A New Jersey Symphony string quartet will perform works by Black composers from the 18th century to the present at the Livingston Public Library on Friday, Sept. 18.
The program, called "Musical Changemakers," opens the Fall 2026 Senior Happening series. It features music by Grammy Award-winning composer Jessie Montgomery, 18th-century French composer Chevalier de Saint-Georges and cellist-composer Akua Dixon, according to the West Essex Tribune, citing a library press release.
The three composers on the program bring distinct voices. Montgomery, a violinist and educator named Performance Today's 2025 Classical Woman of the Year, writes music The Washington Post has called "turbulent, wildly colorful, and exploding with life." The New Jersey Symphony performed her "Hymn for Everyone" in 2025.
Saint-Georges, born Joseph Bologne in 1745, was a French violinist, conductor and soldier of African descent. He is considered the first classical composer of African ancestry to gain widespread recognition in Western music. A contemporary of Mozart, he composed string quartets, violin concertos and symphonies.
Dixon, based in Montclair, is the first cellist to win the Downbeat Critics Poll. Her string arrangements appear on Lauryn Hill's five-time Grammy-winning album "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" and Aretha Franklin's Grammy-nominated "A Rose Is Still A Rose."
Senior Happening is a monthly series that has run for more than 20 years at the Livingston Public Library, according to the library's director. The series format calls for a social hour from noon to 12:45 p.m., with attendees welcome to bring bag lunches.
Friends of the Livingston Library volunteers serve coffee and dessert. The performance follows at 1 p.m.
Registration is required. Livingston residents get first access, with other Essex County residents able to register at a later date. Sign up in person at the library, by phone at (973) 992-4600 or online at livingstonlibrary.org.
The series is funded in part by the Essex County Division of Cultural Affairs, a partner of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, and by the Friends of the Livingston Library.
Upcoming:
- Friday, Sept. 18 — "Musical Changemakers," NJ Symphony string quartet, Livingston Public Library, 10 Robert H. Harp Drive. Social hour at noon; performance at 1 p.m. Registration: (973) 992-4600 or livingstonlibrary.org.
