Fort Myers, FL— The Southwest Florida Symphony, Lee County’s professional orchestra and one of the oldest symphony orchestras on Florida’s gulf coast, is pleased to announce that local philanthropist and symphonic music enthusiast, Pamela Templeton will sponsor the orchestra’s seasonal tradition, Holiday Pops: The Holidays in Paradise in honor and memory of the vivacious Jessie Sufferling and her legacy, The Red Lipstick Foundation. Jessie Sufferling lost her battle with stage three breast cancer, leaving behind her husband, twin daughters and countless extended family and friends. During her fight against breast cancer, Jessie established The Red Lipstick Foundation, which offers support on many levels to mothers, particularly of young children, who need assistance with caring for their families while these women undergo cancer treatment and all of the challenges treatment brings.
Jessie Sufferling and Red Lipstick Foundation info
Jessie Sufferling was always known as someone who was frank, loving and inspirational. Although she is no longer with us, The Red Lipstick Foundation was her final gift to the world. Jessie, mother of 7 year old twin girls, was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer in October 2014. After the shock of her diagnosis wore off, the self-proclaimed health activist hit social media to publicly share her story and journey with the hope of helping other mothers battling cancer. Armed with her tube of MAC Russian Red lipstick, she posted inspirational videos that caught the attention of thousands of followers all over the country. Her red lipstick, which she referred to as her armor, became the inspiration for the name of the foundation. When she talked about her struggles during treatment, which rarely exposed the true physical pain she was experiencing, she found that there was a major lack of resources for mothers battling cancer. Being Jessie, it wasn’t long before she sought to change that. The Red Lipstick Foundation is her legacy that will provide other mothers battling cancer with resources that can help keep the “Mom” dynamic in the home while mom focuses on treatment and healing. The Red Lipstick Foundation, with the help of volunteers, licensed social workers, aims to arm families with a wealth of community resources, assist with private insurance and/or Medicaid options, and to help meet a family’s other needs while mom fights her battle. The Foundation will also send out Jessie’s Cancer Kit, which includes consumable medical supplies, a head scarf, and of course, a tube of Red Lipstick.
The Holidays in Paradise happens on Wednesday, December 16th and Thursday, December 17th, 2015 at the Lewis Auditorium at Flagler College in St. Augustine, on Saturday, December 19th at Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall, on Sunday, December 20th at BIG ARTS, Sanibel Island and on Monday, December 21st at the Shell Point Village Church. This season’s Holiday Pops Concerts bring the sparkle of Broadway to the Sunshine State. The Holidays in Paradise will be conducted by the Southwest Florida Symphony’s internationally renowned Maestro Nir Kabaretti and includes performances by Broadway star, soprano Laura Woyasz. This concert includes selections that celebrate all of the holidays that make December magical; beloved pieces from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker, traditional Christmas pieces like We Three Kings and O Holy Night, sing along tunes like The Christmas Song and Silent Night and music to celebrate Hanukkah; Judas Maccabeus and the Hanukkah Festival Overture. Tickets range from $22 to $82 and may be purchased at the Southwest Florida Symphony Box Office by calling 239-418-1500 or visiting in person, online at WWW.SWFLSO.ORG and at all performance venues.
Southwest Florida Symphony General Information
The Southwest Florida Symphony is the only professional orchestra in Lee County and the one of the oldest on Florida’s gulf coast. It enters its 55th season this year, having made its debut as a community orchestra on April 15, 1961. Conducted by Arlo Deibler, the Symphony began its life as a community orchestra and its original roster consisted of 24 musicians. It performed in community centers and schools throughout Lee and Collier Counties. It has since grown to become Lee County’s only professional symphony orchestra, filling Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall with symphonic music enthusiasts and a roster consisting of more than 65 world-class musicians. The Southwest Florida Symphony’s 55th year promises to be a season of continued enthusiasm as internationally acclaimed Maestro Nir Kabaretti leads the symphony into another season of blockbuster performances. Maestro Kabaretti is the fifth music director in the organization’s history. His presence and caliber of musicality garnered record setting attendance at many of the symphony’s 2014-15 Masterworks Concerts. The Southwest Florida Symphony’s mission is to celebrate the joy of music and to inspire audiences with a variety of quality concerts performed by professional musicians that are accessible to all.
This season features the Southwest Florida Symphony’s signature Masterworks Classical Concert Series, entitled A Symphonic Storybook (November 21, Carmina Burana; January 23, One Thousand and One Nights; February 13, Love Triangle; March 5, A Night at the Opera; and April 2 & 3, The Shakespeare Experience), a special Holiday Pops concert entitled The Holidays in Paradise on December 16 & 17 at Flagler College in St. Augustine, December 19 at Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall, December 20 at BIG ARTS on Sanibel and December 21 at The Village Church at Shell Point; its Pops Series (Rodgers & Hammerstein Celebration on January 8 & 9; A Night at the Oscars on February 5 & 6; and My Sinatra on April 2 & 3), a chamber series called Small Stage Symphonies℠, performed at BIG ARTS on Sanibel Island (January 13, February 3 and March 23), Faith Presbyterian Church in Cape Coral (August 12, 2015, January 15 and March 22), The Village Church at Shell Point (August 13, 2015, January 14 and February 4), and at the Sidney & Berne Davis Arts Center (August 14, 2015 and March 21).
Maestro Nir Kabaretti bio
Nir Kabaretti spends his second season with the Southwest Florida Southwest Florida Symphony this year while he continues to serve as the Santa Barbara Symphony’s Music Director in California. He enters his tenth season with Santa Barbara this year. He has been described as “a conductor with immense musicality and warm personality” by Maestro Zubin Mehta. Kabaretti has earned an impressive reputation across continents for his command of a vast symphonic and operatic repertoire.
Upon graduation from the prestigious University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, Kabaretti began working as coach and Chorus Master at the Vienna State Opera and the Salzburg Festival. He later advanced to positions as Assistant to the Music Director at the Teatro Real in Madrid and Personal Assistant to Maestro Zubin Mehta at Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence, Italy.
Nir Kabaretti has worked with some of the world’s most sought-after musicians, such as Lang Lang, Placido Domingo, Itzhak Perlman, and Hélène Grimaud. His guest conducting appearances have included the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquesta Filarmonica de Buenos Aires, Orquestre National du Theatre du Capitole de Toulouse, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Orchestra del Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Orchestra del Teatro Petruzzelli di Bari, Orchestra del Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova, Orchestra Sinfonica Giuseppe Verdi di Milano, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Israel Chamber Orchestra, Haifa Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, La Orquesta Sinfonica de Madrid, Real Orquesta Sinfònica de Sevilla, La Orquesta Filarmonica de Gran Canaria and the Bochumer Symphoniker.
He was appointed Principal Conductor of the Raanana Symphonette Orchestra in Israel in 2002, and later as its Music Director till 2008.
Kabaretti’s operatic experience includes productions at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Teatro Real in Madrid, The Israeli Opera, Opéra de Lausanne, Avenches Opera Festival in Switzerland, Tokyo New National Theatre and Opera Santa Barbara.
He conducted The Diary of Anne Frank, a guest production of the Vienna State Opera performed at both the Bregenz Festival and Expo 2000 in Hannover. In 2005, Kabaretti lead Teatro San Carlo di Napoli on its first tour to Japan, conducting Il Trovatore both in Kyoto and Tokyo.
During the 2004-05 season he made his debut at Teatro alla Scala di Milano. In 2007 he was invited again for the ballet production of Mendelssohn’s Midsummer night’s Dream (broadcasted by Italian television RAI, and released as a commercial DVD).
Maestro Kabaretti received the America-Israel Cultural Foundation Grant for Young Conductors. In 1993, he won the Forum Junger Künstler Conducting Competition in Vienna. In 1994 he was among the finalists in the International Competition for Conductors in Douai, France.
Laura Woyasz bio
Laura Woyasz was most recently seen as Glinda in the Broadway production of Wicked. She has also been seen in the 1st National Tours of Wicked (Glinda) and Thoroughly Modern Millie (Millie cover) as well as the Off-Broadway production of My Life With Albertine. Her regional credits include The Kennedy Center’s production of James Joyce’s The Dead (Rita), Sacramento Music Circus’ Smokey Joe’s Café (Shimmy Girl), Noises Off (Brooke), Boeing Boeing (Gloria), The Odd Couple (Gwendolyn Pigeon), Anything Goes (Erma), The Who’s Tommy (Sally Simpson), Big River (Mary Jane), and Breaking Up Is Hard To Do (Lois). Her Television appearances include Person of Interest and All My Children.
Laura’s previous and upcoming Symphony Orchestra engagements include Victoria Symphony, Dayton Philharmonic, Baton Rouge Philharmonic, and Murfreesboro Symphony. Laura’s children’s book, Sometimes Fearless Wally, will be available soon! Proceeds will go to the Ronald McDonald House for Children.
Southwest Florida Symphony Sponsors
The Southwest Florida Symphony’s 2015-16 sponsors include The Southwest Florida Community Foundation, The City of Ft. Myers, The State of Florida Division of Cultural Affairs, The Florida Council on Arts & Culture, The Southwest Florida Symphony Endowment Foundation, The Southwest Florida Symphony Society, The Southwest Florida Symphony’s Board of Trustees, The L.A.T. Foundation, Uhler & Vertich Financial Planners, Enterprise Rent-a-car, IberiaBank, The Neil Goldberg Dream Foundation, Rev. Gary & Mrs. Christine LaCroix, Eric Diefenbach & J.K. Brown, Mr. & Mrs. Charles B. Munsch, Mr. Don Fjellin, Ernie Fogg & Margot Flinn,‘Tween Waters Inn, Bailey’s General Store, Sanibel Captiva Community Bank, Crowne Plaza, Mastello Ristorante, Advanced Pain Management and Spine Specialists, Alexander & Hoover, Pamela Templeton in honor of Jessie Sufferling and the Red Lipstick Foundation, Mark Loren Designs, LCEC, The Cape Coral Community Foundation, The Friends of the Symphony on Sanibel and Mr. & Mrs. Steve and Charlotte Qua
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