INFORMATION FOR
The Ridgewood Symphony Orchestra (RSO), ensemble-in-residence at William Paterson University in Wayne, will present classic works by Strauss and Rimsky-Korsakov during its fall concert on campus on Saturday, October 25, 2025 in the Shea Center for the Performing Arts. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m.
The world premiere of Duncan Lemay’s orchestral jazz arrangement of Antônio Carlos Jobim’s Dindi will highlight the evening, featuring soloist Chris Komer, principal horn of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and a renowned jazz improviser, as well as William Paterson University student soloists Sam Wagner, guitar; Zoë Vandergast, vocals; Maria Kolesnik, drums; and Eli Leder, bass.
Komer will also serve as soloist for a performance of the third movement of Richard Strauss’s Horn Concerto No. 1. The concert concludes with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s vivid Scheherazade, movements I and IV, bringing the tales of One Thousand and One Nights to life. The program will be performed without an intermission.
The RSO, a regionally based, auditioned orchestra located in Ridgewood, New Jersey, and William Paterson formed a partnership in fall 2024 designed to expand WP's orchestral offerings and connect the University’s students with the acclaimed RSO organization and its member musicians.
The partnership offers William Paterson music students an opportunity to improve their instrumental skills by rehearsing and performing with a full-size, high-quality community orchestra. Students selected to participate are also performing with the RSO during their regular 2025-26 concert season in Ridgewood. Kyunghun Kim, artistic director of the RSO, serves as an adjunct professor of music at William Paterson, teaching and mentoring the students selected to participate.
Tickets for the concert at William Paterson University are $28, $18 for senior citizens and William Paterson faculty, staff, and alumni, and $8 for non-William Paterson students. William Paterson students are admitted for free. For tickets or additional information, visit wp-presents.org, or contact the Shea Center Box Office at 973.720.2371 or boxoffice@wpunj.edu.
About the Ridgewood Symphony Orchestra
For more than 80 years, the RSO has served northern New Jersey with high-quality performances, internationally renowned guest soloists, and unique education opportunities for young musicians through its Young Musicians Festival. The orchestra is focused on collectively expanding the artistic expression of its member musicians, presenting exciting and affordable concerts to its audiences, and providing impactful education experiences to all members of the community.
Kyunghun Kim was appointed Artistic Director of the Ridgewood Symphony in 2021. He frequently appears as a guest conductor with major South Korean orchestras such as the Bucheon Philharmonic Orchestra, the SungNam Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Korean Chamber Orchestra. He also serves on the music faculty at Lehman College in New York teaching string instruments, in addition to conducting the Lehman College Chamber Orchestra, and is the orchestra director of the Music and Medicine Initiative at Cornell Medical Center. He holds a master’s degree in orchestral conducting from The Juilliard School and an artist diploma in donducting from the Curtis Institute of Music.
About the William Paterson University Department of Music
William Paterson University’s Department of Music offers bachelor’s degree programs in classical performance, jazz performance, sound engineering arts, music education, music and entertainment industries, digital music creation, and popular music, and master’s degree programs in jazz performance, jazz composition and arranging, and music education. Students work directly with world-renowned faculty and perform in a wide variety of instrumental and choral ensembles, both on campus and throughout the New York metropolitan area and gain hands-on experience in its state-of-the-art music production and recording studios.
