Sarasota Concert Association Presents
Metropolitan Opera Baritone Jason Stearns
Accompanied by Pianist Lee Dougherty Ross
To Perform At The
“Celebratory Luncheon”
February 27 • Longboat Key Club
Metropolitan Opera baritone Jason Stearns and pianist Lee Dougherty Ross will provide the musical backdrop for a luncheon paying tribute to past Sarasota Concert Association president John Goodman.
(Sarasota, Florida) Sarasota Concert Association is pleased to announce that its “Celebratory Luncheon” honoring past SCA president John Goodman is Thursday, February 27, at the Harbourside Dining Room at the Longboat Key Club, 3000 Harbourside Drive, Longboat Key, Sarasota. The event begins at 11:30 a.m. followed by lunch at 12:15 p.m. Entertainment will be provided by Metropolitan Opera baritone Jason Stearnsand pianist Lee Dougherty Ross.Tickets are $95 and include complimentary valet parking. Tickets, which are limited, are available after February 1 and can be purchased by calling Bert Fivelson at 941-366-0582. For more information about this event, call event chairperson Edie Winston at 941-383-9657.For more information about Sarasota Concert Association, visit www.scasarasota.org.
When John Goodman retired from his eight-year tenure as president of the Sarasota Concert Association, the SCA board wanted to celebrate him in a style befitting his outstanding service to the organization. “We’re delighted to be able to honor John with these top-flight artists,” says Edie Winston, event chairperson and board member of the Sarasota Concert Association. “It’s a fitting way to recognize John’s many achievements and contributions to our community and to our organization.”
John Goodman served on the faculty of the Boston University School of Music for 38 years, where he taught music theory and composition and was chairman of the theory and composition department from 1969 until 1988. He retired as professor emeritus in 2002 and moved to Sarasota that year. Goodman holds degrees from Northwestern, Yale and Boston universities. He is also a composer and his compositions have been performed widely in the United States and in Europe. Since moving to Sarasota, Goodman has been an active force in Sarasota’s arts and cultural scene, serving on the boards of Sarasota Concert Association, Sarasota Institute for Lifetime Learning and the Sarasota Music Archive. Goodman has lectured on musical topics at Selby Public Library and has also has been a faculty member for the Pierian Spring Academy. He is a former coordinator of the Sarasota Music Archive’s monthly program series and has performed frequently there as an accompanist.
“It is unlikely that any successor will ever again come close to equaling Dr. Goodman’s achievements and contributions to Sarasota Concert Association,” says Joy McIntyre, current president of the SCA. “His steady hand has successfully steered the organization through significant challenges over the past several years and we’re extremely grateful for his leadership.”
Jason Stearns has steadily built a reputation as a distinguished interpreter of the most unique and challenging roles in the dramatic baritone repertoire. Stearns has made impressive appearances with the Metropolitan Opera, where he has performed dramatic roles in such major operas as “Tosca,” “The Flying Dutchman,” “Simon Boccanegra,” “La Fanciulla del West,” “La Gioconda” and “Rigoletto.” A 21-year veteran of the U.S. Army, Stearns was a featured soloist with the United States Army Band in Washington, D.C., in both the Army Chorus and Army Chorale, where he entertained presidents and heads of state from around the world. Stearns has performed internationally in operas, Broadway shows, revues and concerts. He was awarded a Grammy in 1996 for the recording of his baritone solos in the National Symphony Orchestra’s performance of John Corgliano’s “First Symphony,” with Leonard Slatkin conducting. Stearns and his wife moved toSarasota in December 2012.
Lee Dougherty Ross debuted at age 12 as a piano soloist with the Norfolk Symphony Orchestra and later performed the Rachmaninoff 2nd Piano Concerto with the Eastman Rochester Symphony. She graduated from Eastman School of Music with a double major in both piano and voice. Her singing career included performances at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall and the Broadway stage in New York, Queen Elizabeth Hall in London and the Kennedy White House. She and her husband Jerry Ross founded the Artist Series Concerts, now in its 18th season.
SCA’s 2014 “Great Performers Series” features the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio with violist Nokuthula Ngwenyama (January 27, 2014); the groundbreaking East Coast Chamber Orchestra in a rare Florida appearance (February 5, 2014); Russia’s historic St. Petersburg Philharmonic, with conductor Nikolai Alexeev and pianist Denis Kozhukhin (February 19, 2014); and the Detroit Symphony with conductor Leonard Slatkin and piano sensation Olga Kern (March 3, 2014). Great Performers Series concerts start at 8 p.m. at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 North Tamiami Trail, in Sarasota. Tickets are $40-$75 and are available online at www.scasarasota.org.
Sarasota Concert Associaiton also presents “Munchtime Musicales,” a series of free concerts featuring performances by high-caliber, area-based artists. The series is designed to offer a wide variety of musical genres, including classical, folk, and jazz, featuring both vocal and instrumental performers. The 2013-2014 concert season continues with Lee Dougherty Ross and Joseph Holt in “Piano Duets” (February 19, 2014); Sarasota Opera Studio Artists (March 19, 2014); and the Gloria Musicae Singers (April 16, 2014). All performances are at noon at the Beatrice Friedman Symphony Center, 709 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Seating is open; no reservations taken. For more information about Munchtime Musicales, call 941-351-7467 or visit www.scasarasota.org.
About the Sarasota Concert Association
Sarasota Concert Association (SCA) exists to foster the development of an appreciation for the musical arts by sponsoring professional presentations that are not otherwise available in the community, through a not-for-profit, organized-audience plan. SCA aims to set reasonable fees for all performances. The organization is not designed to make a profit but does intend to be self-supporting. It provides outreach to all members of the regional community by offering a series of free concerts, Munchtime Musicales, held every year. For more information about SCA, visit www.scasarasota.org.
