Philharmonic Concert to Honor Memory of Fallen Lakewood Officer

Saturday night's Garden State Philharmonic performance will be dedicated to the memory of fallen Lakewood Police Officer and Manchester resident Christopher Matlosz, a Howell High School graduate.

According to Dora DeMichael, office manager for the philharmonic, a percentage of ticket sales from the 8 p.m. performance at the Strand Center for the Arts will be donated to the officer's fund at the Lakewood Police Department.

"We went to the police department because we perform in Lakewood and he was a local cop," DeMichael said. "We decided to do something in his honor."

The idea for the memorial concert came when the philharmonic's conductor, Anthony LaGruth, approached Lakewood's Chief of Police Robert Lawson about honoring the officer, DeMichael said.

"He was very receptive and we got it rolling."

Some of Beethoven's popular works will be featured in this Masterworks series concert, including the overtures to Corolian, Egmont and Leonora.

The pieces are "something that everyone would recognize," DeMichael said. "Which is another reason why we chose this concert and not something nobody would know."

Tickets, which range from $10 to $35, are still available, according to DeMichael, and can be purchased by calling the philharmonic at 732-255-0460.

"I looked at the seating chart before and it looks pretty good," DeMichael said, adding that she is hopes more sales will be made on the night of the performance at the box office.

"We just hope its a huge success," she said. "We'd like to see a lot of the law enforcement people come out and support him."

Jahmell Crockam, 19, of Lakewood, is , 27, who lived in Manchester and was a Howell High School alumnus, on Jan. 14, during what began as a routine encounter, authorities said.

Crockham faces life in prison if convicted of murder, an Ocean County Superior Court official said.