Sarasota Sister Cities One World Award Gala

November 10, 2021 – Sarasota

 Fall and musical notes were in the air on Sunday evening, November 7 as citizen diplomats, opera patrons and Verdi cognoscente gathered to honor and celebrate the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Sarasota Opera, Maestro Victor DeRenzi with the Individual One World Award at Michael’s on East. 

City Commissioner Liz Alpert, Honorary OWA Gala Chair opened the event and presented Maestro DeRenzi the award for his extraordinary contributions to Sarasota and the world. The OWA honors one remarkable individual and one organization that have enhanced “understanding and respect” among citizens of the world through their extraordinary work or volunteer service. 

Maestro Victor DeRenzi is the only musical conductor to have performed every piece of music that Italian opera great Giuseppe Verdi wrote – hailed as the “Verdi Cycle.” Together with the Sarasota Opera, Maestro DeRenzi accomplished this spectacular feat over 28 seasons earning him local, national, and international praise and a knighthood from the Government of Italy –Cavaliere dell’Ordine della Stella d’Italia, Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy – for promoting Italian culture abroad. 

Sarasota City Manager, Marlon Brown presented the One World Organization Award to Richard Russell, the General Director of Sarasota Opera who accepted on behalf of the company. Sarasota Opera provided the entertainment for the gala with a selection of Verdi’s music. 

Sarasota Sister Cities is a local nonprofit citizen diplomacy network that works to promote and strengthen ties between Sarasota and our eight international Sister and Friendship cities: Perpignan, France; Dunfermline, Scotland; Vladimir, Russia, Tel Mond, Israel; Xiamen, Siming District, China; Mérida, Yucatán, México; Vladimir, Russia; Rapperswil-Jona, Switzerland; and Busseto, Italy. 

These Sister Cities relationships provide the foundation for cooperation between our cities through educational, cultural, business, municipal, technical, and professional projects, and exchanges. 

For more information about Sister Cities, visit www.sarasotasistercities.org