Sarasota Orchestra: Planning For a New Home

By Ryan G. Van Cleave | December 2022

The Sarasota Orchestra has the distinction of being the oldest continuing orchestra in Florida. Since 1949, the group has been energizing, inspiring, and educating the community through world-class performances and a robust music education program. 

“For the last seven decades,” says Sarasota Orchestra President and CEO Joseph McKenna, “there’s been a great love of music cultivated in Sarasota. There’s a tremendous sense of belonging within our organization and with the community. People feel connected, and in an increasingly chaotic, noisy, violent world, it’s vital to have a safe place to come to—to learn, explore, and be inspired.”

McKenna notes that his conversations with recently passed music director Bramwell Tovey echoed those goals. “Our job is to improve the human experience through music,” McKenna says. Even in the face of challenges like Tovey’s passing, a recession, the recent pandemic, or 9/11—which occurred during McKenna’s first year here—this organization has proven to be incredibly resilient.

“At the cornerstone of my leadership is this principle: live in the future, execute in the present,” McKenna says. It’s that clarity of focus that has helped the organization stay on track and continue to grow.

Despite all the challenges the Orchestra has faced, this past March, they announced that they’ve reached a milestone in an eight-year process of finding a new home with the space to properly house all they’re doing and hope to do in the future. Renting the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall for its Masterworks and Pops series, performing other concerts in the Beatrice Friedman Symphony Center near the Sarasota Bayfront, and rehearsing in various other venues simply wasn’t sufficient any longer. 

No longer will this be a transitory orchestra. Soon, they’ll have an appropriate, fitting home that won’t be potentially imperiled by climate change and rising sea levels.

Because of the area’s growth and its booming arts and culture base, the Orchestra entered into a purchase agreement for a 32-acre lot on Fruitville Road between Honore Avenue and Cattlemen Road near Interstate 75 to serve as the site of a state-of-the-art acoustical concert hall. After so many years of sharing space and venues, the organization will soon have greatly increased performance, education, event, and outdoor space. Since the current plan has almost 1/3 of the land being set aside for natural spaces, it’ll be beautiful as well as functional.

It’s not just the Sarasota Orchestra that’ll benefit from the creation of this new music center. Input from more than 30 local music and cultural organizations is informing the planning process so that it meets their needs as well. “We’re creating a space for the arts to blossom,” McKenna says about the planned 1,800-seat concert hall, 700-seat recital hall, music library, rehearsal rooms, and education and administrative offices.

Make no mistake—the selling point of the new music center will be its acoustical excellence. “While we’ve been blessed to perform at a range of venues throughout the area, none are concert halls built specifically for music,” admits McKenna. “There’s something transformational about just entering a space that’s designed for top-level acoustics, almost as if the space itself is preparing you. And when the music happens, it’s like the sound envelops your spirit.”

No music venue like this currently exists on the west coast of Florida, but such a place is necessary for the Sarasota Orchestra to grow. Finding the right location, too, was a critical part of the exhaustive process. Once it became clear that downtown Sarasota parcels weren’t available or sufficient to advance the Orchestra’s vision, the parcel on Fruitville Road became their top choice. Located in the epicenter of the two-county region and being so close to I-75 allows great access to more people.

Since the March announcement, the Orchestra has been working closely with Sarasota County and neighboring communities to ensure the path forward for the new music center is clear and welcome. They’re also soliciting insights and input from fellow arts organizations, music organizations, and cultural organizations since they’ve always had a community orientation. “While the Orchestra was leading the effort and developing the resources to make it happen, it wasn’t solely about us,” McKenna explains. “It’s something we’re doing for the betterment of the community.” 

“Our board has been really looking into this,” McKenna says. “How do we advance our work, not for just the next 10 years but for the next 100? This goes back to where the music center will sit geographically, and all the potential it holds. We anticipate the reach and scope of offerings will explode, which is exciting. As you know, education and performance are two major parts of our mission. It’s what drives our work here.”

McKenna notes that it took quite a few years to imagine and properly conceive of Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. When you do it correctly, though, it creates a powerful sense of community pride and a magnificent sense of space. The Orchestra’s urgent need for a new location didn’t lead to rushing. They took their time and carefully evaluated all options before making this purchase.

The concert hall is the instrument of the Orchestra. And with the gift of this new music center that’ll be on par with what one finds in major cities, the Orchestra is being provided with what they need to grow and create music on a higher level to be shared with the community for years to come. That’s a pretty exciting thought. This transformational project will pay benefits for people who aren’t even born yet but will attend a 50^th or 75^th anniversary celebration of the creation of this music center.

For more information about the Sarasota Orchestra, www.sarasotaorchestra.org, or call 941.953.3434.