Photo 3 – Gregory J. Geehern Festival Chair Marc Uys ED Stephanie Wedeking Chair Maestro Rossen Milanov 1 — (l-r) Princeton Festival Director Gregory Geehern, Princeton Symphony Orchestra Executive Director Marc Uys, Princeton Symphony Orchestra Board of Trustees Chair Stephanie Wedeking, and Edward T. Cone Music Director Rossen Milanov.

The Princeton Symphony Orchestra and the Princeton Festival announced in late June that the organizations would merge. The merger took effect on July 31. The Princeton Festival will retain its name and continue as a program of the Princeton Symphony Orchestra. The festival will be the orchestra’s flagship summer performing arts program.

The Princeton Festival is an award-winning, annual festival of the performing arts that began in 2005. The Festival offers professional productions of multiple events each June, including opera, musical theater, jazz, dance, choral music, Baroque concerts, chamber music, recitals, pop concerts, an annual piano competition, poetry readings, and more. Its series of free lectures, events, and workshops draw more than a thousand attendees each year. The Princeton Symphony Orchestra presents orchestral, pops, and chamber music programs, supported by lectures and related events that supplement the concert
experience, including education programs in partnership with local schools and arts
organizations.

“We look forward to a cross-pollination of ideas and resources. Together, our creative team will capture the imagination and spark community dialogue with new music, cutting-edge operas, and fresh musical theater productions,” Princeton Symphony Orchestera Music Director Rossen Milanov said of the merger. “We’re well-poised to earn Princeton a national reputation for live arts innovation.”

The Princeton Symphony Orchestra announced on Thursday that former Princeton Festival board members Marcia Atcheson, Marcia Bossart, Thomas Lento, Anastasia Marty, Costa Papastephanou, and Benedikt von Schröder have joined the Princeton Symphony Orchestra’s board of trustees. Louise Wellemeyer and Mark Nurse have also joined the board, and Julian Grant and Anne VanLent will serve another term on the board.

Festival Director Gregory Geehern and Eva Kastner-Puschl have joined the Princeton Symphony Orchestra staff. Kastner-Puschl will serve as the manager of special events and donor engagement.

The Princeton Symphony Orchestra will soon announce its fall performance schedule and a planned September fundraiser for the Princeton Festival.

Krystal Knapp

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Krystal Knapp is the founding editor of Planet Princeton. Follow her on Twitter @krystalknapp. She can be reached via email at editor AT planetprinceton.com. Send all letters to the editor and press releases to that email address.