Sunday, April 24, 2005

New Jersey Treasure #1

There are so many good things about living here in the center of NJ, I could go on and on about them. And I've decided to do just that. Periodically I'm going to pick something that has recently made itself a pleasure in my life and tell you why it's a NJ Treasure, in hopes that you'll enjoy it too and have more pleasures in your life.

The first: The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. Earlier today my family and I enjoyed the last of the Family series of concerts for this season at West Windsor-Plainsboro North HS. We've been season subscribers to the Family series for four years now and it never fails to impress. My kids just love it. Andrew and I also have attended several of the NJSO concerts just by ourselves, at the incredible NJPAC in Newark or at the Count Basie in Red Bank. And if like me, you know nothing about classical music, they have a great program called "Classical Converstions" that starts an hour or so before some performances, where the conductor or soloist will discuss the pieces of music and their interest in it. We seek those performances out when booking tickets.

It breaks my heart to see empty seats at any of their performances. The prices are reasonable and the music is amazing. My kids have learned a lot about the orchestra, instruments, and storytelling through music by attending these performances. It's great when they later recognize music they've heard performed, or we seek out books with the stories, or we find CDs to borrow at the library. Oh, let's be honest, I've learned a lot too. They're announcing their 2005/6 season now, so seek out the NJSO and hear one of New Jersey's Treasures.

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