The Sarasota Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra located in Sarasota, Florida. The orchestra is administratively based at the Beatrice Friedman Symphony Center. The orchestra performs concerts in Sarasota at several venues:
In the fall of 1948, Ruth Cotton Butler, a Sarasota music teacher, enlisted the support of businessmen Dr. W.D. Sugg and J. Lorton Francis of Bradenton, and George Gibbs, an amateur musician from Venice, to form an orchestra. Their combined effort produced the debut concert of the Florida West Coast Symphony on 12 March 1949, conducted by Lyman Wiltse, at the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium. Wiltse worked with the ensemble for one year, as de facto music director. The orchestra's first season contained three concerts, with the first taking place on 19 January 1950. [1] Alexander Bloch was the first full-time music director of the orchestra, from 1950 to 1962. [2] During the first six years of the orchestra, the orchestra did not have a single resident venue. In 1955, the Sarasota city commission approved construction of rehearsal space for the orchestra in the Sarasota civic center. The construction was completed in November 1955. [1]
In 1961, Paul Wolfe began a 35-year tenure as artistic director and conductor. His leadership allowed the orchestra to establish a core chamber and four resident chamber ensembles, expand the Youth Orchestra Program and consolidate the then Florida West Coast Symphony and the Music Festival of Florida, to create the Sarasota Music Festival. In 1985, the orchestra merged with the Sarasota Music Festival. [1]
Leif Bjaland succeeded Wolf as music director in 1997, and served in the post until 2012. His work during his tenure included the instigation of a concert series titled 'Journeys to Genius'. [3] In February 2011, Anu Tali made her first guest-conducting appearance with the orchestra. [4] In June 2013, the orchestra named Tali as its next music director, effective August 1, 2013, with an initial contract of 3 years. [5] She is the first female conductor to be named music director of the orchestra. The orchestra extended her contract for another 3 years in 2016. In October 2017, the orchestra announced the scheduled conclusion of Tali's music directorship of the orchestra in 2019. [6] [7] Following the departure of Tali as music director, Jeffrey Kahane served as artistic director with the orchestra from 2019 to 2021. [8]
In the 2019-2020 season, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bramwell Tovey first guest-conducted the Sarasota Orchestra. In August 2021, the orchestra announced the appointment of Tovey as its next music director, effective with the 2022-2023 season, with an initial tenure of four years. He took the title of music director-designate on 1 September 2021, [9] and served in that capacity until his death on 12 July 2022. [10]
In January 2024, Giancarlo Guerrero first guest-conducted the orchestra. In August 2024, the Sarasota Orchestra announced the appointment of Guerrero as its next music director, effective with the 2025-2026 season, with an initial contract of five seasons. He is scheduled to take the title of music director-designate for the 2024-2025 season. [11]
The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The VSO performs at the Orpheum, which has been the orchestra's permanent home since 1977. With an annual operating budget of $16 million, it is the third largest symphony orchestra in Canada and the largest performing arts organization in Western Canada. It performs 140 concerts per season. The VSO broadcasts annually on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The orchestra is affiliated with the VSO School of Music, which was established in September 2011. Chamber music concerts by VSO musicians take place at Pyatt Hall on the VSO School of Music campus.
The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British concert orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five BBC orchestras which is not a full-scale symphony orchestra. The BBC Concert Orchestra is the BBC's most populist ensemble, playing a mixture of classical music, light music and popular numbers. Its primary role is to produce music for radio broadcast, and it is the resident orchestra of the world's longest-running live music programme, Friday Night is Music Night on BBC Radio 2.
The Elgin Symphony Orchestra is a regional orchestra founded and headquartered in Elgin, Illinois. Its Music Director is Chad Goodman, former conducting fellow of the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, Florida. The Orchestra's season includes some 40 performances annually at the 1,200-seat Hemmens Cultural Center in Elgin and various locations in the greater Elgin area.
Joseph Harry Silverstein was an American violinist and conductor.
Bramwell Tovey was a British conductor and composer.
The Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra (HPO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Hamilton, Ontario. The orchestra gives concerts primarily at the FirstOntario Concert Hall.
The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (WSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Founded in 1947, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at the Centennial Concert Hall. Including travelling performances, the WSO presents an average of 80 concerts per year, and also provides orchestral accompaniment to the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and the Manitoba Opera.
Leif Bjaland is an American conductor.
The Nashville Symphony is an American symphony orchestra, based in Nashville, Tennessee. The orchestra is resident at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center.
The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) is an American chamber orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. LACO presents its Orchestral Series concerts at two venues, the Alex Theatre in Glendale and UCLA's Royce Hall.
The Colorado Symphony is an American symphony orchestra located in Denver, Colorado. Established in 1989 as the successor to the Denver Symphony Orchestra, the Colorado Symphony performs in Boettcher Concert Hall, located in the Denver Performing Arts center, and throughout the Front Range, presenting education and outreach programs, as well as Masterworks, Pops, Holiday, Family, and the Inside the Score and Symphony on the Rocks series.
Anu Tali is an Estonian conductor.
The Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, abbreviated to OPL, is a symphony orchestra based in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. The orchestra formerly performed at the Grand Théâtre de la Ville de Luxembourg and the Conservatoire de Luxembourg. Its current home is the Philharmonie Luxembourg, a large concert hall opened in 2005 in the Kirchberg quarter in the northeast of the city.
Jeffrey Alan Kahane is an American classical concert pianist and conductor. He was music director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra for 20 years, the longest of any music director in the orchestra's history. He is the music director of the Sarasota Music Festival, a program of the Sarasota Orchestra, music director-designate of the San Antonio Philharmonic, and a professor of keyboard studies (Piano) at the USC Thornton School of Music in Los Angeles, California.
Sarasota Music Festival is an American classical music festival held annually during the month of June in Sarasota, Florida, under the sponsorship of the Sarasota Orchestra. The festival was founded in 1965 by conductor Paul Wolfe, who remained director of the festival through the summer of 2006. After Wolfe's retirement, conductor and composer Robert D. Levin became the festival's director. In 1984 it was designated by the Florida State Legislature as the "Official Teaching and Performing Festival of the State of Florida." In 2016 Jeffrey Kahane was appointed the festival's Music Director.
The Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra is an American orchestra and music school based in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1945 and colloquially referred to as the RI Philharmonic, the orchestra's performing home is Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Providence. The RI Philharmonic is the largest combined professional orchestra and music school in the USA.
Giancarlo Guerrero is a Costa Rican orchestra conductor, born in Nicaragua. He is currently music director of the Nashville Symphony and music director-designate of the Sarasota Orchestra. Guerrero was formerly music director of the Wrocław Philharmonic at the National Forum of Music in Wrocław, Poland and principal guest conductor of the Gulbenkian Orchestra.
This article lists major events and other topics related to the year 2017 in classical music.
This article lists major events and other topics related to classical music in 2018.
This article is for major events and other topics related to classical music in 2023.
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