Multiple performances by the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra in March will offer audiences the opportunity to hear works by three esteemed composers whose music unites the 19 th and 20 th centuries.

Metropolitan Opera mezzo-soprano Barbara Dever joins the Monmouth Civic Chorus and orchestra for Let Freedom Sing, featuring three major choral works on the theme of freedom. The highlight is the world premiere of Stronger Than Darkness by the Cuban-American composer Jorge Martín, celebrating the heart-pounding courage of the Mariel boatlift. The music comes from Martin's new opera, Before Night Falls, based on the thrilling memoir by the late Cuban dissident Reinaldo Arenas.

Three performances by the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra in March will underscore musical development and change from the classical to the contemporary, and will also introduce the young Latvian violinist, Baiba Skride, to audiences across the state. Under the baton of Neeme Järvi, the concerts begin with A.S. In Memoriam by Swedish composer Rolf Martinsson, a work in which the composer states he has "sought to mirror the vocabulary, gesture and musical characters present in the works of Arnold Schoenberg."

Conductor Harry Bicket leads the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra through four brilliant Baroque works: Telemann's Water Music; Vivaldi's Violin Concerto in D, with violinist Eric Wyrick; Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 with flutists Bart Feller and Kathleen Nester, and Eric Wyrick; and Handel's Water Music Suite No. 1 from his betterknown work of the same name, Water Music.

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra has reason to rejoice as single ticket sales break recent records, and subscriptions sales gain 11% from the prior season. "We are surpassing our sales goals on every front," says Gus Gomide, Vice President of Marketing & Audience Development. "It's clear that our programming, community engagement efforts and a competitive pricing structure have been attractive to our audiences."

The State Theatre, in conjunction with Middlesex County's Plays-in-the-Park, is seeking actors, writers, and directors of all ages, types, and experience for THEATER IN A DAY, a unique and challenging theatrical experience that is part of its February festival, Hub City Carnivale.