Artist Series Concerts Of Sarasota to Kick Off Season 29 This Month

Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota will open its 29th season, Talent Unveiled, on September 22 with a concert in the popular Sunday Best series presented at First Presbyterian Church. The three October concerts are from three other series, including Top Shelf Tuesdays, Lighter Fare, and the Soirée series.

September Serenade, with violist Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, clarinetist Bharat Chandra, and pianist Natalie Nedvetsky, opens the season and the Sunday Best series on September 22, 4:00 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church. As a founding member of the Dover String Quartet, Pajaro-van de Stadt was awarded first prize in multiple international chamber music competitions and received two Grammy nominations. Chandra, Sarasota Orchestra principal clarinetist, has performed in concerts throughout the world, including at the Sydney Opera House, Lincoln Center, and the Ravinia Festival. Nedvetsky is a laureate of several international piano competitions who boasts over 250,000 followers on social media. This program features trios by Mozart, Bruch, and Robert Schumann, and an arrangement of Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet for viola and piano. Tickets are $43 for general seating and $63 for VIP seating (includes post-concert reception with the artists). A 15% discount is offered when purchasing the complete Sunday Best series on or before September 22.

The new Top Shelf Tuesdays series features international superstars, and first up is French Connection with French-born violinist Arnaud Sussmann and pianist Michael Stephen Brown. They have been heard in recitals and with major orchestras across Europe, Israel, and the United States, and have been featured on PBS Live broadcasts as Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center artists. They will grace Church of the Palms with a concert of French music including sonatas by Debussy and Saint-Saëns on October 8 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $43 for general seating and $63 for VIP seating; a 15% discount is offered when purchasing the complete Top Shelf Tuesdays series on or before October 8.  

From Bach to Bluegrass opens the Lighter Fare series on October 15. Originally from Florida, violist Kayla Williams earned a Bachelor of Music from the Lynn Conservatory of Music in Boca Raton, Florida, and a Master of Music from the Juilliard School in New York City. Williams has been the guest of wide-ranging music festivals including the Grand Teton Music Festival, the Florida Folk Festival, and the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival. She has both performed live and recorded with Grammy Award winner Jon Batiste. Her genre-crossing concert includes instrumental and vocal music with jazz pianist Chris McCarthy, who has been hailed as one of the most impressive voices on the New York jazz scene. 

The 5:30 p.m. performance is followed by dinner at Plantation Golf & Country Club in Venice. Tickets cost $78 (includes dinner).

Principal violist Stephanie Block is an extraordinary new addition to the Sarasota Orchestra. Cellist Nicholas Mariscal is a member of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and was previously assistant principal cello of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. These two young phenoms join forces with Clare Longendyke, a celebrated pianist who has served as artist-in-residence at the University of Chicago, for Rhapsodies, the first concert in the Soirée series. Held in the one-of-a-kind music room of the Fischer/Weisenborne residence at 4:00 p.m. on October 20 and 21, this program includes Brahms' trio for clarinet (viola), cello, and piano. Tickets are $65 (includes refreshments following each performance).

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