The Livingston Symphony Orchestra 2014-2015 Season has been highlighted thus far by the appearance of a Metropolitan Opera Singer born in Livingston and the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the birth of the composer Sibelius. In a grand finale concert, the orchestra once again features a metropolitan opera artist and commemorates another 150th landmark, that of the opening of St. Barnabas Hospital.
Come join Livingston’s acclaimed regional orchestra as they honor Livingston’s St. Barnabas Medical Center in a concert of “Famous Love Melodies and Stories,” on Saturday June 13, at 7:30 pm, in the Livingston High School Auditorium.
Founded in 1865 by two charitable women caring for the sick, St. Barnabas was willed funds by patient Elizabeth Ann Titus to continue their mission. It became the first NJ hospital authorized by the Legislature, and moved from Newark to its current Livingston location in 1964.
Today, St. Barnabas Medical Center has over 3000 employees and 1000 doctors on staff, and is noted nation- wide for its Burn Center, NICU, and pre-eminence in kidney transplantation. The Livingston Symphony Orchestra is proud to acknowledge this health care leader in their June 13 season ending concert.
Directing the orchestra in this concert of “Favorite Love Melodies and Stories” is Diane Wittry, the esteemed full time conductor of the Allentown Symphony Orchestra. A West Orange resident, she maintains a dual career as music director and guest conductor throughout the world, specializing in conducting American music abroad. She is also the artistic director for the International Cultural Exchange Program for Classical Musicians through the Sarajevo Philharmonic. In addition to serving as the Ridgewood Symphony Orchestra’s interim conductor this season, Wittry is also the author of Beyond the Baton - What Every Conductor Needs to Know and the recently released Baton Basics - Communicating Music Through Gesture. She is also known as a violinist and respected composer whose pieces are performed by orchestras across the country.
To honor St. Barnabas, Wittry has programmed a magical evening of musical celebration which begins with the exuberant curtain raiser, Shostakovich’s “Festive Overture.” From there, you will enter the realm of Shakespearean tragedy, as the feuding tension of the Montagues and Capulets and an achingly beautiful love theme contrast in Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture.” Metropolitan Opera Mezzo Soprano Sarah Nordin’s luscious vocals are next featured in selections from Bizet’s beloved “Carmen,” the story of a fatal love between and a gypsy and ...
