- By Mabel Pais
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Requiem,” the composer’s final composition, will be conducted by music director Xian Zhang. Mysteriously commissioned and incomplete at the time of Mozart’s death, the Requiem, a dramatic meditation on death, is widely regarded as one of the composer’s most accomplished works. Written for a funeral Mass, the music is intensely emotional, ranging from powerful drama to languid sorrow to serene tenderness.
Four outstanding soloists appear onstage with the following 2025–26 highlights: soprano Mei Gui Zhang (San Francisco Opera, “The Monkey King”); mezzo-soprano Taylor Raven (English National Opera, “Così fan tutte” and LA Phil, “Die Walküre”); tenor Eric Ferring (“Messiah” with Charlotte and Knoxville Symphonies); and bass-baritone Dashon Burton (Cleveland Orchestra, “Fidelio”).
The program opens with Gabriel Fauré’s “Pavane,” getting its name from the Italian pavana, a short 16th-century court dance. Originally written for orchestra, the composer added an optional chorus so the work could be both danceable and singable. Gustav Mahler’s Songs of a “Wayfarer” also appears on the program — a cycle of songs written at a time when the composer was scorned by love and considered to be his first masterpiece. Bass-baritone Dashon Burton solos.
EVENT DETAILS
Mozart’s Requiem
Xian Zhang conductor
Mei Gui Zhang soprano
Taylor Raven mezzo-soprano
Eric Ferring tenor
Dashon Burton bass-baritone
Montclair State University Chorale Heather J. Buchanan, Director
New Jersey Symphony
Gabriel Fauré “Pavane”
Gustav Mahler “Songs of a Wayfarer”
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart “Requiem”
Newark – Thursday, Apr 16, 1:30 pm | Relaxed Performance (https://njsymphony.org/visit/accessibility-1/what-is-a-relaxed-performance)
Newark – Saturday, Apr 18, 7:30 pm | *Concert Prelude (see below) at 6:30 pm
New Brunswick – Sunday, Apr 19, 2 pm
*Learn more from the Event page @ https://njsymphony.org/events/detail/mozarts-requiem-2026
ARTISTS
Xian Zhang
2025–26 marks the GRAMMY and Emmy Award-winning conductor Xian Zhang’s 10th season as Music Director of New Jersey Symphony, and her inaugural season as the Music Director of Seattle Symphony with whom she has been a long-term collaborator since her debut in 2008. Zhang has also been appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the NCPA Orchestra in Beijing, beginning this season. Following her tenure as Music Director of Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano between 2009–16, she continues as their Conductor Emeritus.
Read more @ https://njsymphony.org/musicians-orchestra/musical-leadership/xian-zhang
Mei Gui Zhang
Chinese soprano Mei Gui Zhang, whose “voice literally floated past the space she stood in and ‘lived I’ and created remarkable, layered beauty” (OperaWire), is enjoying a burgeoning international career.
Learn more @ https://meiguizhangsoprano.com
Taylor Raven
Taylor Raven is a “vocal sensation” (Washington Classical Review) and quickly establishing herself in opera, concert, and recital. In the 2025–26 season, Taylor will make her house debut with the English National Opera for Così fan tutte (Dorabella) and returns to the LA Phil for a staged production of Die Walküre (Grimgerde).
Learn more @ https://taylorraven.com.
Eric Ferring
Emmy-winning, Billboard-charting American tenor Eric Ferring is known internationally as “a prodigiously gifted lyric tenor” (Opera News) for his “fine, gleaming tenor” (New York Classical Review), as well as for having “a beautifully round and warm timbre, expressive, and with great finesse” (Olyrix). His expertise ranges from early bel canto repertoire and the music of Handel and Mozart to the origination of contemporary operatic roles.
Learn more @ https://ericferring.com.
Dashon Burton
Hailed as an artist “alight with the spirit of the music” (Boston Globe), three-time GRAMMY Award-winning bass-baritone Dashon Burton has built a vibrant career with regular appearances across the US and Europe.
Learn more @ https://dashonburton.com.
Montclair State University Chorale | Heather J. Buchanan, Director
Under the direction of Australian-born conductor Heather J. Buchanan since September 2003, the Montclair State University choral program has been recognized for successful collaborations with world-renowned artists and celebrated professional musicians in national and international venues, including Meredith Monk, Richard Alston Dance Company (UK), VOCES8 (UK), and Eric Whitacre. Montclair choirs appear regularly with New Jersey Symphony and have won critical acclaim for their “heartfelt conviction,” “and vibrant sound,” being a “marvel of diction, tuning, and rhythm,” “eloquence,” and for singing with the “crispness and dexterity of a professional choir.” Pianist Gregory Stout is the Montclair choral accompanist.
The core choral ensemble in the Cali School of Music, Chorale is a 150-voice symphonic choir comprising music students majoring in performance, music education, music therapy, composition, jazz, and musical theatre, as well as auditioned non-music majors.
New Jersey Symphony
New Jersey Symphony is a GRAMMY and Emmy Award-winning orchestra. Under the direction of Music Director Xian Zhang, the Symphony performs more than 55 mainstage concerts across the state at venues in Newark, Princeton, New Brunswick, Red Bank, and Morristown, as well as at schools and public spaces statewide.
Programming at the Symphony reflects an unwavering commitment to diverse communities throughout the state, while providing students unparalleled opportunities to achieve musical excellence through its Youth Orchestra and other education programs.
In 2024, the Symphony announced it would continue to deliver its statewide activities from a new, permanent office, rehearsal, and concert space in Jersey City, set to open in 2027.
For more information about the New Jersey Symphony, visit its website at njsymphony.org.
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Mabel Pais writes on The Arts and Entertainment, Social Issues, Education, Business, Spirituality, Health and Wellness, and Cuisine.
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