Talented Japanese female conductor Tomomi Nishimoto will bring a New Year’s concert with her IlluminArt Philharmonic Orchestra to local audiences. The program will include Tschaikovsky’s fantasy overture “Romeo and Juliet” inspired by Shakespeare’s play of the same name, the same composer’s ballet music “The Sleeping Beauty,” as well as Dvorak’ beloved “Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, Op. 95” in the second half of the concert. The theme of love in “Romeo and Juliet,” which is signified by the couple’s first meeting and the scene at Juliet’s balcony, has repeatedly appeared in pop culture, being used in such TV series and movies as “SpongeBob,” “Sesame Street” and “The Three Musketeers.” “The Sleeping Beauty,” one of the classical repertoire’s most famous ballets, has two distinctive leitmotifs representing the forces of good and evil running through the entire work. Also known as “From the New World,” Dvorak’s “Symphony No. 9,” is a universal favorite of audiences and critics alike. Neil Armstrong took a tape recording of the symphony along on his Apollo 11 mission to the moon in 1969. Nishimoto, artistic director of the IlluminArt Philharmonic Orchestra, founded the orchestra in 2012 with a group of internationally successful musicians to break away from conventionalism. Besides classical concerts, operas and ballets, the orchestra also collaborates in jazz and rock ‘n’ roll concerts. Since November 2014, it has performed regular concerts at Tokyo’s Orchard Concert Hall. In 2013, the orchestra became the first Asian orchestra to ever participate in the Vatican International Music Festival’s “Cardinal’s Mass” performance and won unprecedented acclaim. Since 2014 it has been invited every year to perform at the festival. Nishimoto was born in Osaka, Japan in 1970. After graduating from Osaka College of Music with a degree in composition, she went to study opera and conducting at the Saint Petersburg State Conservatory in Russia. She has since launched a successful international career that has brought her to numerous prestigious venues and music festivals around the world. Time: 8 p.m., Dec. 30 Tickets: 180-1,280 yuan Venue: Shenzhen Concert Hall, intersection of Hongli Road and Yitian Road, Futian District (福田區紅荔路和益田路交匯處深圳音樂廳) Metro: Line 3 or 4 to Children’s Palace Station (少年宮站), Exit D (SD News) | 