RISING STAR: Violinist Alexi Kenney is the soloist at the February 5 and 6 concerts by the Princeton Symphony Orchestra in Richardson Auditorium. (Photo by Grittani Creative LTD)

Kenneth Bean, the (PSO) Princeton Symphony Orchestra’s recently appointed Georg and Joyce Albers-Schonberg Assistant Conductor, makes his debut on the podium at performances on Saturday, February 5 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, February 6 at 4 p.m. Violinist Alexi Kenney also makes his PSO debut with his interpretation of Jean Sibelius’ Violin Concerto.

Also on the program are Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Ballade in A Minor, Op. 33 and Antonín Dvorák’s Symphony No. 9, From the New World. Both concerts are in Richardson Auditorium, on the campus of Princeton University. All attendees are required to wear masks at all times while inside the building, be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, and must have received boosters, if eligible.

“We are at home at Richardson. It is a very special, intimate concert hall with a wonderful sense of history, and our musicians produce an exceptional sound there,” said Music Director Rossen Milanov. “I am thrilled that Kenneth Bean is my artistic partner, and know he can expect a warm welcome from our patrons.”

Bean is a conductor in the Philadelphia area, as well as an active freelance trumpeter. He earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and a Master of Music Education degree from Jackson State University. He was appointed Georg and Joyce Albers-Schonberg Assistant Conductor of the Princeton Symphony Orchestra in October 2021, and as such serves as conductor of the Youth Orchestra of Central Jersey’s Symphonic Orchestra.

The recipient of a 2016 Avery Fisher Career Grant and a 2020 Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award, Kenney is equally at home creating experimental programs and commissioning new works, and soloing with major orchestras in the U.S. and abroad. In the 2021-22 Season, in addition to his appearance with the PSO, he debuts as soloist with the Pittsburgh Symphony, Orchestra de la Suisse Romande, Virginia Symphony, Reno Philharmonic, Eugene Symphony, and New Haven Symphony, and returns to perform with the Indianapolis Symphony, California Symphony, and Santa Fe Symphony.

Tickets start at $20, youth (ages 5-17) are half price. Visit princetonsymphony.org or call (609) 497-0020.