South Florida Symphony Orchestra Presents Joachim, Simon, Mozart and Rimsky-Korsakov at The Parker at The Parker (Parker Playhouse)

Timeless classics meet bold new voices as South Florida Symphony Orchestra (SFSO), led by award-winning music director Maestra Sebrina María Alfonso, celebrates Black History Month with a standout program. SFSO will present the anticipated Florida premiere of GRAMMY® nominee Nathalie Joachim’s Had to Be, an intimate exploration of memory and identity, performed by rising cellist Seth Parker Woods and the orchestral premiere of Carlos Simon’s Four Black American Dances, a vibrant work filled with spiritual depth. Completing the program, Mozart’s “Haffner” symphony bursts with celebratory energy and elegant precision, while Rimsky-Korsakov’s crowd-pleasing Capriccio espagnol sparkles with irresistible Spanish rhythms at 7:30 p.m. onWednesday, February 18, at The Parker in Fort Lauderdale (707 NE 8th Street). Enjoy a pre-concert chat with Dr. Alan Mason, professor emeritus of music at Barry University, 30 minutes before the concert, featuring in-depth conversation and insights about the works and composers.

Haitian American composer Nathalie Joachim’s Had To Be draws on Black Dandyism - a cultural movement blending European and Black American male fashion to convey style, status, and identity - as well as broader African diasporic influences, including Caribbean musical traditions and New Orleans second line celebrations. The three-movement concerto was written for three-time GRAMMY-nominated cellist Seth Parker Woods, described by The Guardian as “a cellist of power and grace” with “mature artistry and willingness to go to the brink.”

Had to Be is positive, prideful, and radical all at once. It represents the perpetually colorful and complex intersections between race, class, gender, power, and style. It honors what it means to be Black and continuously choosing to be free. By coincidence, or perhaps to no surprise, Woods has topped the Best Dressed Lists in Variety, Texas Monthly, and OC Register.

Cellist Seth Parker Woods is a versatile artist and advocate for contemporary music, having premiered numerous concertos written for him, including works by Tyshawn Sorey, Julia Adolphe, and Rebecca Saunders, in addition to Nathalie Joachim’s Had To Be. His GRAMMY-nominated, autobiographical work Difficult Grace has been performed to critical acclaim at major venues including 92NY, CAP UCLA, and the San Diego Symphony. Woods has appeared at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and Konzerthaus Dortmund, among others. Since 2022, he has served on the faculty of USC Thornton School of Music and was appointed Robert Mann Chair in Strings and Chamber Music in 2024. He has also held residencies with the Kaufman Music Center and Seattle Symphony and received the 2022 Chamber Music America Michael Jaffee Visionary Award.

SFSO is also proud to present its orchestral premiere of Four Black American Dances from GRAMMY-nominated African American composer, Carlos Simon, the composer-in-residence for the John F. Kennedy Center. 

Adding to the varied program, SFSO will perform Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Symphony No. 35 “Haffner,” a four-movement vibrant, celebratory symphony written in 1782, to honor Mozart’s friend, Sigmund Haffner, and his rise to nobility in Salzberg. 

Concluding the evening is the crowd-pleasing Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio espagnol, based on Spanish folk songs and dances, and filled with vibrant rhythms that whisk audiences off to exotic, far-off places of the imagination.

SFSO’s 28th season of “Juxtapositions” explores beauty in contrasts, where the bold and the sublime intersect, and timeless masterpieces share the stage with today’s most compelling and celebrated musical voices. This season’s performances burst with color and power from the sun-drenches skies of Mendelssohn’s “Italian” to Sibelius’ soul-searching Violin Concerto to Beethoven’s luminous Piano Concerto No. 4 and Dvoák’s Bohemian Eighth.

Tickets are now on sale beginning at $35 (plus ticketing fees). Buy tickets online at southfloridasymphony.org or ParkerPlayhouse.com; by phone at (954) 462-0222, press 1; and in person at the Broward Center’s AutoNation Box Office. Discounted Flex Passes are available by visiting southfloridasymphony.org/2025-26-season or by calling (954) 522-8445. Flex subscribers save up to 15% off single ticket prices and have the flexibility to use passes when it best fits their schedule.

For additional information, visit southfloridasymphony.org, call (954) 522-8445 or email info@southfloridasymphony.org.