5 reasons to fall in love with the new season

Expecting a bit of a letdown after our grand 50th anniversary celebration? Don’t. Music Director Michael Francis has put an enormous amount of thought into programming every concert in our most wide-ranging season yet, which starts in the fall. “It’s our first chance to show where we’re going as an orchestra in our new era,” he said.

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From backyard orchids, new music blooms

Dorothy Hindman isn’t your typical classical composer. Her music is fearless, post-modern, tightly wound, sometimes digital, punctuated with punk, and always ear-opening. Music critics describe her compositions as visceral, profound, spectral. Some works cascade into a state of entropy, like a swirling black hole in deep space.

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It’s a blast of brass for rare performances of Janacek’s ‘Sinfonietta’

A little more than a week before rare performances of Janacek's Sinfonietta, TFO Personnel Manager Perry Landmeyer was in a bit of a panic. The piece calls for 12 trumpet players, instead of the typical three or four. Suddenly, he was one short.

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Did the king really stand for the Hallelujah chorus? And other Messiah mysteries

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.

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‘Running on Rooftops’ – 5 minutes of superhero bliss for Florida composer

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.

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Florida Fanfare Project: On the ‘Horizon Gravy’

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.

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