Three things in life are certain: death, taxes, and December performances of Handel’s Messiah. The world’s most famous oratorio appears every holiday season, with hundreds if not thousands of productions by professional and amateur groups around the world.
For gamers, this is a big deal: Internationally revered FINAL FANTASY composer Nobuo Uematsu will attend both of The Florida Orchestra’s performances of Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY® coming up in just weeks at the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg. This is Uematsu’s first time attending concerts in Florida.
For Stuart Malina, Common Fanfare for an Uncommon Orchestra was uncommonly difficult to compose. In fact, it almost never happened at all.
A pair of natural wonders of the classical music world come to life this weekend when The Florida Orchestra performs the most popular works of Max Bruch and Franz Schubert, featuring Concertmaster Jeffrey Multer.
We are barely into the second month of our 50th anniversary season, but The Florida Orchestra has already performed “side-by-side” with 275 students – enough musicians to create four orchestras. As TFO’s community engagement manager, I help make these experiences happen, but do they make a difference to students?
Like many American kids growing up, Kevin Wilt dreamed of being a superhero. One day he was Batman, jumping across skyscrapers as crowds on the streets looked up in awe. The next day he was Spider-Man, spinning a web of intrigue over the city skyline.
In just one week, The Florida Orchestra performed for nearly 30,000 people — almost all for free. It was an exhilarating, exhausting run as musicians and staff, led by Music Director Michael Francis, traveled to Pasco County, Tampa and St. Petersburg for hospital, youth, side-by-side and park concerts.
This just might be the most intriguing title of a work in the entire Florida Orchestra season: Horizon Gravy. Sounds delicious, but what does it mean? We asked Paul Reller, a University of South Florida associate professor of music who composed the piece as part of TFO’s Florida Fanfare Project to celebrate its 50th season.
Brace yourself for the boom of cannons, when The Florida Orchestra lights the fuse on Tchaikovsky’s rousing and riotous fanfare, the 1812 Overture.
