Sarasota Orchestra Receives $65,000 Grant From Community Foundation Of Sarasota County

Sarasota Orchestra has received a $65,000 Strategic Partnership Grant from the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, which comes from the Martha Leiter and Nancy Streetman Fund II.

In addition to being a Title Sponsor for Sarasota Orchestra's Dinner Series, the Community Foundation's funding makes possible several programs and events in the 2022-2023 season, including the Parks and Partners concerts, the Sarasota Youth Orchestras program, the Special Concert & Gala event featuring Yo-Yo Ma, and the upcoming Free Family Concert of Peter and the Wolf.

Thanks in part to the generous support of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, the family-friendly On the Road with SO: Parks and Partners community concerts will continue this season. These outdoor performances are offered at no cost and feature either the Sarasota Brass Quintet or the Sarasota Wind Quintet in public parks and partner venues in Sarasota and Manatee counties.

Alongside the concerts, the Community Foundation helps fund the Orchestra's extensive education offerings, including the Sarasota Youth Orchestras, which has been hailed as one of the most exemplary youth programs in the Southeast. The nationally acclaimed artistic staff, conductors and coaches have created an unparalleled learning experience for thousands of young musicians. Many become performers with major symphony orchestras throughout the country, including Sarasota Orchestra.

On January 29, Chelsea Gallo, assistant conductor of The Florida Orchestra, will lead Sarasota Orchestra in a free, 60 minute concert featuring Peter and the Wolf, Prokofiev's "symphonic fairy tale for children." Other pieces include classical renditions of Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty, Rossini's Cinderella and Nielsen's Aladdin. This special concert is made possible, in part, by the Strategic Partnership grant from the Community Foundation.

"We are so thankful for our continued partnership with the Community Foundation of Sarasota County," said Sarasota Orchestra President and CEO Joseph McKenna. "The Community Foundation's generous support is an essential component of Sarasota Orchestra's success and helps us broaden our overall impact."

To learn more about Sarasota Orchestra's 2022-2023 season and programs, visit www.SarasotaOrchestra.org.

Since 1949, Sarasota Orchestra has inspired and entertained music-lovers across the region and visitors from around the world. As the oldest continuing orchestra in the state of Florida, each year the 76-member Orchestra performs more than 100 classical, pops, chamber music, and community outreach concerts. Sarasota Orchestra's acclaimed music education program includes the Sarasota Youth Orchestras, established in 1959. Sarasota Orchestra is also the parent program of the world-renowned Sarasota Music Festival, founded in 1965. For further information, please visit www.SarasotaOrchestra.org.

The Community Foundation of Sarasota County is a public charity founded in 1979 by the Southwest Florida Estate Planning Council as a resource for caring individuals and the causes they support, enabling them to make a charitable impact on the community. With assets of $520 million in more than 1,570 charitable funds, the Community Foundation awarded grants and scholarships totaling $27.5 million dollars last year in the areas of education, the arts, health and human services, civic engagement, animal welfare and the environment. Since its founding, the Community Foundation has been able to grant more than $350 million to area nonprofit organizations to our community thanks to the generosity of charitable individuals, families, and businesses. For more information, visit CFSarasota.org or call (941) 955-3000.