Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota presents The Glenn Miller Sound

February 12, 2021 – Sarasota

Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota takes a musical trip back in time with “The Glenn Miller Sound,” March 7, 3:00 p.m., outdoors at Nathan Benderson Park, 5851 Nathan Benderson Circle, Sarasota. Percussionist Rick Costa has assembled some of the area’s best jazz musicians, including vocalist Walt Andrus, saxophonist Lew Del Gatto, trumpeter Dan Miller, bassist Don Mopsick and pianist Roy Gerson, for an afternoon of the best of Glenn Miller and the swinging sounds of the 40s. To ensure the safety of audience members, musicians and staff, in addition to the outdoor setting, all seating will be socially distanced, guests’ temperatures will be taken upon arrival and masks or face coverings will be required. As a further safeguard, there will be no will call and tickets must be purchased in advance. Tickets are $35 and are available online at ArtistSeriesConcerts.org or by calling 941-306-1202, Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. 

“The advent of radio and the music of the 40s Swing era, especially that of Glenn Miller, all had an unprecedented impact on America that carries through to this day,” says Joseph Holt, director of artist programs for Artist Series Concerts. “While our original plans to present this concert last season as a salute to the 75^th anniversary of the end of WWII were scuttled by the pandemic, we weren’t giving up on the chance to revisit that era and some of its many still-famous, feel-good tunes, performed by an ensemble of stellar area jazz musicians.”

Leading the lineup of percussionist Rick Costa’s Jazz Sextet is vocalist Walt Andrus, who spent 15 years touring with Buddy Morrow and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and whose smooth vocal style is still likened to that of Frank Sinatra at his best. Other members include Costa, himself a long-time fixture on the southwest Florida jazz scene; former Saturday Night Live saxophonist Lew Del Gatto; trumpeter Dan Miller, who has toured with Harry Connick Jr., Wynton Marsalis, Tom Jones, Woody Herman and many others; veteran bassist Don Mopsick; and Roy Gerson, the noted pianist and band leader who has appeared in over a dozen movies, including “Cotton Club,” “Crimes and Misdemeanors,” “The Mirror Has Two Faces” and “The Associate.”

This performance also marks the debut of Artist Series Concerts at Nathan Benderson Park. “We are very excited to be in this space,” says Marcy Miller, executive director of Artist Series Concerts. “It’s the perfect outdoor setting to put audiences ‘In the Mood’ to enjoy a laid-back Sunday afternoon swinging and swaying to the great toe-tapping sounds of the 40s.“

Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota’s 2021
Winter-Spring Outdoor Season
(Check individual listings below for dates, times, and venue.)

Thursday, February 18, 2021, 5:30 p.m.
Outdoors at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens Downtown Sarasota campus, 1534 Mound Street, Sarasota

WOMEN OF NOTE: A Celebration of Female Voices and Female Composers with Jenny Kim-Godfrey, soprano; Robyn Rocklein, mezzo-soprano; Joseph Holt, piano; and narration by Marcy Miller, executive director of Artist Series Concerts: In the classical music world, the last names Mendelssohn and Schumann usually evoke the first names Felix and Robert, two great composers of the 19th century. But Felix Mendelssohn’s older sister, Fanny Mendelssohn, and Robert Schumann’s wife, Clara Schumann, were each brilliant musicians and composers in their own right. “Women of Note” showcases works by them plus two other formidable but often overlooked female talents, Amy Beach, the first composer to have a symphony performed by a major orchestra, in 1896, and Marion Bauer, a contemporary of Aaron Copland and a key figure in the shaping of 20th-century American music. Noted area sopranos Jenny Kim-Godfrey and Robyn Rocklein are joined by pianist Joseph Holt and narrator Marcy Miller as they reprise their roles in a live performance of the program that they recorded on video in summer of 2020 as part of Florida Studio Theatre’s Suffragist Project. 

“When Jenny sings, it’s magic.” – Grammy winning soprano Sylvia McNair

“Soprano Robyn Rocklein was outstanding, and delivered a “stylish performance.” – Sarasota Herald Tribune

Wednesday, March 10, 2021
4:00 p.m. performance
5:00 p.m. dinner 
Outdoors at Plantation Golf & Country Club, Venice, 500 Rockley Blvd., Venice

WORLD OF JAZZ with BILL BUCHMAN’S ART OF JAZZ QUINTET: A familiar presence on the area’s arts and jazz scene, pianist Bill Buchman has toured extensively throughout the United States and Europe and has worked with such jazz legends as Jo Jones, Bobby Hackett, John LaPorta, Eddie ‘Lockjaw’ Davis, and many others. 

In “World of Jazz,” Buchman’s quintet, featuring Buchman on piano, Rick Aaron on flute and Bennet Capoverde on conga, presents a program of exotic melodies and rhythms from the diverse musical cultures of the jazz world.

“Originality, creativity, and rhythm. Bill Buchman’s ensemble encompasses all these and more!” – WRRG, Chicago

Sunday, March 28, 2021, 3:00 p.m.
Outdoors at Nathan Benderson Park, 5851 Nathan Benderson Circle, Sarasota

VENTURES IN BRASS with the Venice Symphony Brass Quintet (Aaron Romm and Derek Blankenship, trumpet; Robert Moore, horn; Joe Offner, trombone; Joseph Alvarez, tuba):The Venice Symphony Brass Quintet offers a musical smorgasbord covering everything from jazz and standard brass quintet literature, to Bach and Broadway.

Sunday, April 18, 2021, 3:00 p.m.
Outdoors at Nathan Benderson Park, 5851 Nathan Benderson Circle, Sarasota

HEAT LATIN JAZZ BAND: Heat Latin Jazz Band is a vibrant seven-piece salsa/Latin Jazz group featuring students from Florida Gulf Coast University and Florida Southwestern State College in Fort Myers, Florida. Their music covers a wide variety of traditional Latin music, ranging from salsa classics, Latin jazz and original compositions. The iconic classics of Celia Cruz, Oscar D’León, Joe Arroyo, El Gran Combo, Hector Lavoe and many others grace their repertoire. Heat’s musicians also share a wide variety of cultural backgrounds including Argentine, Cuban, Ecuadorian, Puerto Rican, Trinidadian and Venezuelan. 

Wednesday, April 21, 2021 
4:00 p.m. performance
5:00 p.m. dinner 
Outdoors at Plantation Golf & Country Club, Venice, 500 Rockley Blvd., Venice

MARIA WIRRIES with ALAN J. COREY, piano: Emerging Broadway artist and local singing sensation Maria Wirries makes a return home for this special engagement with her longtime voice coach Alan Jay Corey on piano, performing a selection of favorite and familiar tunes from Broadway and Jazz. Maria has been charming area audiences with her wide-ranging voice and effervescent personality since she was just 11 years old. She last performed for Artist Series Concerts in 2017, alongside her colleagues from Penn State’s Musical Theatre program, in a production of “Hot n’ Cole.” Since then, Maria has graduated and almost immediately began touring with the Tony Award-winning show “Dear Evan Hansen.” In October 2020, she released her debut CD, “Just Keep Singing,” featuring Maria performing eight of her own compositions, reflecting her many influences that extend from Broadway to jazz, classical to country, and gospel to Americana.

Other Special Events

• Artist Series Concerts Friends presents its annual fundraiser in support of Artist Series Concerts’ competitions, as well as educational/community outreach programs. The event is the organization’s largest annual fundraising event. The 2021 ASC FRIENDS’ virtual gala is scheduled to take place online on March 3, 2021, 5:30 p.m.
  
• The Suncoast Music Scholarships, an annual collaborative competition conducted and funded by Artist Series Concerts and the Sarasota Music Club. This year it will award $8,000 to young musicians from high schools in Sarasota and Manatee counties. Applications for this year’s scholarship awards are available online at www.ArtistSeriesConcerts.org/suncoast-music-scholarships. The deadline for submitting applications is March 31, 2021.