The best kept musical secret in New Jersey’s capital city?

After the Greater Trenton Symphony Orchestra was disbanded in 2013, a new musical organization drawing on world-class musicians from across the region was created.

“We hope to be at the forefront of the arts community here. We’re fulfilling a void. We’re the classical music part of the whole arts community,” said Daniel Spalding, musical director of the New Jersey Capital Philharmonic.

“My orchestra is very high quality. It’s a full 75-piece orchestra. I have excellent musicians.”

He said the orchestra is currently performing about half a dozen concerts a year, mostly at the Patriot’s Theatre at the War Memorial, but plans are in the works to expand.

“Trenton has really come alive with the visual arts, so we’re very happy to be a part of Trenton and a part of this revitalization,” he said.

Spalding noted there is increasing interest in the Capital Philharmonic from several areas of Central Jersey, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and Philadelphia.

He acknowledged some folks may be a bit hesitant to attend a concert in Trenton, but Spalding stressed the area around the War Memorial is very safe, there’s ample free parking, the theatre is easy to get to and the acoustics are wonderful.

“We’re still fighting a bit of a negative image from many years back, but you have a great atmosphere with this hall and with the orchestra, and people have a good time.”

He added having this quality of classical music in Mercer County is a wonderful benefit.

“This is first class professional orchestra, we play an array of music that is entertaining, I want people to come to our concerts, experience great music and feel great,” he said

According to Spalding, the New Year’s Eve concert at the Patriot’s Theatre at the War Memorial in Trenton will feature uplifting pieces:

• Peter Boyer - Silver Fanfare
• Émile Waldteufel - The Skater's Waltz, Op. 183
• Antonin Dvorak - Two Slavonic Dances from Op. 72
• Paul Dukas - Sorcerer's Apprentice (Scherzo after the ballad by Goethe)
• Otto Nicolai - Overture to "The Merry Wives of Windsor"
• Leroy Anderson - Syncopated Clock
• John Williams (arr.) - Tango from "Scent of a Woman"
• Gershwin/Bennett - Gershwin in Hollywood

For over 25 years, Spalding won international acclaim as music director of the Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra.

He’s has taken the Philadelphia Virtuosi to several prestigious venues such as New York’s Lincoln Center, Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, Columbia University’s Miller Theater, and the Los Angeles Getty Museum.

You can contact reporter David Matthau at David.Matthau@townsquaremedia.com