A shining day for the arts: Morris Arts’ 36th annual Giralda Music & Arts Festival

It was the perfect way to start the summer : Morris Arts’ 36th annual Giralda Music & Arts Festival, which took place on Sunday, June 23, 2019, at Giralda Farms,  in Madison brought out wonderful, enthusiastic crowds who made the most of the glorious weather! Attendees enjoyed the chance to relax on the gracious lawns of the Giralda Farms (the former Dodge estate) and savored the spirited performance by the renowned New Jersey Symphony Orchestra.  There were lavish picnics  which garnered $2,300+ worth of prizes generously donated by  Braunschweiger Jewelers, Macculloch Hall Historical Museum and Gardens, the Mayo Performing Arts Center, the Morris County Historical Society/Acorn Hall, Morris County Park Commission’s Historic Sites Division, Morris County Tourism Bureau,  Morris Museum, The Museum of Early Trades & Crafts, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, ShopRite/Village Super Market Inc. and the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms. And it was heartwarming to see newcomers and “regulars” such as the Conte family which has been coming for many years…and came again this year, celebrating the 90th birthday of Ralph Conte, who considers Giralda an annual delight and the only proper way to herald the summer!

For those not packing picnics, food was available at several wonderful food trucks including a fully stocked antique ice cream truck, and trucks featuring empanadas, Thai food , etc. . The Montclair Art Museum truck led children’s art making activities and Whirled Revolution provided hula hooping fun for all ages. Booths of 24 different artists and fine crafters were also available for everyone to enjoy (and have the opportunity to purchase original works).

Under the baton of one of Chile’s most prominent orchestral conductors, José Luis Domínguez, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra’s Giralda program featured concert, theater and dance music from Leonard Bernstein, Joe Pablo Moncayo, Astor Piazzolla, Florence Price, Duke Ellington and George Gershwin. Specifically, it included:  BERNSTEIN’s (arr. Peress) Overture to West Side Story; COPLAND’s “Variations on a Shaker Melody” from Appalachian Spring; PIAZZOLLA’s Libertango; MONCAYO’s Huapango; COPLAND’s “Hoe Down” from Rodeo; MARQUEZ’s Conga del Fuego Nuevo; arr. NORRIS –Duke Ellington Medley; PRICE’s “Silk Hat and Walking Cape,” from Dances in the Canebrakes, GERSHWIN’s (arr. Bennett) Porgy and Bess  Selections for Orchestra, GOULD’s American Salute; Various/arr. LOWDEN’s Armed Forces Salute.

For more PHOTOS, check out the excellent writeup in morristowngreen.com.

Here are some  PHOTOS from the day:

 

Morris Arts wishes to thank our sponsors:

Giralda Property Sponsors: Open Spaces Management Association, GRC Management Corp., Lincoln Equities LLC, Giralda Farms RE LLC, Linque Management Company, Inc., American Realty Capital, AHS Hospital Corp., Atlantic Health System, 1 Giralda Realty LLC, 3 Giralda Realty LLC, 7 Giralda Realty LLC,  and Mack-Cali Realty Corp.

Community Sponsors: Crum & Forster Insurance, MetLife Foundation, The Frank and Lydia Bergen Foundation, Kings Food Markets, Gary’s Wine & Marketplace, Shoprite Supermarkets, County of Morris, Township of Chatham and Morris County Park Commission

Sponsorshsip/ Support Opportunities:  If you are interested in becoming a sponsor or taking an ad in our program journal in support of this event, please check  Morris Arts Giralda 2019 Sponsorship Package and  contact Morris Arts’ Development Director, Gina Moran, at gmoran@morrisarts.org or (973) 285-5115, x13.

All proceeds benefit the many programs and services provided to artists, arts organizations, schools and the community by Morris Arts.

Our thanks to all attendees for making this another spectacular year for the Giralda Music & Arts Festival.