New Jersey Symphony celebrates the Year of the Horse with its annual Lunar New Year concert

(NEWARK, NJ) — New Jersey Symphony welcomes the Year of the Horse with its ninth annual Lunar New Year Celebration on Saturday, February 7, 2026 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark. Seattle Symphony Associate Conductor Sunny Xia and Van Cliburn International Piano Competition Winner Haochen Zhang make their New Jersey Symphony debuts. Showtime is 7:30pm.

This festive tradition, perfect for families and first-timers, was introduced in 2019 by Music Director Xian Zhang, now in her 10th season with New Jersey Symphony.

This classical music fusion from the East and West features Li Huanzhi’s Spring Festival Overture, Franz Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1, Choi Sunghwan’s Arirang Fantasy, the traditional folk song “Hulunbuir Grassland” arranged by Anqi Wang, and Li Shutong’s “Farewell Song” arranged by Nicholas Hersh. The performance also includes the Voices of Spring waltz by Johann Strauss, Jr., and Georges Bizet’s energetic “Farandole” from L’Arlésienne and the cheerful children’s chorus “Choeur des gamins” from Carmen.

The concert includes special appearances from Starry Arts Group Children’s Chorus, Peking University (PKU) Alumni Chorus, and a performance by the Edison Chinese School Lion Dance Team.

Tickets starting at $36 are available for purchase online. Ticket holders are invited to attend a free pre-concert Cultural Exchange Festival in the Prudential Hall lobby featuring performances, artisans, and artifacts from the Shanghai Museum. Gates Open at 6:00pm. This event is co-curated by the Shanghai Museum and the Eastern Culture Exchange Association and supported by the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in New York.

Sunny Xia – Recognized for her innate musicality, compelling presence, and technical precision, conductor Sunny Xuecong Xia forges immediate and captivating connections with orchestras and audiences alike. These qualities have led to engagements across the globe. Xia joined the Seattle Symphony as the Douglas F. King Assistant Conductor at the start of the 2022-23 season and was quickly promoted to Associate Conductor. She leads the orchestra in a wide range of subscription, family, community, and education programs, collaborating with distinguished soloists such as Conrad Tao, Noah Geller, Mahani Teave, and Kerson Leong.

In previous seasons, Xia has conducted the world premiere of Angelique Poteat’s Dear Humanity with the Seattle Symphony and Youth Chorus, the Celebrate Asia concert, and the Merriman-Ross Family Young Composers Workshop, featuring 10 world premieres. She has also assisted Dame Jane Glover at the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and appeared at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, where she led the world premiere of Marc Migo Cortes’ Dumka. She has conducted productions of La bohème with Chandler Opera Company and assisted in Così fan tutte, Hänsel und Gretel, Die Zauberflöte, The Juniper Tree, Le Rossignol, and L’Enfant et les Sortilèges.

Equally at home in symphonic and contemporary repertoire, Xia has led works by Michael Abels, Katy Abbott, Quinn Mason, Gabriela Ortiz, Gabriella Smith, Tan Dun, and more. She has conducted ensembles such as the Cleveland Institute of Music New Music Ensemble, Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, MusicaNova Orchestra, and Seattle Symphony in dozens of world premieres.

Highlights of the 2025-26 season include subscription and special programs with the Seattle Symphony and this engagement with New Jersey Symphony.

Haochen Zhang – Since his gold medal win at the 13th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2009, Haochen Zhang has captivated audiences in the US, Europe, and Asia with a unique combination of deep musical sensitivity, fearless imagination, and spectacular virtuosity. In 2017, Haochen received the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, which recognizes talented musicians with the potential for a major career in music.

Haochen has already appeared with many of the world’s leading festivals and orchestras including the BBC Proms with Long Yu and the China Philharmonic; the Munich Philharmonic with the late Lorin Maazel in a sold-out tour in Munich and China; The Philadelphia Orchestra with Yannick Nézet-Séguin; the Sydney Symphony with David Robertson on tour in China; and the NDR Elbphilharmonie (Hamburg) with Thomas Hengelbrock on tour in Tokyo, Beijing, and Shanghai.

Highlights of this season include his recital debut at Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, tours with the Munich and Hong Kong Philharmonics, and reengagements with The Philadelphia Orchestra and Melbourne Symphony. Haochen was appointed as Artist-in-Residence at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing which includes an Asian tour with the NCPA Orchestra and concerts of the complete Liszt and Rachmaninoff concertos.