SARASOTA, Fla. (June 2017) — The Perlman Music Program/Suncoast was awarded a grant in the amount of $6,602 from the Eugene F. and Elizabeth Hull Fund, MCF Unrestricted, and the Rita Bullock Fund of the Manatee Community Foundation (MCF) at a reception held at MCF in Bradenton on April 25, 2017. These funds will be used to help promote The Perlman Music Program (PMP) Sarasota Winter Residency, as well as other local programs, to residents and visitors of Manatee County.
The 14th annual PMP Sarasota Winter Residency will take place December 21, 2017 through January 6, 2018. Held in a heated performance tent on the grounds of the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus, the Winter Residency offers approximately 20 free events, including orchestra and chorus rehearsals, master classes, and works-in-progress student recitals. Special low-cost ticketed events include Super Strings, for young Florida musicians, and a Works-in-Progress Chamber Music Recital, featuring PMP students, at Neel Performing Arts Center on January 6. The highlight of the Winter Residency, the Celebration Concert, will be held at the Sarasota Opera House on January 4, 2018, featuring the PMP Chorus, led by Patrick Romano and the PMP String Orchestra, led by Itzhak Perlman.
“Despite its name, the PMP Sarasota Winter Residency actually takes place in Manatee County – on the campus of USF Sarasota-Manatee,” explains Elizabeth Power, PMP Suncoast’s Executive Director. “Since we would like to draw more people from Manatee County, this grant will enable us to expand our advertising and promote area events to an audience which may not be aware that world-class music is available right in their own back yard!”
Since its founding in 1988, the Manatee Community Foundation has awarded $18 million in grants and scholarships. The generosity of donors who give through MCF makes impactful work possible in the arts, human services, education, animal welfare, environmental, civic engagement, and health related causes.
About The Perlman Music Program/Suncoast
The Perlman Music Program/Suncoast (PMP/Suncoast) was established in May 2008 as a non-profit organization to provide a permanent home for The Perlman Music Program (PMP) winter residency. Founded by Toby Perlman, wife of internationally acclaimed concert violinist and conductor Itzhak Perlman, and based in New York, PMP augments its summer school and travel residency programs each December with a 17-day PMP Sarasota Winter Residency, providing valuable mentoring and performance opportunities for young string musicians, ages 12-20+, and offering approximately 20 free musical events to community audiences on the campus of University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee.
In addition, during the year, PMP/Suncoast brings alumni of PMP, now professional musicians, to our area for educational and outreach programs: PMP Alumni: In Schools takes the musicians into elementary, middle and high schools in Sarasota and Manatee counties to educate and interact with students and teachers; PMP Alumni: Around Town offers free or low-cost PMP alumni performances and events to people of all ages at local community venues.