Sarasota Orchestra Receives NEA Grant To Support 2023 Sarasota Music Festival

Sarasota Orchestra has been approved for a $15,000 Grants for Arts Projects award from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to support the 2023 Sarasota Music Festival. The three-week Festival runs from June 5 – 24 and features a schedule of 12 different concerts, as well as a wide range of masterclasses, coaching sessions, and rehearsals. The internationally renowned program brings 60 fellows and 40 esteemed faculty artists from top conservatories and music schools to Sarasota to study and perform.

“The National Endowment for the Arts is pleased to support a wide range of projects, including the Sarasota Music Festival, demonstrating the many ways the arts enrich our lives and contribute to healthy and thriving communities,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “These organizations play an important role in advancing the creative vitality of our nation and helping to ensure that all people can benefit from arts, culture, and design.”

Sarasota Orchestra's project is among 1,130 projects across the country, totaling more than $31 million, that were selected during this second round of Grants for Arts Projects fiscal year 2023 funding.

“The tremendous support from the National Endowment for the Arts ensures a bright future for the Sarasota Music Festival and we are so grateful for our partnership with the NEA,” said Sarasota Orchestra President and CEO Joseph McKenna. “The arts are needed now more than ever and this award will help us continue to share world-class music with our community.”

For three weeks each June, internationally recognized guest artists and musicians come together in Florida to study and perform chamber music. Nearly 500 students worldwide audition to participate in the Sarasota Music Festival each year, but only 60 are accepted for the prestigious Festival, a program of Sarasota Orchestra.

Founded by Paul Wolfe, the Sarasota Music Festival began in 1965 as a one-week event with seven guest mentors. Wolfe was its director for 42 years as the Festival garnered international acclaim. Pianist and scholar Robert Levin served as director of the Festival from 2007 to 2016.

In its seventh year under Music Director Jeffrey Kahane, the 2023 Festival welcomes more than 40 guest artists on its faculty, including many of the Festival's own alumni.

Kahane is a renowned conductor and pianist who has performed with many of the world's great orchestras. In May 2017 he completed his 20th season as Music Director of The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, where he is now Conductor Laureate. He is the Professor of Keyboard Studies at USC Thornton School of Music.

Additional Information about the Sarasota Music Festival is available at http://www.sarasotaorchestra.org/festival. Patrons may reach the Box Office at (941) 953-3434.

For more information on other projects included in the NEA grant announcement, visit https://www.arts.gov/news.