
For more than a century, residents of Plainfield and the surrounding area have been able to skip the trip to New York City whenever they’re seeking a world-class symphony performance.
The Plainfield Symphony Orchestra, now in its 105th season, is the oldest community orchestra in New Jersey and one of the longest continuously running in the United States. The ensemble formed in 1919 and held its first concert with about twenty amateur musicians; it now plays everything from Mozart to Duke Ellington.
Conductor Charles Prince, music director since 2009, studied with Leonard Bernstein and has worked with orchestras across the country. His goal with the Plainfield Symphony Orchestra? Attain the highest level of musicianship possible.

Conductor Charles Prince has been the musical director of the Plainfield Symphony Orchestra since 2009. Photo: John Jewczyn
“I started programming consecutively more difficult music until we were just performing music that other great orchestras in the world don’t even want to go near because it’s so difficult,” Prince says. “We’re a community symphony, but we do not play like any community symphony.”
Of the orchestra members, he adds: “They’re not only my colleagues, they’re my friends and they’re my family.”
Most of the ensemble’s musicians are not career symphony performers but ordinary New Jerseyans. “We all struggle to pay the bills,” says concertmaster Evelyn Estava. “The orchestra is a living organism full of working people. Our mission is to reach out to other people like us.”
The symphony aims to foster a broad, inclusive and disability-friendly environment for audience members. The board’s community initiatives include offering music scholarships to students from the Plainfield School District and running a program that allows young volunteers to assist concert ushers, aid senior citizens during shows and plan fundraisers.
“Too many words are hurtful and divisive right now,” says board president Mark Miller. “We need a place that has people of all walks of life, where we say ‘You belong here. Let the music lift you up, inspire you, and let’s go out and be better people to each other.’”
Financial challenges and the Covid-19 pandemic have made funding their mission an ongoing struggle. To donate, visit their website.
The orchestra’s free annual family concert takes place Saturday, January 25, at 3 pm. Their March performance, titled “Loss And Renewal,” will follow on Saturday, March 15, at 7 pm.
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