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Listen Up! with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra: Area Middle School Students Listen to Shostakovich and Make Extraordinary Original Art

Princeton, NJ—The public is invited to a traveling exhibit of music-inspired original art by middle school students from Princeton, Montgomery, and Pennington. Students participating in Listen Up!, a unique music education program organized and sponsored by the Princeton Symphony Orchestra, attended February’s PSO concert and then expressed their reactions to Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 through the creation of original art and written reflections. The artwork, made in their schools’ art studios, will be displayed at several local venues throughout the months of March and April.

The Listen Up! artwork will first be displayed in the Richardson Auditorium lobby at the PSO’s upcoming Classical Series concert, Shakespearean Drama, on March 18. The exhibit then will move to the Paul Robeson Center for the Arts at the Arts Council from Princeton, where it will be displayed from Monday, March 19 to Friday, April 20. A reception in honor of the young artists will take place at the Arts Council on March 26 from 4:30 to 6 pm. The reception and exhibit are free and open to the public. The artwork will make its final stop at The Bedens Brook Club, where it will be on view throughout the evening of Saturday, April 21 during the PSO’s annual gala which provides funds to support the orchestra's general operations and PSO BRAVO! education programs.

This year's 17 Listen Up! students attend Princeton Charter School, John Witherspoon Middle School, Montgomery Upper and Lower Middle Schools, Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart, and the Cambridge School.

Listen Up! students gather on the Richardson Auditorium stage with PSO Music Director Rossen Milanov following the PSO’s February 5 concert.

Row 1: Kristen Martucci (Grade 8), Vivian Mayr (Grade 7), Vidhi Patel (Grade 6) (Stuart Country Day School); Heeyoung Joe (Grade 6, Montgomery Lower Middle School); Kate Voynow, Omar Tsoutiev, Alexander Petitt (Cambridge School)

Row 2: William Allan (Grade 5), Sophia Cai (Grade 7) (Princeton Charter School); Leah Conner (Grade 8, Montgomery Upper Middle School); Lucas Liu, Marissa McCosh (Grade 6, Montgomery Lower Middle School); Kyoo-Min Jang, Genna Garlock, Katie Schofield (Grade 8, John Witherspoon Middle School).

Row 3: Monika Geslak (Grade 7), Kaede Barringer (Grade 8) (Montgomery Upper Middle School); PSO Music Director Rossen Milanov.

ABOUT PSO BRAVO! EDUCATION PROGRAMS

The Princeton Symphony Orchestra’s acclaimed PSO BRAVO! education programs reach more than 10,000 students each year. Meet the Orchestra! establishes PSO musicians in teaching partnerships at more than 30 public, private, and special-needs elementary schools throughout Central New Jersey, and stages full-orchestra performances for elementary school students each spring. At the middle school level, Listen Up! invites students to attend Classical Series concerts and create visual art in response to the music they hear. Through Master It!, advanced high school and college instrumentalists participate in public masterclasses with world-renowned artists. In October 2011, in partnership with the Princeton University Art Museum, PSO BRAVO! presented the first Festival of Music and Art, an afternoon of cultural activities for families to enjoy together. From kindergarten through college, PSO BRAVO! inspires the next generation of musicians and audiences.

ABOUT THE PRINCETON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Whether performing classical masterworks, introducing music by modern-day masters, or hosting students at their first live symphony performance, the Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) is a cultural centerpiece of the Princeton community and one of New Jersey’s finest music organizations. Led by Music Director Rossen Milanov and guided by an extraordinary Board of Trustees, the PSO offers orchestral, pops, and chamber music programs of the highest quality, as well as lectures and other events to complement these concerts. Through PSO BRAVO!, the orchestra produces wide-reaching and innovative education programs, carried out in partnerships with local schools and arts organizations. The PSO is a multiple-year recipient of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts’ highest honors—a Citation of Excellence and designation as a Major Arts Institution—and in June 2011, the PSO received an ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming. The only professional orchestra to make its home in Princeton, the PSO performs at historic Richardson Auditorium on the campus of Princeton University.

Find the PSO online at www.princetonsymphony.org; on Facebook at www.facebook.com/princetonsymphony; and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/psomusic.