Sarasota Orchestra Announces April 2022 Concerts

Sarasota Orchestra concludes several of its subscription series in the month of April with exceptional fanfare. The first weekend of the month begins with the long-awaited first Masterworks program of Bramwell Tovey's tenure as Music Director. In the subsequent weeks, the Orchestra offers a rousing conclusion to its Pops and Great Escapes series with programs showcasing the Great American Songbook and music depicting the Wild West.

Masterworks 7: Breaking Boundaries

Bramwell Tovey begins a new era as Sarasota Orchestra's Music Director as he takes the podium in a concert featuring four composers who fearlessly charted their own paths. The program's opening and closing works, Richard Strauss' Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks and Ravel's Daphnis and Chloé Suite No. 2 call upon the orchestra's musical and technical prowess. Violinist Angelo Xiang Yu performs Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto, the composer's final orchestral work. The program also features a work from Tovey's native England: Black British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's dramatic Ballade for Orchestra.

Grammy and Juno award-winning conductor and composer Bramwell Tovey is the newly appointed Music Director Designate of Sarasota Orchestra. He is Music Director Emeritus of the Vancouver Symphony, following an exceptional 18-year tenure as Music Director; Principal Conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra; and Artistic Advisor to the Rhode Island Philharmonic.

Violinist Angelo Xiang Yu, recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant as well as First Prize in the Yehudi Menuhin competition, has won consistent critical acclaim and enthusiastic audience response worldwide for his technique and musical maturity. He appears regularly as a soloist with orchestras around the world and as the newest member of the Shanghai Quartet.

April 1 | 8:00pm | Van Wezel

April 2 | 8:00pm | Van Wezel

April 3 | 2:30pm | Van Wezel

Tickets from $35, available at www.SarasotaOrchestra.org or (941) 953-3434

Pops 3: Unforgettable: The American Songbook

Sarasota Orchestra welcomes guest stars Nick Ziobro and Julia Goodwin, both winners of the Michael Feinstein Great American Songbook Vocal Competition. The duo are champions of the truly "Unforgettable" romantic anthems and jazz standards from the early 20th century. Celebrated pops conductor Sean O'Loughlin leads this program featuring music such as Frank Sinatra's "Come Fly with Me" and Etta James' "At Last."

Sean O'Loughlin is the Principal Pops Conductor of Symphoria in Syracuse, NY and the Principal Pops Conductor of the Victoria Symphony in Victoria, B.C. Canada. He has led performances with the Boston Pops Orchestra and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, among others, and is also in demand as a composer and arranger.

April 8 | 7:30pm | Van Wezel

April 9 | 2:30pm | Van Wezel

April 9 | 7:30pm | Van Wezel

How: Tickets from $37, available at www.SarasotaOrchestra.org or (941) 953-3434

Chamber Soirée 8: Quintessential Clarinet

Sarasota Orchestra Principal Clarinetist Bharat Chandra demonstrates the versatility of the instrument in a pairing of works for clarinet and strings. Many consider Brahms' Clarinet Quintet to be the composer's most profound. Black British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was inspired to write his own clarinet quintet after hearing Brahms' masterful work.

In collaboration with Florida Studio Theatre, the program opens with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, "A Psalm of Life," read by Kim Crow.

When: April 10, 4:00pm

Where: Holley Hall

How: Tickets from $38, available at www.SarasotaOrchestra.org or (941) 953-3434

Great Escapes 6: Saddles of the Silver Screen

Guest conductor Enrico Lopez-Yañez invites listeners to grab their cowboy boots and hat (not required!) for a ride through the soundtracks of beloved TV and movie Westerns. Lopez-Yañez guides the musical caravan of selections from The Lone Ranger, Annie Get Your Gun, Silverado, and more.

The Assistant Conductor of the Nashville Symphony, Enrico Lopez-Yañez leads over 50 performances annually on the Symphony's Pops Series, Family Series, Young People's Concerts, and Community Concerts.

April 20 | 5:30pm | Holley Hall

April 21 | 7:30pm | Holley Hall

April 22 | 5:30pm | Holley Hall

April 23 | 8:00pm | Holley Hall

How: Tickets from $42, available at www.SarasotaOrchestra.org or (941) 953-3434

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