Stories and Music: Family Concert by NJ Intergenerational Orchestra with Narration by WQXR’s Elliott Forrest November 24

The New Jersey Intergenerational Orchestra (NJIO) performs Just So Stories and Carnival of the Animals in the Orchestra’s 2013 Family Concert, at
Summit High School on Sunday, November 24, at 3 PM.  Admission is free.  WQXR’s Elliott Forrest serves as narrator for
both of these works.  In addition to
conducting  his original composition Just So Stories, a musical retelling of
the Rudyard Kipling book, Conductor Warren Cohen will lead the orchestra in the
Overture to Erich Korngold’s pantomime-ballet, The Snowman, which the child prodigy wrote at age 11. The program
continues with selections from Jean-Philippe Rameau’s sparkling opera, Achante et Céphise, written in 1751 to
celebrate the birth of the Duke of Burgundy, brother of King Louis XVI .  Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme, features
the outstanding 17-year old cellist, Zachary Mowitz, NJIO’s Young Artist
Concerto Competition Winner.  Under the
direction of Gavin Davies, NJIO’s Intermezzo orchestra will perform Camille
Saint-Saëns’s Carnival of the Animals.

Heard locally on WQXR and WNYC, broadcaster and producer
Elliott Forrest is also followed nationally as the host of concerts by The
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, The Jerusalem Symphony and the
award-winning podcasts of the New York Philharmonic. He is a recipient of the
George Foster Peabody Award and two Excellence in Broadcasting Awards.

The talented Zachary Mowitz, a
senior at Princeton High School, infuses his lovely tone in a colorful
rendition of the Tchaikovsky work. Zachary studies jointly at Juilliard
Pre-College and with a cellist from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln
Center.  He has performed as a soloist numerous
times with orchestras in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, including the Monmouth
and Summit Symphonies, the Newton Chamber Orchestra and the Bravura
Philharmonic, among others.  The Young
Artist Concerto Competition is sponsored by Robert Ames, Fine Violins and Bows,
LLC. in Fort Lee, Main Violin in Fort Lee and K & S Music in Berkeley
Heights.  Zachary, the first prize
winner, will receive either a custom Ames bow or $500 furnished by Robert Ames
Bows and a $200 gift certificate from K & S Music.

NJIO is celebrating its 20th anniversary season
this year. Under Artistic Director Warren Cohen, NJIO welcomes musicians of all
ages and skill levels, as they learn orchestral music side by side with
professionals. As a finalist for the 2013 Eisner Prize, NJIO has been
recognized as a national leader in intergenerational excellence through its
unique approach to teaching musical excellence and as a model for
intergenerational orchestras across the country.  Not only do the intergenerational members
play together, but they also mentor each other. 
Recently, NJIO was invited to play at the John F. Kennedy Center for the
Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. in conjunction with a national conference
on intergenerational policies and programs.

NJIO Family Concerts are designed for children and their
families, providing an opportunity for families to spend quality time together
while enjoying popular classical music.  A
fun and free activity after the concert is the instrument petting zoo, where
kids can discover their “inner musician” by trying out child-sized orchestral
instruments with the assistance of orchestra musicians. This event is sponsored
by K & S Music.   NJIO is committed
to ensuring that all programs and concerts are accessible to everyone. For more
information regarding the concert, or to inquire about patron services, please
contact Mary Beth Sweet at (908) 603-7691 or info@njio.org.

Summit High School is located at 125 Kent Place Boulevard in
Summit.

This program is made
possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the
Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the
Arts.  Funding is also provided by Merck
Foundation, The Lillian Pitkin Schenck Fund, Tokio Marine Management, Inc.,
Henkel of America, Inc., The Provident Bank Foundation, The Standish
Foundation, and Summit Medical Group.