What figures to be the one of the biggest summer arts events in Jersey City will be happening in just a few weeks, yet the city seems in no rush to get the word out.
The event host has also been officially silent.
So here’s the skinny. The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra will be coming to Liberty State Park to play a free summer concert during Independence Day weekend.
Confirmation that this will, in fact, take place is offered on NJSO’s website, which names as sponsors Mayor Steven Fulop and the City Council and the Jersey City Office of Cultural Affairs (with financing by the Jersey City Arts & Culture Fund).
The orchestra will perform Sunday, July 2, at 7:30 p.m. at the park’s Green Ring, which is near the Interpretive Center at 275 Freedom Way.
The symphony’s announcement says: “We wrap up our summer outdoor series at Liberty State Park in Jersey City. Fans can enjoy the sounds of the Symphony while overlooking the Hudson River with a clear view of the Manhattan Skyline and the Statue of Liberty.”
There’s no mention of how concertgoers can get to and from the waterfront venue without a car. For Memorial Day weekend, both of Liberty’s public parking lots filled up quickly. Residents who elect to take the Light Rail face a long walk to get to the Green Ring.
Jersey City used to arrange for a NJ Transit shuttle bus link to the park from the Light Rail station, but the funding for that service was discontinued by former Gov. Chris Christie’s administration in 2010.
Ward F Councilmember Frank Gilmore, who, like several of his colleagues, was unaware of the orchestra’s pending appearance, favors restoring the shuttle. “You need it,” he said, “because of the complexities getting to the site.”
In agreement were Ward E Councilmember James Solomon, who estimated the city would need to come up with $5,000 to pay for vehicles, fuel, and drivers; and Councilmember-at-large Yousef Saleh, who called for “pickup and drop-off stops from each ward.”
An email query to city spokeswoman Kimberly Wallace-Scalcione about the concert and public transportation went unanswered.
Meanwhile, the city has yet to announce where residents can go for a viewing of the traditional Independence Day fireworks festivities.
The symphony orchestra, conducted by Jos Luis Dominguez, has scheduled a program featuring “a medley of timeless classics,” including selections from the films Jurassic Parkand West Side Story; William Grant Still’s lively Festive Overture and much more.
Also on the bill is a performance by solo artist Timothy Lien, winner of the NJSO Youth Orchestra’s Henry Lewis Concerto Competition.
The entire program consists of John Stafford Smith’s original version of The Star Spangled Banner arranged by Walter Damrosch; Mikhail Glinka’s Overture to the opera Russlan and Ludmilla; Ludwig Spohr’s Concerto in C minor for Clarinet, Op. 26; George Walker’s Lyric for Strings; Jose Pablo Moncayo’s Huapango; William Grant Still’s Festive Overture; Florence Price’s Colonial Dance; John Williams’ Theme from Jurassic Park; selections from Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story, arranged by Jack Mason; Robert W. Lowden’s Armed Forces Salute; and John Phillip Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever.