Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota presents classical, classical with a contemporary twist, and genre-defying acoustic concerts in December
Featuring two pairs of young artists; the Southeastern premiere of Derrick Skye’s “god of the gaps,” a recent Isabelle Stewart Gardner Museum commission; and one quintet of St. Louis-based musicians
SARASOTA, FLORIDA – Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota will present three concerts in December: Double Feature with violinists Blake Pouliot – performing the Southeastern premiere of Derrick Skye’s “god of the gaps” – and Simone Porter on December 6 at the Sarasota Opera House; The 442s, a genre-defying St. Louis-based acoustic quintet, on December 13 at the Historic Asolo Theater; and Vision Duo, featuring award-winning musicians Ariel Horowitz, violin, and Britton-René Collins, marimba, on December 15 at the Sarasota Yacht Club. For more information and tickets, visit ArtistSeriesConcerts.org or call (941) 306-1202.
It’s double the star power in this program featuring two astounding young violinists. Double Feature’s Blake Pouliot and Simone Porter electrify audiences worldwide with their virtuosity and intense musicality. Pouliot has established himself as “one of those special talents that comes along once in a lifetime” (Toronto Star). Porter has been recognized as an emerging artist of impassioned energy, interpretive integrity, and vibrant communication, and is the recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant. Marking its Southeastern premiere, Pouliot will perform Derrick Skye’s “god of the gaps,” an Isabelle Stewart Gardner Museum commission which premiered in Boston on November 6, 2022. Pouliot and Porter, joined by Hsin-I Huang on piano, will perform works by Strauss, Beethoven, Chausson, Bach, and more on December 6, 7:30 p.m. at the Sarasota Opera House. A post-concert reception with open bar and assorted hors d’oeuvres and desserts is available separately. This concert is sponsored by David Chivas and Ron Rice, and Mary Elizabeth Carey.
Combining three members of the world-class St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and two of the St. Louis region’s finest jazz musicians, The 442s are a genre-defying acoustic quintet. Brought together by the innovative compositions of Adam Maness, who plays piano, guitar, accordion, melodica, and glockenspiel in the group, The 442s features Shawn Weil on violin, Shannon Williams on viola, Bjorn Ranheim on cello, and Bob DeBoo on bass. This unique ensemble
blends virtuosic musicianship, group singing and inventive improvisation, all while breaking down barriers between jazz, classical, folk, and pop music. Their music serves as the soundtrack for the 2016 Emmy Award-winning documentary film, “Show Me 66: Main Street Through Missouri.” The 442s will present a program of holiday favorites and original compositions on December 13, 7:30 p.m. at the Historic Asolo Theater. The artists are sponsored by FRIENDS of Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota.
Featured young artists Ariel Horowitz, violin, and Britton-René Collins, marimba, are Vision Duo, formed after the women were named co-winners of the 2020 Concert Artists Guild Competition’s Ambassador Prize. The pair states, “We are passionate about experimenting with traditional conceptions of genre, blending seemingly opposite sound worlds such as electronic/acoustic, old/new, and Bach/blues, prioritizing inclusion representation from the composers we perform to the work we do in our communities, and innovative interpretations of classical standards alongside multidisciplinary elements of modern performance.” Horowitz is a recent graduate of the Yale School of Music and previously studied with Itzhak Perlman at The Juilliard School. Collins is a Grand Prize winner of the 2022 Yamaha Young Performing Artists Competition and the 2021 Chicago International Music Competition. They will perform classical works with a contemporary twist on December 15, 11:00 a.m. performance followed by lunch, at the Sarasota Yacht Club.
For tickets and more information, visit ArtistSeriesConcerts.org or call (941) 306-1202.
Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota, Inc.’s 2022-2023 season is supported in part by the Community Foundation of Sarasota County; Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Council of Arts and Culture and the State of Florida (Section 286.25 Florida Statutes); The Exchange; Gulf Coast Community Foundation; National Endowment for the Arts; Sarasota County Tourist Development Tax Revenues; and the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.
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Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota was formed in 1996 as Artist Series of Sarasota. The non-profit organization promotes excellence in live musical performances by presenting acknowledged stars of the next generation to audiences of Florida’s Gulf Coast. The organization also seeks to spark a lifelong love of the musical arts by providing young people with interactive music experiences via performance-based outreach programs in area schools, thereby creating unique learning opportunities for hundreds of students and educators each year. In addition, Artist Series Concerts has awarded over $375,000 to 141 gifted young musicians from Sarasota and Manatee counties and around the country. Past winners have gone on to study at leading music conservatories and pursue successful music careers. For more information, visit www.ArtistSeriesConcerts.org.
Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota
2022-2023 Season at a Glance
Sybarite5
Sami Merdinian and Suliman Tekalli, violins; Caeli Smith, viola; Laura Andrade, cello; Louis Levitt, bass
Tuesday, November 15, 2022, 7:30 p.m.
Historic Asolo Theater, 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota
Sybarite5 brings the art of the dance center stage for an evening of groove and dance-inspired works. The playlist spans everything from Jessica Meyer’s burlesque-influenced “Slow Burn” and Marc Mellits’ “Groove Machine” to new tango music from Pedro Giraudo and the group’s favorite compositions from the likes of Alexandra Vrebalov, Punch Brothers, Shawn Conley, and Kenji Bunch. The concert features the world premiere of “Apartments” by Jackson Greenberg, which was commissioned for them.
John Kaneklides, tenor, and Joseph Holt, piano
Sunday, November 20, 2022, 4:00 p.m., and Monday, November 21, 2022, 7:30 p.m.
Fischer/Weisenborne Residence
Featured Young Artist
Hailed by Opera News as “the very picture of youthful optimism and potential,” John Kaneklides is an award-winning young tenor who has made highly acclaimed appearances with regional opera companies throughout the country. Equally at home in operetta and musical theater, his performances in works by Gilbert & Sullivan, Rodgers and Hammerstein, and Stephen Sondheim have been hailed as sensational. Refreshments served following each performance. Single ticket: $55.
Double Feature: Blake Pouliot and Simone Porter, violins, with Hsin-I Huang, piano
Tuesday, December 6, 2022, 7:30 p.m.
Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Avenue, Sarasota
Featured Young Artists
It’s double the star power in this program featuring two astounding young artists. Blake Pouliot and Simone Porter electrify audiences worldwide with their virtuosity and intense musicality. Sparks will fly when they perform works by Strauss, Beethoven, Chausson, and Bach, and the Southeastern premiere of Derrick Skye’s “god of the gaps,” an Isabelle Stewart Gardner Museum commission which premiered in Boston on November 6, 2022. Single ticket: $30-$60; post-concert reception sold separately for $35. Concert sponsored by David Chivas and Ron Rice, and Mary Elizabeth Carey.
The 442s
Adam Maness, multi-instrumentalist/composer; Shawn Weil, violin; Shannon Williams, viola; Bjorn Ranheim, cello; Bob DeBoo, bass
Tuesday, December 13, 2022, 7:30 p.m.
Historic Asolo Theater, 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota
Combining three members of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and two of the St. Louis region’s finest jazz musicians, The 442s are a fascinating acoustic quintet named for the modern standard tuning of 442 Hz. This unique ensemble blends virtuosic musicianship, group singing, and inventive improvisation, and breaks down barriers between jazz, classical, folk, and pop music. They present a program of holiday favorites and original compositions. Single tickets: $30-$50. Artists sponsored by FRIENDS of Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota.
Vision Duo
Ariel Horowitz, violin and Britton-René Collins, marimba
Thursday, December 15, 2022, 11:00 a.m. performance, 12:15 p.m. luncheon
Sarasota Yacht Club, 1100 John Ringling Boulevard, Sarasota
Featured Young Artist
Vision Duo performs classical works with a contemporary twist. The duo was formed after Ariel Horwitz and Britton-René Collins were co-winners of the Concert Artists Guild Competition’s Ambassador Prize, awarded to contestants who have demonstrated a clear dedication to making an impact in the world
through music. The pair quickly discovered their shared passion for the blended sounds of violin and marimba, as well as promoting equity and access in musical spaces. Single tickets: $60.
Dover Quartet
Joel Link, violin; Bryan Lee, violin; Hezekiah Leung, viola; Camden Shaw, cello
Tuesday, January 10, 2023, 7:30 p.m.
Historic Asolo Theater, 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota
Featured Young Artists
Named one of the greatest string quartets of the last 100 years by BBC Music Magazine, the Grammy-nominated Dover Quartet has quickly become one of the most in-demand chamber ensembles in the world. Their performance includes works by Beethoven and Mendelssohn. Single tickets: $30-$50. Concert sponsored in part by The Exchange. Artists sponsored by Robin Radin. Dover Quartet appears by arrangement with the Curtis Institute of Music.
Danielle Talamantes, soprano, and Kerry Wilkerson, bass-baritone
with Joseph Holt, piano
Wednesday, January 18, 2023, 5:30 p.m. performance followed by dinner
Plantation Golf and Country Club, 500 Rockley Boulevard, Venice
Metropolitan Opera soprano Danielle Talamantes joins her husband, bass-baritone Kerry Wilkerson, in a program devoted to classics from the Great American Songbook and musical theater. From Gershwin to Ellington to Bernstein and Sondheim, the couple combine forces to bring their special chemistry and extraordinary voices to iconic tunes everybody knows and loves. Single ticket: $65.
Steven Moeckel, violin, and Joanna Goldstein, piano
Sunday, January 29, 2023, 4:00 p.m., and Monday, January 30, 2023, 7:30 p.m.
Fischer/Weisenborne Residence
Celebrated violinist Steven Moeckel is concertmaster of the Santa Fe Opera. Moeckel first appeared as a concerto soloist at the age of eight. Since then, he has continued to perform throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia as a concerto soloist, concertmaster, and recitalist. This program features the works of women composers. Refreshments served following each performance. Single ticket: $55.
Hanzhi Wang, accordion
Thursday, February 9, 2023, 11:00 a.m. performance, 12:15 p.m. luncheon
Sarasota Yacht Club, 1100 John Ringling Boulevard, Sarasota
Featured Young Artist
Praised for her captivating stage presence and performances that are technically and musically masterful, the groundbreaking young musician Hanzhi Wang is the only accordionist to ever win a place on the roster of Young Concert Artists in its 61-year history. In the five years since, she has debuted at both Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center and was named Musical America’s New Artist of the Month in 2018. Single ticket: $60.
Maria Wirries On Broadway
with Alan Corey, piano
Thursday, February 23, 2023 – 5:30 pm
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens Downtown Campus, 1534 Mound Street, Sarasota
Featured Young Artist
Sarasota’s own Broadway star comes back home, where it all started, for an evening of musical theater under the stars. Most recently a member of the Broadway cast of “Dear Evan Hansen,” Wirries has been
hailed for her solo performance at Feinstein’s 54 Below, and for three albums of her own music. With her former teacher and mentor Alan Corey at the piano, the evening promises to be an emotional homecoming for this fast-rising star. Single ticket: $40.
“Quartet for the End of Time”
Featuring the Lincoln Trio with Bharat Chandra, clarinet
Tuesday, February 28, 2023, 7:30 p.m.
Historic Asolo Theater, 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota
Olivier Messiaen’s “Quartet for the End of Time” was composed in a WWII prisoner-of-war camp in Görlitz, Germany. Messiaen had been captured in the early days of World War II, and this mystical work was written for fellow prisoners to perform. The Grammy-nominated Lincoln Trio – Desirée Ruhstrat, violin; David Cunliffe, cello; and Marta Aznavoorian, piano – is joined by Sarasota Orchestra principal clarinetist Bharat Chandra for this deeply moving and unforgettable masterpiece. Single tickets: $30-$50. Concert sponsored by Barbara Staton.
Daniel Solowey, clarinet, and Milana Strezeva, piano
Sunday, March 5, 2023, 4:00 p.m. and Monday, March 6, 2023, 7:30 p.m.
Fischer/Weisenborne Residence
Featured Young Artist
The Sarasota area has produced some accomplished performing artists, including clarinetist Daniel Solowey. The son of two Sarasota Orchestra musicians, he was featured on NPR’s From the Top where he was a Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist award winner at age 17. He is currently a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Artist Series Concerts brings this rising star home to Sarasota for two performances. Refreshments served following each performance. Single ticket: $55. Artist sponsored by James H Johnson Jr MD PA.
Michelle Cann, piano
Tuesday, March 7, 2023, 7:30 p.m.
Historic Asolo Theater, 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota
Featured Young Artist
Winner of the 2022 Sphinx Medal of Excellence recognizing extraordinary classical Black and Latinx musicians, Michelle Cann made her orchestral debut at age 14 and has since performed as a soloist with numerous orchestras including The Philadelphia Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, and The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Her program includes repertoire by Florence Price, whose music Cann has championed. Single ticket: $30-$50. Artist sponsored by Jane Riggin, and Joseph Holt and Paco Martinez-Alvarez. Michelle Cann appears by arrangement with the Curtis Institute of Music.
Samantha Bennett, violin
Thursday, March 23, 2023, 11:00 a.m. performance, 12:15 p.m. luncheon
Sarasota Yacht Club, 1100 John Ringling Boulevard, Sarasota
Featured Young Artist
Principal second violin of Sarasota Orchestra and co-artistic director of ensembleNEWSRQ, Bennett has become one of the most visible and versatile classical musicians in our community since arriving here in 2015. In this program of music that has inspired her career, she leads us on a journey through the centuries, performing works by Prokofiev and Berio, as well as perhaps the most famous unaccompanied violin piece of all, the Chaconne of JS Bach. Single ticket: $60.
Lin Ye, piano
with principal string musicians from Sarasota Orchestra
Sunday, March 26, 2023
Time and Location TBD
Featured Young Artist
It will have been three years since Lin Ye wowed Sarasota audiences in two sold out programs. Having performed in prestigious venues worldwide, the former Artist Series Concerts prizewinner returns to Sarasota with a program of piano concertos by Chopin, Mozart, and Bach. Single ticket: $40. Concert underwritten by Renee Hamad with additional support from Thomas Purviance and John Salventi, Sharon and Raymond Daikeler, Jerold and Lee Dougherty Ross, Thalia Dorwick, Peggy and Ken Abt, and Sheldon and Ronni Aptekar.
Feder Duo
Cheryl Losey Feder, harp, and Abraham Feder, cello
Sunday, April 9, 2023, 4:00 p.m.
Temple Sinai, 4631 S. Lockwood Ridge Road, Sarasota
Cheryl Losey and Abraham Feder began their orchestral careers on the same day in 2008 as they both assumed principal positions in the Sarasota Orchestra. He introduced himself as she was tuning her harp, and the rest is history. He is now assistant principal cellist of the Detroit Symphony and she a sought-after soloist, chamber musician and recording artist. They return to Sarasota for a program of music for harp and cello, including their own transcriptions of music by Bach and Johann Strauss, Jr. Single ticket: $40. Artists sponsored by Peter Phillipes and Tova Weinstock.
JIJI, guitar
Thursday, April 20, 2023, 5:30 p.m.
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens Downtown Campus, 1534 Mound Street, Sarasota
Featured Young Artist
Selected by the Washington Post as “one of the 21 composers/performers who sound like tomorrow,” JIJI is an adventurous artist known for her virtuosic performances of music ranging from traditional classical to free improvisation, played on both acoustic and electric guitar. The first guitarist to win the Concert Artists Guild competition 1st prize in 30 years, JIJI has performed at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and the Kennedy Center, and has been featured on PBS and NPR. Single ticket: $40. Artist sponsored by Miles and Barbara Capron.
Cameron Crozman, cello, and Meagan Milatz, piano
Thursday, April 27, 2023, 11:00 a.m. performance, 12:15 p.m. luncheon
Sarasota Yacht Club, 1100 John Ringling Boulevard, Sarasota
Featured Young Artist
Named “Canada’s next big cello star” by CBC Music and “2019-20 Classical Revelation Artist” of Radio-Canada, Canadian cellist Cameron Crozman is making a name for himself as the next superstar cellist of the classical music world. His program is titled “Wanderlust” and features music inspired by composers’ vacation trips. Single ticket: $60.
Collaboration with The Sarasota Ballet Studio Company: Spotlight on Young Artists
Tuesday, May 2, 2023, 7:00 p.m.
Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Avenue, Sarasota
Artist Series Concerts joins with dancers of The Sarasota Ballet Studio Company, Margaret Barbieri Conservatory, and students from other youth arts organizations for “Images of Dance,” a program
celebrating new generations of Sarasota artists. Tickets and information: sarasotaballet.org or (941) 359-0099.
Vivaldi and Mendelssohn
Rimma Bergeron-Langlois, Nikki Chooi, Jun Iwasaki, Emerson Millar, violins
Tuesday, May 9, 2023, 7:30 p.m.
Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Avenue, Sarasota
Featured Young Artist
Superstar concertmasters from four American orchestras share the role of soloist in Vivaldi’s iconic Four Seasons. Mendelssohn’s beloved String Octet sees all four together, with four additional artists, performing the masterpiece Mendelssohn composed when he was only 16. Single ticket: $30-$60; post-concert reception sold separately for $35. Concert sponsored by J. Russell and Margarete Wiltshire.
Viola Royale
Paul and Steven Laraia, violas
Sunday, May 14, 2023, 4:00 p.m.
First Presbyterian Church, 2050 Oak Street, Sarasota
Featured Young Artists
The sultry alto voice of the string family gets its moment in the spotlight in this program by the Laraia brothers, both world class violists. Paul is with the Grammy Award-winning Catalyst String Quartet and has been acclaimed by The Strad for his “eloquent” and “vibrant” playing. Steven is with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, having begun his career as principal violist of the Sarasota Orchestra. Their program features music by composers who played the viola, including a viola quintet by Mozart where they will be joined by several Sarasota Orchestra colleagues. Single ticket: $40
