^ Emily Quinn, "Axelrod Pleads Guilty in Tax Case, Avoids Charges Over Instrument Sale," Playbill, December 9, 2004.]
8. ^ Ronald Smothers (22 March 2005). "Violin Collector Known for Sale to Orchestra Is Sentenced to 18 Months in Tax Fraud". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/22/nyregion/22violins.html. Retrieved 2006-12-08. 
9. ^ Jonathan Miller (9 April 2006). "Struggling to Shake Off Its Past". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/09/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/09njCOVER.html?pagewanted=all. Retrieved 2006-12-08. 
10. ^ Daniel J. Wakin (19 July 2006). "Rare Instruments Purchase Causes Symphony's Deficit". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/19/arts/music/19symp.html. Retrieved 2006-12-08. 
11. ^ Vivien Schweitzer, "New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Will Not Sell "Golden Age" String Instruments," Playbill, July 20, 2006.
12. ^ James R. Oestreich (9 April 2005). "New Jersey Symphony Chief to Head Glasgow Orchestra". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/09/arts/music/09orch.html. Retrieved 2007-11-28. 
13. ^ "New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Takes Action Toward Long-Term Financial Stability", NJSO Press Release, March 8, 2007.
14. ^ ^{a b} Peggy McGlone, "NJSO giving up prized strings". The Star-Ledger, 9 March 2007.
15. ^ Daniel J. Wakin (10 March 2007). "Orchestra to Sell Off Instruments It Prized". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/10/arts/music/10orch.html. Retrieved 2007-03-10. 
16. ^ Matthew Westphal (9 March 2007). "New Jersey Symphony to Sell Collection of Rare String Instruments". Playbill Arts. http://www.playbillarts.com/news/article/6142.html. Retrieved 2007-08-29. 
17. ^ Peggy McGlone, "NJSO's plan to sell rare collection has a string attached". The Star-Ledger, 1 April 2007.
18. ^ Mark Mueller, "With new allegation, violins' tale grows more tangled". The Star-Ledger, 1 April 2007.
19. ^ ^{a b} Peggy McGlone, "NJ Symphony sells its ill-fated strings to twin investment bankers," The Star-Ledger, November 23, 2007.
20. ^ ^{a b} Daniel J. Wakin (24 November 2007). "Symphony Will Sell a Collection in Dispute". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/24/arts/music/24orch.html. Retrieved 2007-11-24. 
21. ^ Bradley Bambarger, "Baroque riches at NJSO". The Star-Ledger, 13 March 2007.
22. ^ Bradley Bambarger, "NJSO plays it safe on opening night," The Star-Ledger, October 15, 2007. Retrieved January 6, 2008.
23. ^ Bradley Bambarger (4 March 2009). "New directions for the NJSO". Star-Ledger. http://www.nj.com/entertainment/music/index.ssf/2009/03/new_directions_for_the_njso.html. Retrieved 2009-11-21. 
24. ^ Dan Wakin (20 March 2009). "State’s Top Orchestra Faces Changes". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/nyregion/new-jersey/22wakinnj.html. Retrieved 2009-03-22. 
25. ^ Vivien Schweitzer (4 October 2006). "Neeme Järvi and New Jersey Symphony Sign Agreement for Nationwide Radio Broadcasts". Playbill Arts. http://www.playbillarts.com/news/article/5347.html. Retrieved 2007-10-16. 
26. ^ Matthew Westphal (15 October 2007). "Neeme Järvi Extends Contract as New Jersey SO Music Director by One Season". Playbill Arts. http://www.playbillarts.com/news/article/7203.html. Retrieved 2007-10-16. 
27. ^ Bradley Bambarger (9 October 2007). "Symphony chief singing an optimistic song" (PDF). The Star-Ledger. http://www.njsymphony.org/documents/Symphonychiefsinginganoptimisticsong.pdf. Retrieved 2007-10-16. ^{[dead link]}
28. ^ "Dr. Victor Parsonnet, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra's Chairman of the Board, Announces Retirement; Ruth Lipper and Stephen Sichak, Jr. Named as Successors" (PDF) (Press release). New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. 19 December 2007. http://www.njsymphony.org/News/documents/NJSOBoardLeadershipChanges.pdf. Retrieved 2007-12-25. 
29. ^ Peggy McGlone, "Symphony Orchestra's guiding spirit steps to sidelines," The Star-Ledger, December 20, 2007. Retrieved January 6, 2008.
30. ^ Chanta Jackson (10 November 2008). "NJSO creates international harmony". The Star-Ledger. http://www.nj.com/newark/index.ssf/2008/11/njso_creates_international_har.html. Retrieved 2009-10-21. 
31. ^ "The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Appoints Jacques Lacombe as Music Director" (Press release). New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. 20 October 2009. http://www.njsymphony.org/lacombe/Announcement.htm. Retrieved 2009-10-21. 
32. ^ Peggy McGlone (20 October 2009). "New Jersey Symphony Orchestra names Jacques Lacombe as conductor". The Star-Ledger. http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/10/new_jersey_symphony_orchestra.html. Retrieved 2009-10-21. 
33. ^ Leslie Kandell (21 January 2001). "New Jersey Symphony Begins to Consider Life Without Macal". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E0DD163CF932A15752C0A9679C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all. Retrieved 2007-11-28. 

External links

• Official site