Princeton University offers free concert tickets to school district

Classical, jazz and world music performances slated.

By: Rachel Silverman
   Princeton University is offering students, teachers and parents in the Princeton Regional School District free tickets to an ongoing university concert series.
   The concerts, which are held in Richardson Auditorium, include a variety of classical, jazz and world music performances.
   Thursday, the world’s longest-lived string quartet — the Borodin String Quartet — will perform. Other upcoming performances feature the Meridian Arts Ensemble & Guests, a five-piece brass and percussion group; Gleb Ivanov, a Russian-born solo piano player; the Baroque style Aulos Ensemble and Friends; and the all-female Colorado String Quartet.
   In addition, the Richardson Chamber Players will host a series of three American music concerts.
   In March, Taplin Auditorium will offer a two-part series on Bach’s French and Italian styles. In April, the focus turns to Beethoven, with two performances and a lecture dedicated to the master’s late piano sonatas. April concert-goers can hear the Latin jazz beat of the Bobby Sanabria Big Band.
   Several other performances — including a string quartet, viola and piano duo, jazz group, sitar player and traditional Mexican group — have already taken place.
   According to Princeton Regional School District Performing/Fine Arts Supervisor Linda Shaw, up to 100 tickets have been made available for each event. Ms. Shaw said any student in the district is eligible to attend, and parents and teachers are welcome to come, as well.
   "I think it’s a wonderful opportunity," she said. "Such a generous gift."
   Ms. Shaw also praised the program for giving students further exposure to music.
   "It’s so great for them to see what it looks like when talented professional musicians play this music," she said. "It’s all about learning to love music."
   Ann Yasuhara, who sits on the Princeton University Concerts Committee and the district’s Minority Education Committee, echoed these thoughts.
   "They’ll get to know the difference between hearing a CD and a live performance," she said. "If they’re at all interested in playing music, they’ll be inspired to play better."