Five thousand strong, music lovers found a few hours of respite from everyday noise when the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra played an open-air concert in Red Bank’s Marine Park last summer.
This Sunday, the NJSO returns to the park with another free show, where those in attendance will also get a chance to connect to the borough’s history via the written word.
Concertgoers are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets for the sunset concert in Marine Park. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
As they arrive at the park, concertgoers may notice quotes taken from the writings of T. Thomas Fortune stenciled on the ground.
The display, by the T. Thomas Fortune Foundation, is an effort to educate the public about the 19th-century journalist and civil rights activist as the transformation of his onetime home on Drs. James Parker Boulevard into a cultural center nears completion.
The “Words Matter” campaign will also feature excerpts from Fortune’s work at the Red Bank Antique Center, at the corner of West Front Street and North Bridge Avenue; outside Lambs & Wolves hair salon, on Bridge Avenue; outside the restaurant 26 West on the Navesink, at 26 West Front Street; at borough hall, at 90 Monmouth Street; and at 273 Shrewsbury Ave at the corner of Parker Boulevard.
The 8 p.m. NJSO concert, presented by Red Bank RiverCenter, is the final stop on the orchestra’s summer tour of New Jersey parks. The program includes “glorious Broadway songs and rousing opera overtures,” such as “The Carousel Waltz” by Richard Rodgers and Rossini’s “fiery overture to ‘William Tell,’” according to the symphony website.
“You may even hear a familiar tune from a galaxy far, far away,” the site says, alluding to the symphony’s performances elsewhere of tunes from the ‘Star Wars’ films.
Of the concert and “Words Matter” display, RiverCenter executive director Jim Scavone said “here is a nice synergy between them, and it’s great that it’s all happening on the same day.”
In the event of inclement weather, the concert will be relocated to Red Bank Regional High School in Little Silver, but the outlook is for a mostly clear evening, with a low around 73 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
