As a gift to the City of New Orleans and to lift local spirits amidst the current economic crisis, New Orleans-based distinguished composer Jay Weigel is excited to release ‘A New Orleans Concerto, for Orchestra’ for free public download throughout the month of July (July 6 – July 31) at www.jayweigel.com.

‘A New Orleans Concerto, for Orchestra’ was originally created by Weigel in 2018 and performed with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra under Director Carlos Miguel Prieto as part of the city’s Tricentennial celebration. With the help of the former 2018 NOLA Foundation and its president and CEO,  Mark Romig, Weigel was able to create a digital recording of his concerto (at Esplanade Studios in New Orleans) in 2019. After 2020 release setbacks due to COVID-19, Weigel is exited to now offer the completed piece to locals and music enthusiasts across the globe as a piece of New Orleans music history and culture.

“This project was undertaken to celebrate our city’s 300th birthday, and to ensure that all citizens would be able to enjoy this gift of music for generations to come,” said Mark Romig.  “I am deeply appreciative of Jay’s immeasurable talent and determination to see this project to its successful completion, and to the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and Director Carlos Miguel Prieto for providing their artistry to bring it alive.”

Weigel is a distinguished composer, producer, conductor, arranger, orchestrator and contractor for film, television, recordings  and concerts, whose recent scores and soundtrack recordings can be heard in studio projects produced by Warner Brothers, Paramount Pictures, Universal, Netflix, Tyler Perry Studios, HBO, and numerous documentaries and independent films. The digital recording of ‘A New Orleans Concerto, for Orchestra’ with New Orleans & Company is his most recent concert project.

A ‘concerto’ normally refers to a piece that spotlights an individual musician or instrument, but ‘A New Orleans Concerto, for Orchestra’  was created with a different thought process in mind.

“I wanted to show off the exceptional quality of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra in its entirety, and each specific group of musicians within it,” Said Weigel. “Throughout the piece, each section of the orchestra is given its chance to become the soloist.”

Weigel served as Executive Director of the Contemporary Arts Center, CAC, in New Orleans from 1996 - 2013. Prior to this appointment, Weigel was Music Director of the CAC for eleven years. Under his leadership the CAC has emerged on the National arts scene as a significant force in the production and presenting of contemporary work.

Since leaving his position at the Contemporary Arts Center, Jay had an eagerness to write a concert work for New Orleans’ city orchestra.  While he had been able to utilize members of its orchestra on dozens of film scores, working closely with them in the recording studio, the experience of composing a concert piece was a unique and spiritual one for him.

It was this that led to Jay writing ‘A New Orleans Concerto, for Orchestra’ – composed to celebrate the 300th anniversary of New Orleans and to showcase the city’s orchestra and its musicians. 

Jay is also a founding member of the GNO, Inc initiative New Orleans Music Economy (NOME), dedicated to building an infrastructure for musicians around their intellectual property, and continues to serve on its steering committee.

For more information and to download a free copy of ‘A New Orleans Concerto, for Orchestra,’ please visit www.jayweigel.com.

About Jay Weigel

Based in New Orleans, jay Weigel has worked in the film and television industry since 1984. His recent scores and soundtrack recordings can be heard in studio projects produced by Warner Brothers, Paramount Pictures, Universal, Netflix, Tyler Perry Studios, HBO, and numerous documentaries and independent films such as: The Campaign, Green Lantern, Grudge Match, Get Hard, Midnight Special, Tall Girl, The Hammer, The Eagle and the Albatross, A Fall From Grace, Caged No More, Camp Cool Kids, The Oval, For Colored Girls, Too Close To Home, The Last laugh, Paradise Lost, The Highwaymen, and NCIS New Orleans.

Jay has worked as an orchestrator, conductor, contractor and/or score preparer for composers such as George S. Clinton, Christopher Young, David Wingo, John Swihart, Christopher Lennertz and Terence Blanchard. As an arranger and orchestrator, he has worked with PJ Morton, Andra Day, REM, Tank and the Bangas, Chris Thomas King, Juvenile, Keala Settle, and Judith Owen. His concert work has been commissioned by numerous orchestras including the National Symphony Orchestra, the Kennedy Center, New Orleans Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, St. Louis Cathedral, University of Southern Mississippi Symphony, New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, and the Acadiana Symphony.

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Media Contact: Emily Diament, APR
Diament Public Relations
(225) 938-2694
emily@emilydiament.com