New Jersey Performing Arts Center and Prudential Announce Partnership to Celebrate New Orleans Culture & Jazz

New Jersey Performing Arts Center and Prudential Announce Partnership to Celebrate New Orleans Culture & Jazz

Collaboration Creates 'New Orleans North' and Newark Home for New Orleans Jazz

Orchestra, Inc. (NOJO)

WHAT: Announcement of $500,000 Prudential grant -- $300,000 in corporate
sponsorship for NOJO's inaugural national tour -- New Orleans:
Then and Now -- and $200,000 for the creation of a residency
program at NJPAC to include performance presentations (by NOJO and
other New Orleans artists), educational workshops and community
residencies, and commissioning of new jazz works to debut in
Newark in 2006 and 2007.

WHO: Leon Denmark, Vice President, Programming, New Jersey Performing
Arts Center

Desiree Urquhart, Vice President, Arts Education, New Jersey
Performing Arts Center

Irvin Mayfield, Founder, New Orleans Jazz Orchestra/trumpeter and
New Orleans Cultural Ambassador

John Fernandez, President and CEO, New Orleans Jazz Orchestra

Gabriella Morris, President, The Prudential Foundation

WHERE: Prudential Financial, Inc.
751 Broad Street, 7th Floor
Newark, NJ 07102

WHEN: 2 p.m. - Friday, December 9, 2005
3 p.m. - NOJO performance

Background:

When the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) learned that Hurricanes Katrina and Rita threatened to cancel the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, Inc.'s (NOJO) inaugural national tour -- New Orleans: Then and Now -- the downtown Newark cultural center reached out to financial services giant, Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU). Signing on as the title sponsor of the national tour, Prudential committed $300,000 in corporate sponsorship to allow the tour to go on as scheduled. NJPAC is the presenting sponsor of the tour.

Recognizing that supporting the tour should only be the beginning of helping to reinstitute New Orleans culture, The Prudential Foundation will announce an additional $200,000 (a total of $500,000 in support) for the creation of a residency program at NJPAC, including educational workshops, community residencies, performances by NOJO and other New Orleans artists and commissioning of new jazz works. The partnership between NOJO, NJPAC and Prudential has the makings to create "New Orleans North" with NOJO and its founder Irvin Mayfield bringing the best of New Orleans to New Jersey.

NOTE: Reporters, Photographers and Camera Crews MUST RSVP to gain access.

For Press Inquiries, Please Contact:
Jeffrey Norman, NJPAC, 973.297.5838
jnorman@njpac.org

Alicia Rodgers Alston, Prudential Financial, Inc.
973.802.4446
alicia.rodgersalston@prudential.com

PRNewswire -- Dec. 8

Source: Prudential Financial, Inc.; New Jersey Performing Arts Center

Web site: http://www.prudential.com/

-------
Profile: intent