The South Florida Symphony Orchestra (SFSO), led by Maestra Sebrina María Alfonso, is offering a season featuring five classical Masterworks concerts and Handel’s glorious holiday masterpiece Messiah, as well as SFSO premieres by trailblazing female composers Florence Price, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich and Jessie Montgomery. SFSO will also host a 200th anniversary celebration of Beethoven's magnificent Symphony No. 9.
The season opens Nov. 8 at the Parker in Fort Lauderdale and Nov. 12 at the New World Center in Miami Beach with Schubert’s Symphony No. 9, "The Great,” and Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto No. 5, “Egyptian,” featuring soloist Tao Lin.
Kick off the holiday season with Handel’s beloved holiday tradition, “Messiah,” with soloists Katherine Henley, Rehanna Thelwell, Chauncey Packer, Neil Nelson and the South Florida Symphony Chorus. The program also includes selections from “The Polar Express,” “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” audience sing-alongs and more. Dec. 2 at the Parker and Dec. 3 at the Broad Center for the Performing Arts at Barry University.
The second Masterworks program highlights two groundbreaking female composers: Florence Price, the first African American composer to have a composition played by a major U.S. orchestra, and Jessie Montgomery, one of today’s most compelling creators. Dynamic pianist Awadagin Pratt performs Montgomery’s new work for solo piano and string orchestra, along with another SFSO premiere, Bach’s Keyboard Concerto No. 4. Jan. 17 at the Parker, Jan. 18 at Temple Israel of Greater Miami and Jan. 20 at the Tennessee Williams Theatre.
Experience the sheer emotional power of Beethoven’s “Ninth” plus some of the greatest opera finales of all time, including “Carmen” and “La Boheme” with soloists and the South Florida Symphony Chorus, March 1 at the Tennessee Williams Theatre in Key West, and March 3 at the Broward Center.
An epic Russian fairytale, a sensuous Spanish tavern, the high-octane spirit of 1940s Times Square and a stirring elegy on 9/11 all come vividly to life in works by Stravinsky, Ravel, Bernstein and Zwilich, presented on March 25 at the New World Center, March 27 at the Parker and March 29 at the Tennessee Williams Theatre.
The SFSO season concludes on April 17 at the Parker with Bruch’s verdant Scottish Fantasy, featuring violinist Huifang Chen, and Tchaikovsky’s romantic Symphony No. 5.
For more information and tickets, go to SouthFloridaSymphony.org.
