Sarasota Orchestra October 2023 Concerts

October 4, 2023 – Sarasota

Sarasota Orchestra launches its 75th Anniversary season with a wide variety of concerts in October. From a free concert for the whole family–to the most popular symphony from the father of the symphonic form–to a one-of-a-kind Star Wars watch party with live orchestra–this month has something for everybody. 

FREE Family Concert: Ferret in the Orchestra

Sarasota Orchestra presents a FREE encore performance of its Young Person’s Concerts. The interactive program follows the antics of a playful, curious, and invisible ferret named Ari, who sneaks into an instrument repair shop late one night and discovers a paradise full of interesting sounds to explore. Free general admission tickets will be available at the door on a first-come, first-served basis. The Orchestra’s website offers a sign-up to get concert reminders, updates, and “know-before-you-go” tips.

Conductor Christopher Confessore, Principal Pops Conductor of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, leads the concert. 

When: October 6, 7:00 pm 

Where: Van Wezel

How:  Tickets free at the door. Visit SarasotaOrchestra.org for more information.

Chamber Soirée: Rare Gems

The first Chamber Soirée of the season offers a program of rare gems for strings and piano. Gustav Mahler’s Piano Quartet in A Minor, rediscovered in the 1960s, is the symphonic master’s sole surviving work of chamber music and was used as part of the soundtrack for Martin Scorsese’s 2010 film Shutter Island. Claude Debussy wrote only one string quartet, but its sensual beauty and originality destined it to become a favorite of music lovers worldwide.

When: October 8, 4:00 pm 

Where: Holley Hall

How:  Visit SarasotaOrchestra.org or call the Box Office at (941) 953-3434.

Great Escapes: New York, New York

From Broadway to the Bowery, the Great Escapes season gets off to a bustling start with a musical immersion in the city that never sleeps! David Alan Miller leads the Orchestra in selections from the theater, as well as the worlds of pop and jazz. Music by Leonard Bernstein, Duke Ellington, Henry Mancini, and George Gershwin takes listeners uptown, downtown, and all around the Big Apple.

GRAMMY® Award-winning conductor David Alan Miller has served as Music Director of the Albany Symphony since 1992 and currently serves as Sarasota Orchestra’s Artistic Advisor.

When:

October 11, 5:30 pm

October 12, 7:30 pm

October 13, 5:30 pm

October 14, 7:30 pm

Where: Holley Hall

How:  Visit SarasotaOrchestra.org or call the Box Office at (941) 953-3434.

Discoveries: London Calling

Known for his effervescent podium presence, conductor Nicholas McGegan opens the Discoveries season with Richard Strauss’ luscious Serenade, featuring 13 of Sarasota Orchestra’s wind and horn players. The string instruments have their turn to shine in Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro, composed in 1905 to show off the strings of the London Symphony Orchestra. The two teams are joined by trombones and timpani to perform Haydn’s last and perhaps best-known symphony, which brims with drama and energy.

Nicholas McGegan has been hailed as “one of the finest baroque conductors of his generation” (The Independent) and “an expert in 18th-century style” (The New Yorker).

When: October 21, 7:30 pm 

Where: Sarasota Opera House

How:  Visit SarasotaOrchestra.org or call the Box Office at (941) 953-3434.

Star Wars: A New Hope In Concert

Be there as Sarasota Orchestra performs John Williams’ Oscar® and GRAMMY®-winning score, composed for Lucasfilm’s inaugural Star Wars adventure released in 1977. While the Orchestra performs the iconic soundtrack live to film, the audience will be whisked to a galaxy far, far away as the movie plays in its entirety on the big screen. In a one-of-a-kind cinematic experience, audiences will feel the spaceships thunder in the timpani, thrill to the brass heralding Darth Vader’s fearsome presence, and vibrate to the Force’s awakening with ethereal flute and harp. Buckle up with Sarasota Orchestra and fully experience the breathtaking film from which the Star Wars universe unfolded. 

Susie Seiter, a prolific conductor and orchestrator best known for The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses, leads the Orchestra in this live cinematic experience. 

When: October 27 and 28, 7:30 pm 

Where: Van Wezel

How:  Visit SarasotaOrchestra.org or call the Box Office at (941) 953-3434.