Sarasota Orchestra

Instruments secured ✅
Rehearsal underway ✅
Soirée happening Sunday ✅

We’ll all be hunkered down during tomorrow’s storm, but musicians are hard at work today rehearsing for Sunday’s Soirée. We hope to see you there!

For our final summer postcard, let's see what Violinist Katherine Baloff has been up to during a month of travels! She started off with a trip to Denver to visit friends and to take in the Colorado Music Festival. Kat, her husband Yordan, and brother-in-law Delcho snapped a photo with Maestro Peter Oundjian and violinist Vadim Gluzman—both of whom will be in Sarasota for the Orchestra's upcoming Masterworks season!

Kat and Yordan then traveled to Europe so Kat could link up with the Imbroglio Sextet for a concert tour through the Netherlands, Norway, and Finland.

While in the Netherlands, they stopped by De Haar Castle in Utrecht and took a dinner cruise through the canals.

Next, Norway included a kitty cameo at an Imbroglio Sextet concert!

For the grand finale, Kat celebrated Sibelius in Finland. She even found the manuscript of Sibelius' Violin Concerto at the National Music Library!

Our CEO Joseph McKenna recently traveled to Nashville to enjoy a performance by the Nashville Symphony and meet with our music director designate, Giancarlo Guerrero, to continue planning for the next era of Sarasota Orchestra.

Giancarlo is currently serving in his 16th and final season as Nashville Symphony's music director, where he has won six GRAMMY Awards and has been deeply engaged in the community. After this season, Giancarlo will serve as Nashville Symphony’s music director laureate as he takes on the full music directorship in Sarasota.

We’re thrilled for Giancarlo to be our next music director! Tickets for his first Sarasota Orchestra performances as music director designate are available now. https://sarasotaorchestra.org/concerts/masterworks/going-places

"...From the very first moment I gave the first downbeat at the first rehearsal, I felt a special connection, a magic with the players. That’s not always a sure thing. There’s a lot of chemistry to what we do. I often say that conducting is the only proof we have that telepathy exists.”

Read more about what Giancarlo Guerrero had to say about his appointment as Sarasota Orchestra music director designate in this Sarasota Magazine article: https://www.sarasotamagazine.com/arts-and-entertainment/2024/08/sarasota-orchestra-giancarlo-guerrero

With our season starting so soon, we think it's time to see what our musicians have been up to during the summer!

Principal Violist Stephanie Block spent some quality time in her Chicago hometown: "I had the opportunity to play at Lollapalooza with Laufey and the Chicago Philharmonic," Stephanie says. "It was so amazing to play for a crowd of almost 90,000 people."

She adds, "I spent a few weeks playing with my hometown orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. I even got to share the stage with my high school private teacher as she played the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the CSO."

Stephanie later spent two weeks at the Grand Teton Music Festival: "The Grand Teton Music Festival was an incredible experience to collaborate with so many amazing musicians and encounter lots of wildlife!” she says. “I was also joined by my Sarasota Orchestra viola colleague Nathan Frantz for a week!"

Single tickets are on sale now! Be the first in line for tickets to our full movie screening of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back with live music! You also won't want to miss the first concert in each of Sarasota Orchestra's five unique series:

🥁Chamber Soirées: Baroque Banquet
🎶Discoveries: Gershwin's American Dream
🍿Great Escapes: Reel Intrigue
🧳Masterworks: Going Places
🎤Pops: Kings of Soul

For ticket discounts, build a Flex Pass of three or more concerts at SarasotaOrchestra.org/Concerts.

"In an interview Thursday, Guerrero said when he was in Sarasota in January to conduct a concert featuring Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, he realized during the first rehearsal 'that this is orchestra is really good. The most positive impression you can have is with the first downbeat. It’s chemistry. It’s one of those mysteries in our art form, but sparks were flying.'"

Read all about the sparks that are sure to fly with our new music director designate, Giancarlo Guerrero, at https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/entertainment/music/2024/08/22/new-grammy-winning-sarasota-orchestra-music-director-selected/74890012007/

"After a two-year search, Sarasota Orchestra has named Grammy Award-winning conductor Giancarlo Guerrero the seventh music director in its 75-year history...

Guerrero will serve as music director designate during the 2024-25 season as he completes his 16th season in Nashville before officially taking the baton at Sarasota Orchestra in its 2025-26 season."

Read more about Giancarlo Guerrero and his appointment as Sarasota Orchestra music director designate at
https://www.yourobserver.com/news/2024/aug/22/sarasota-orchestra-names-music-director/

Sarasota Orchestra is embarking on a new musical journey with six-time GRAMMY® Award-winning conductor Giancarlo Guerrero as our seventh music director beginning fall 2025.

🎶 Get ready to witness captivating performances as Giancarlo Guerrero brings his unparalleled artistry to Sarasota and Manatee.

📅Mark your calendar now for Nov. 8-10, 2024, and Jan. 30-Feb. 2, 2025, when he will return to conduct Sarasota Orchestra twice during his year as music director designate.

🌟 This is a pivotal moment in Sarasota Orchestra’s 76-year legacy, as we set the stage for exciting artistic growth and the vision of a transformative new Music Center.

Learn more and join us in celebration: https://www.sarasotaorchestra.org/guerrero

Today's Summer Playlist is brought to you by Paul Sciré. By day, Paul is Sarasota Orchestra's Senior Director of Donor Engagement – Major Gifts. By night, he hosts a rhythm & blues, funk, jazz-fusion, and soul radio show on WSLR. Here's a look at Paul's eclectic taste:

🎧Lux Aeterna by Clint Mansell, Kronos Quartet
🎧Spiegel im Spiegel by Arvo Pärt
🎧Blue in Green performed by Bill Evans (with Miles Davis & John Coltrane)
🎧Etude No.5 by Philip Glass, Maya Beiser
🎧Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98 by Johannes Brahms

Paul is excited to hear Brahms' Symphony No. 4 on this season's Masterworks 7. He says of the piece, "It is a superb symphony in every respect, with ultra-rich orchestration. Brahms was a master of using every instrument to its full potential. It is probably one of the finest works of all time."

Today is a great day because it's Summer Tuesday again! Tune into WSMR at 8pm to hear Strauss, Williams, Scott, and Dvořák from SMF Festival Friday 2. 😋

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Call 941-487-2710 to join today, or visit SarasotaOrchestra.org/donate.

Today's summer playlist is brought to you by Grants and Donor Communications Manager, Casey Murphy. His picks are:

🎧THE GREATEST by Billie Eilish
🎧Red Wine Supernova by Chappell Roan
🎧YA YA by Beyoncé
🎧Don't Forget Me by Maggie Rogers
🎧The Planets by Gustav Holst

He is excited to hear Holst's The Planets and says, "When I was a kid, Holst’s The Planets was the first orchestral music that I remember voluntarily putting on to listen to myself. I have never heard it live before, so I am excited to experience the Orchestra playing this iconic piece."

It's Tuesday and you know what that means— Summer Tuesday with WSMR is back! This week, hear Esmail, Beethoven, and Mendelssohn from SMF's Festival Saturday 1 at 8pm ET. 😋

Today's summer playlist is brought to you by Social Media and PR Associate, Emma Solloway. Lately, Emma has been listening to:

🎧Exmilitary by JPEGMAFIA
🎧Mas, Que Nada! by Jorge Ben Jor
🎧Spring breakers by Charli xcx
🎧HIGHJACK by A$AP Rocky and Jessica Pratt
🎧Diaspora, Concerto for Saxophone and Orchestra by Billy Childs

Emma is excited to hear Childs' piece next season and says, "It's exciting to think we're able to present a piece by a living composer who has had such an impact on the orchestra (and jazz) world through his writing. Saxophonist Steven Banks worked with Childs to create a work that would 'chronicle the paradigm of the forced Black American diaspora, as sifted through the prism of Childs’ own experience as a Black man in America.' The piece illustrates three works by black poets in three movements. I think it's amazing that we have the opportunity to highlight such an important work; it is essential for orchestras to prioritize presenting works by underrepresented composers."

Happy Summer Tuesday, once again! WSMR will broadcast Masterworks 7 at 8pm ET. Tune in for Zare, Mozart, and Dvořák. 😋

Last month, Principal Percussionist Marcelina Suchocka went abroad with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra on a ten-city tour that included stops in Spain, Germany, Austria, and Belgium. She made time for a side trip to Uhingen, just outside of Stuttgart, Germany, to visit a place where some of the finest percussion instruments are made.

"What an epic experience getting to tour the Kolberg Percussion factory in Germany!" Marcelina says. "Thanks to Klaus and Bernhard Kolberg for their warm hospitality, allowing us to try instruments, see how they are made, and view their truly one-of-a-kind timpani museum!"

Marcelina had a keen eye for some magnificent architecture in the historic cities she visited. Check out her photos, including snapshots from more than one world-famous concert hall.

Today we're highlighting Communications Manager, Sara Stovall, and her eclectic summer playlist! She has been listening to:

🎧Squirrel of Possibility by Punch Brothers
🎧Higher Love by Steve Winwood
🎧Float by Janelle Monae
🎧Find Yourself by Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real
🎧Tzigane by Maurice Ravel

Sara is excited to hear Ravel's Tzigane next season. She says, "I heard one of the Sarasota Music Festival fellows workshop the opening of Ravel’s Tzigane in a masterclass with Benjamin Beilman this summer, and since then I haven’t been able to get this astonishing showpiece for violin off my mind. I can’t wait to hear Grace Park play the whole thing with Sarasota Orchestra on our March Masterworks concert!"

Tuesday is quickly becoming our favorite day of the week because it's Summer Tuesday with WSMR again! Tune in tonight at 8pm ET to hear Rossini, Price, Gershwin, and Tchaikovsky from Masterworks 6. 😋

Tonight's the night! Another Summer Tuesday WSMR broadcast will feature Masterworks 5. Tune in at 8pm ET to hear Nielson, Mendelssohn, and Rachmaninoff. 😄🥰

Next up for our SO summer playlists is Principal Viola, Stephanie Block! Stephanie has been listening to:

🎧we can't be friends (wait for your love) by Ariana Grande
🎧Falling Behind by Laufey
🎧Mastermind by Taylor Swift
🎧Giselle: Act II: Grand pas de deux: Adagio by Adolph Adam

She is looking forward to playing Adam's Giselle: Act II: Grand pas de deux: Adagio during a Sarasota Orchestra and Sarasota Ballet collaboration.

"It has a huge viola solo, something we don't get very often, let alone one that is nearly six minutes long! It's so beautiful, and was something I learned for fun during the pandemic to bring me some comfort. I'm so glad I'll get to play it in the orchestra." -Stephanie Block.

We are heartbroken to learn about the loss of composer Sarah Gibson. Sarasota Orchestra had the privilege of performing the world premiere of her piece, “to make this mountain taller,” in 2023.

Gayle Williams shared these words in her review of the premiere:
“You can call [Sarah Gibson] a rising star, but she already stands firmly as a composer of note with plenty of work, including this commission from the League of American Orchestras and its new Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation Orchestral Commissions Program…” –Sarasota Herald-Tribune, April 2023

“to make this mountain taller” can be listened to at https://sarasotaorchestra.org/rec/to-make-this-mountain-taller.

Our heartfelt thoughts are with her family and loved ones.

We love seeing Sarasota Orchestra musicians together in different places! This time, Michael Turkell (Principal second violin), Bobby Nunes (Principal oboe), Rachel Daniels (viola), Kat Baloff (violin), Stephanie Block (Principal viola), and Samantha Bennett (former Principal second violin), along with Kat’s husband and fellow violinist Yordan Tenev, met up in Fayetteville, AR for the Artosphere Festival earlier this summer.

T-minus two hours until WSMR broadcasts Masterworks 4! Tune in tonight to hear Mozart, Puts, and Mahler at 8pm ET. ❤🤩