The Sarasota Orchestra is an American symphony

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

located in

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...

. The orchestra is administratively based at the Beatrice Friedman Symphony Center. The orchestra performs concerts in Sarasota at several venues: * Holley Hall, Beatrice Friedman Symphony Center * Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall * Sarasota Opera House * Neel Performing Arts Center * North Port High School Auditorium

History

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. Alexander Bloch was the first full-time music director of the orchestra, from 1950 to 1962. 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. 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. 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'. In February 2011,

Anu Tali Anu Tali (born June 18, 1972) is an Estonian conductor. Life and career Tali was born in Tallinn. Her mother Anne Tali is a prominent mathematician. Her twin sister Kadri Tali is also a conductor and the director of the Estonian National Symph ...

made her first guest-conducting appearance with the orchestra. In June 2013, the orchestra named Tali as its next music director, effective August 1, 2013, with an initial contract of 3 years. 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 that Tali is to stand down from her music directorship of the orchestra in 2019. Following the departure of Tali as music director,

Jeffrey Kahane Jeffrey Alan Kahane (born September 12, 1956) 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 t ...

served as artistic director with the orchestra from 2019 to 2021. In the 2019-2020 season, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic,

Bramwell Tovey Bramwell Tovey (11 July 1953 – 12 July 2022) was a British conductor and composer. Life and career Tovey was educated at Ilford County High School, the Royal Academy of Music and the University of London. His formal music education was as ...

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 tooke the title of music director-designate on 1 September 2021, and served in that capacity until his death on 12 July 2022.

Music directors

* Alexander Bloch (1950–1962) * Paul Wolfe (1961–1995) * Leif Bjaland (1997–2012) *

(2013–2019)

References

External links

Official website of the Sarasota Orchestra
{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1948 1948 establishments in Florida Organizations based in Florida Culture of Sarasota, Florida Orchestras based in Florida