Joseph Parrish will perform on Dec. 12.
Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota will present 26 concerts during its 29th season, which is themed “Talent Unveiled.”
The season runs from Sept. 22, 2024, through May 8, 2025, and will offers a range of concerts, from emerging and established classical, jazz, pops, and chamber artists. Here’s the lineup.
Excelsis Percussion Quartet
Sunday Best Series
Sept. 22, 2024-May 4, 2025
The season opens Sept. 22 with a concert in the Sunday Best series at First Presbyterian Church in Sarasota. September Serenade features violist Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, clarinetist Bharat Chandra and pianist Natalie Nedvetsky in a program of trios by Mozart, Bruch, and Robert Schumann and an arrangement of Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet for viola and piano. On Nov. 24, Excelsis Percussion Quartet, comprised of four women, will perform music spanning from classical to avant garde to pop. On March 2, Harp Royalty brings together Hannah Cope Johnson, Eleanor Kirk, Phoebe Powell and Katherine Siochi, all of whom have Sarasota roots, and whose diverse program includes works for harp ensemble by living harpist-composer Caroline Lizotte, arrangements from the classical canon and hits from the Great American Songbook. On March 30, Grammy Award-winning Catalyst Quartet will present a program of music by Gershwin, Piazzolla and Ravel on March 30. On May 4, the Sinta Quartet takes the stage for Scintillating Saxophones, whose programming mixes classics from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries with commissions by today’s composers and in-house arrangements from various folk traditions. Concerts in the Sunday Best series are followed by a reception with the artists.
Imani Winds
Top Shelf Tuesdays
Oct. 8, 2024-April 18, 2025
Top Shelf Tuesdays is a new series featuring international performers in concert at Church of the Palms and First Congregational United Church of Christ. On Oct. 8, French-born violinist Arnaud Sussmann and pianist Michael Stephen Brown present French Connection–including sonatas by Debussy and Saint-Saëns. On Dec. 17, James Ehnes and Friends will feature Grammy-winning violinist James Ehnes and pianist Orion Weiss performing Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata. Ehnes will also perform with violinist Daniel Jordan, violists Stephanie Block and Nathan Frantz, and cellists Natalie Helm and Bjorn Ranheim for Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence string sextet. On Jan. 7, the Aznavoorian Sisters present a program that includes Robert Schumann’s Piano Quintet with violinists Daniel Jordan and Shawn Weil, and violist Philip Payton. Ani (cello) and Marta (piano) Aznavoorian have performed at the White House, Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall and toured internationally. On Feb. 11, Imani Winds, a 2024 Grammy Award winner in the classical compendium category, will perform. Violinist Tessa Lark will perform on April 8 in a program comprised of original works inspired by her combination of classical training and Appalachian upbringing—a style she lovingly calls “Stradgrass.”
Kayla Williams
Light Fare Series
Oct. 15, 2024-Feb. 18, 20225
The popular Lighter Fare series offers concerts outdoors at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens downtown Sarasota campus and indoors at Plantation Golf and Country Club (PGCC) in Venice. (Programs at PGCC include dinner following the concert.) The series kicks off Oct. 15 at PGCC with From Bach to Bluegrass, in which violist Kayla Williams will perform instrumental and vocal music with jazz pianist Chris McCarthy. On Nov. 19, at Selby Gardens, PROJECT Trio presents its genre-blending style of traditional chamber music combined with their unique fusion of classical, jazz, hip-hop and world music influences. On Jan. 14, PGCC will host Violinist to the Stars Caroline Campbell, who has shared the stage with the likes of Barbra Streisand, Beyoncé, Michael Bublé, Paul McCartney, Andrea Bocelli and Sting. She can also be heard on the Frozen and The Hunger Games film soundtracks. Finally, on Feb. 18 at Selby Gardens, KP Jazz Trio will perform standards from the Great American Songbook, staying true to the original musical and lyrical content with an emphasis on melodic elegance and swinging verve.
Soirée Series
Oct. 20-21, 2024; Jan. 26-27, 2025; April 20-21, 2025
This series returns to the music room of the Fischer/Weisenborne residence, beginning with Rhapsodies on Oct. 20 and 21. Oboist Bobby Nunes, violist Stephanie Block, and pianist Clare Longendyke will perform Two Rhapsodies by Charles Loeffler as part of this program. Next Generation: Fleiss and Lin, on Jan. 26 and 27, showcases Curtis Institute of Music soprano Sarah Fleiss and pianist Delvan Lin in concerts focused on folk music from different traditions, including works by Manuel de Falla and Isaac Albéniz. Power Couple—comprised of violinist Diana Cohen and pianist Roman Rabinovich—will present music by Schumann, Schubert, Strauss, and Lutoslawski on April 20 and 21.
November Notables
Nov. 2, 2024, and Nov. 17, 2024
The November Notables concerts include Yamazalde Trio—violinist Sandy Yamamoto, cellist Matthew Zalkind and pianist Julio Elizalde—performing music by Haydn, Mendelssohn and Paul Schoenfeld at Church of the Palms on Nov. 2. On Nov. 17, Artist Series Concerts will be part of the closing performance of Sarasota Rising at the Sailor Circus Arena.
Beijing Guitar Duo
Lunch and Listen Series
Nov. 7, 2024-May 8, 2025
The Lunch and Listen series continues this season at the Sarasota Yacht Club. This series spotlights young artists in concert at 11 a.m., followed by lunch. Winner’s Circle, featuring the top three prize winners of Artist Series Concerts’ 2024 Statewide Piano Competition, is the first concert in this series on Nov. 7. Next up, Joseph Parrish returns on Dec. 12 for Raise Your Voice and will be joined by Sarasota Opera’s Jesse Martins at the piano. Their program includes opera arias and art song, featuring the music of William Grant Still, Donizetti, and Rachmaninoff. Karolina & Iwo is one of the most interesting and original chamber duos performing today, and will perform a wide-ranging repertoire ranging from Bach and Mozart to Gershwin and Piazzolla on Feb 6. Horns of Plenty, on March 13, features Sarasota Orchestra’s co-principal horn Hugo Bliss and Scott Sanders, Milwaukee Symphony’s hornist, whose career also began in Sarasota. Their program includes Beethoven’s sextet for two horns and string quartet. Beijing Guitar Duo’s Meng Su and Yameng Wang close this series—and the season—on May 8.
Discounted tickets are available through July 31; regular prices take effect August 1. For more information, click here or call (941) 306-1202.
