Internationally acclaimed conductor Michael Francis opens his fifth season as music director of The Florida Orchestra in less than two weeks, launching a celebration of Beethoven’s 250th birthday. He conducts Opening Night concerts packed with music that reflects both Beethoven’s enduring influence and Tampa Bay’s deep cultural roots, including Cuban pianist Aldo López-Gavilán on one of the most famous concertos of all time, Grieg’s Piano Concerto; Ravel’s Bolero; Beethoven’s Leonore Overture No. 3; Gershwin’s Cuban Overture; and Mason Bates’ Mothership. Concerts are Sept. 27-29, 2019, in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater.
“We’ll use Beethoven as a framework to explore deeper issues of his life and music, such as perseverance, hope and heroism,” said Maestro Francis, who is programming all of Beethoven’s symphonies and major concertos over two seasons, with the 250th anniversary falling in December 2020. “Then we’ll ask: Who are the Beethovens of today? Who are the people reflecting our society through music? We’ll continue to transform our own community through the power of music.”
Under Maestro Francis, TFO’s commitment to innovation, collaboration, and accessibility has flourished. The largest professional orchestra in Florida will perform more than 130 concerts over the next eight months, many offering audiences new ways to engage with the music, including:
- Revolution: The Music of The Beatles – A Symphonic Experience (Oct. 4-6): With hundreds of rare photos and video; arranged and conducted by TFO’s Principal Pops Conductor Jeff Tyzik.
- Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony (Oct. 11-13): Michael Francis leads a rare, supersized performance of Mahler’s version of the Beethoven, but the show-stealer might be Strauss’ Don Quixote, featuring TFO’s first-ever visual artist-in-residence Geff Strik – unlike any other orchestra performance anywhere. Maximilian Hornung on cello. Click here for blog article.
- Free concerts: Nothing is more accessible than TFO’s free Pops in the Park concerts, which attract thousands to Vinoy Park (Oct. 19) and River Tower Park (Oct. 20) in the fall. This is the second year for TFO’s series of free, full-orchestra Happy Hour concerts at Armature Works in Tampa; the first one is Eat, Drink & Be Scary on Wednesday, Oct. 30.
- One Giant Leap Family Concerts: New full-orchestra matinee concerts celebrate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, with NASA video. Geared for ages 6-12 and their families but open to everyone on Sunday, Oct. 27, at the Straz; Nov. 3 at the Palladium Theater.
- Deep Field: A Cosmic Experience (Nov 8-10): With superstar composer and conductor Eric Whitacre, featuring Hubble space video and The Master Chorale of Tampa Bay. There’s even an optional phone app experience.
- The Music of The Rolling Stones: Mick Jagger & Keith Richards 1969 (Nov. 22): TFO combines with a Windborne rock band and vocalist Tony Vincent to celebrate the 50th anniversary of iconic albums Beggar’s Banquet and Let It Bleed. Brent Havens conducts at the Mahaffey.
- Family-friendly film concerts: The film plays on the big screen while the orchestra performs the soundtrack live on stage: National Geographic Live JANE in Concert (Nov. 2); Ghostbusters in Concert (Nov. 23); and Star Wars in Concert: Return of the Jedi (Jan. 25).
- Holidays with TFO: For traditional holiday music, there’s no place like TFO’s annual Holiday Pops (Dec. 13-15 with two matinees). This year TFO also performs special concerts of Handel’s Messiah at two large churches and the Mahaffey Theater (Dec. 19-21).
In TFO’s 52nd season, which runs through May, highlights of the 14-concert Tampa Bay Times Masterworks series include Beethoven’s Fifth; Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons with Concertmaster Jeffrey Multer; Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3; Beethoven’s Violin Concerto; and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3, a concert that includes a partnership with St. Petersburg’s Museum of Fine Arts. Kids and teens 5-18 get in free to all Masterworks concerts with Classical Kids tickets, available in advance through the Ticket Center. Free Pre-Concert Conversations, which start an hour before the performance, are included with all Masterworks tickets. Maestro Francis also leads the pay-what-you-can Inside the Music series, which takes audiences on a journey through one work before a full performance; the first explores the Mahler version of Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony on Oct. 10 at Blake High School.
Under the leadership of Principal Pops Conductor Jeff Tyzik, the nine-concert Raymond James Pops series also features The Music of Bond … James Bond with Michael Francis; Lush Life: Ellington & Strayhorn with Byron Stripling; and Superhero Soundtracks. Principal Guest Conductor Stuart Malina guides the morning Coffee concert series featuring Spooktacular on Halloween; All About Tchaikovsky; and Bright Side of Beethoven — all served with free coffee and doughnuts in St. Pete and Clearwater.
Rounding out the 2019-2020 season, The Florida Orchestra continues its long tradition of community and education programs, which have grown nearly 50% since Michael Francis took over TFO in 2015, reaching more than 91,000 people last season. That means about 45% of the people who experienced TFO did so for free or little cost. Other community concerts include Woodson Chamber Concerts on Sunday afternoons at the Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American Museum; Sing Out Tampa Bay, TFO’s sing-along concert with community chorus; and more. Click for details on community concerts.
TICKETS for the Tampa Bay Times Masterworks and Raymond James Pops series, including weekend matinees at the Mahaffey, are $18, $33, and $48. Coffee concerts are $24, $29, $34, and $42. Rock concerts are $35, $50, and $65. All ticket prices are the same as last season. Ticket prices for film and special concerts vary. The orchestra regularly performs in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater. All tickets are available at FloridaOrchestra.org or 727.892.3337 and 1.800.662.7286. Kids and teens get in free to all Tampa Bay Times Masterworks with Classical Kids tickets, available in advance through the Ticket Center. Students and members of the military can get $10 tickets for most concerts starting 1 hour before the performance at the venue.
Florida Orchestra Musician News
New Principal Tuba Thomas “TJ” Graf: He succeeds William Mickelsen, who retired as TFO’s principal tuba after more than 40 years. TJ is originally from New Jersey and has just finished the third year of his undergraduate studies at the University of Miami as a Stamps Distinguished Leadership Scholar. In addition to his studies, he has attended the Aspen Music Festival and the Eastern Music Festival.
Principal Oboe John Upton and Assistant Principal/Utility Horn Andrew Karr are taking one-year leaves of absence this season. Violinists Zubaida Azezi and Roman Yearian have resigned their positions.
Acting Principal Oboe Mitchell Kuhn: He will replace John Upton on a one-year contract. He recently completed his master’s of music degree at The Juilliard School where he also received his bachelor’s degree in oboe performance. He grew up in Jacksonville, Fla. He has appeared at the Marlboro, Verbier, and Tanglewood Festivals, National Youth Orchestra of the United States, and has performed as a substitute with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Jacksonville, and Princeton symphonies.
Acting Assistant Principal/Utility Horn Alex Lane: He replaces Andrew Karr on a one-year contract. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music and recently completed an artist diploma at the Curtis Institute of Music. He was born and raised in Winter Park, Fla., and has an interesting family connection to TFO. His father, Andrew Lane, was a horn player and served as a member of TFO in the assistant principal/utility horn chair from 1988-89 before joining The Florida Symphony Orchestra in Orlando. He now serves as the principal pops conductor of the Sarasota Orchestra, and is a maker of French horns. Alex plays on one of his father’s custom designed horns. Both of his parents are musicians and studied music at USF. He has also known Kaitlyn Resler, our newly hired second horn, since they were in middle school, when they sat next to each other in the Florida All-State Band.
Violinist Natalie Yu: She replaces Zubaida Azezi on a one-year contract. She has appeared numerous times on the concert stage, including a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto with members of the Oregon Symphony and Oregon Ballet Theater, Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons with the Oregon Symphony, and Sibelius’ Violin Concerto with the Brentwood-Westwood Symphony as the grand prize winner of their Young Artist Competition. She holds an artist’s diploma and bachelor’s of music from the Colburn Conservatory of Music as well as a master’s of music from The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University.
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