Sarasota Orchestra
Encyclopedia
Sarasota Orchestra, formally known as the Florida West Coast Symphony, is an American symphony orchestra
located in Sarasota, Florida
, which performs symphonic and chamber works for the Manatee, Sarasota, and Charlotte counties. The 80-member orchestra performs more than 100 classical, pops and family concerts each year, and is the "oldest continuing orchestra" in the state of Florida.
The orchestra also hosts a music education program including the 50-year-old Youth Orchestra, which features five ensembles, the most advanced of which, The Youth Philharmonic, made its Carnegie Hall
debut in 2008.
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
.
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
located in Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota is a city located in Sarasota County on the southwestern coast of the U.S. state of Florida. It is south of the Tampa Bay Area and north of Fort Myers...
, which performs symphonic and chamber works for the Manatee, Sarasota, and Charlotte counties. The 80-member orchestra performs more than 100 classical, pops and family concerts each year, and is the "oldest continuing orchestra" in the state of Florida.
The orchestra also hosts a music education program including the 50-year-old Youth Orchestra, which features five ensembles, the most advanced of which, The Youth Philharmonic, made its Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
debut in 2008.
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. Their combined effort produced the debut concert of the Florida West Coast Symphony on March 12, 1949.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
Sarasota Music Festival
Sarasota Music Festival is an American classical music festival held annually during the month of June in Sarasota, Florida under the sponsorship of the Sarasota Orchestra. The Festival was founded in 1965 by conductor Paul Wolfe who remained director of the festival through the summer of 2006....
.