SARASOTA, Fla. (Jan. 12, 2023) – Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota will present three concerts in February: the groundbreaking accordionist Hanzhi Wang on February 9 at the Sarasota Yacht Club; Sarasota’s own Broadway star Maria Wirries on February 23, outdoors at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens; and Olivier Messiaen’s moving masterpiece written in a WWII prisoner-of-war camp, “Quartet for the End of Time” featuring Lincoln Trio and Bharat Chandra, clarinet on February 28 at the Historic Asolo Theater. For more information and tickets, visit ArtistSeriesConcerts.org or call (941) 306-1202.
Praised for her captivating stage presence and performances that are technically and musically masterful, the groundbreaking young musician Hanzhi Wang is the only accordionist to ever win a place on the roster of Young Concert Artists in its 61-year history. In the five years since, she has debuted at Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center and was named Musical America’s New Artist of the Month in 2018. Wang will perform works by Bach, Lohse, Tchaikovsky, and Piazzolla on February 9, 11:00 a.m. performance followed by lunch at the Sarasota Yacht Club.
Maria Wirries – Sarasota’s own Broadway star – comes back home for an evening of musical theater gems on February 23, 5:30 p.m., outdoors at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. Most recently a member of the Broadway cast of “Dear Evan Hansen,” Wirries has been hailed for three albums of her own music. With her former teacher and mentor Alan Corey at the piano, the evening promises to be an emotional homecoming.
“Quartet for the End of Time” will be performed by the Grammy-nominated Lincoln Trio – Desirée Ruhstrat, violin; David Cunliffe, cello; and Marta Aznavoorian, piano – with Sarasota Orchestra’s principal clarinetist Bharat Chandra, on February 28, 7:30 p.m. at the Historic Asolo Theater. French composer Olivier Messiaen wrote this piece while being held in Stalag VIII-A, a WWII German prisoner-of-war camp. Captured in June 1940, a few of Messiaen’s fellow prisoners were professional musicians. Messiaen managed to obtain paper and a pencil and wrote this moving and unforgettable masterpiece for them to perform. It premiered at the camp on January 15, 1941.
Daniel Jordan, director of artist programs for Artist Series Concerts and concertmaster of Sarasota Orchestra, stated, “My first experience with ‘Quartet for the End of Time’ was when I performed it myself on the fifth anniversary of 9/11. There was an emotional impact beyond the usual concert experience, and that struck me as something I wanted to bring to the Sarasota audience. It’s a unique piece of musical history.” This concert is sponsored by Barbara Staton.
For tickets and more information, visit ArtistSeriesConcerts.org or call (941) 306-1202.
Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota, Inc.’s 2022-2023 season is supported in part by the Community Foundation of Sarasota County; Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Council of Arts and Culture and the State of Florida (Section 286.25 Florida Statutes); The Exchange; Gulf Coast Community Foundation; National Endowment for the Arts; Sarasota County Tourist Development Tax Revenues; and the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.
###
Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota was formed in 1996 as Artist Series of Sarasota. The non-profit organization promotes excellence in live musical performances by presenting acknowledged stars of the next generation to audiences of Florida’s Gulf Coast. The organization also seeks to spark a lifelong love of the musical arts by providing young people with interactive music experiences via performance-based outreach programs in area schools, thereby creating unique learning opportunities for hundreds of students and educators each year. In addition, Artist Series Concerts has awarded over $375,000 to 141 gifted young musicians from Sarasota and Manatee counties and around the country. Past winners have gone on to study at leading music conservatories and pursue successful music careers. For more information, visit www.ArtistSeriesConcerts.org.
Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota
Remaining 2022-2023 Season at a Glance
Danielle Talamantes, soprano, and Kerry Wilkerson, bass-baritone
with Joseph Holt, piano
Wednesday, January 18, 2023, 5:30 p.m. performance followed by dinner
Plantation Golf and Country Club, 500 Rockley Boulevard, Venice
Metropolitan Opera soprano Danielle Talamantes joins her husband, bass-baritone Kerry Wilkerson, in a program devoted to classics from the Great American Songbook and musical theater. From Gershwin to Ellington to Bernstein and Sondheim, the couple combine forces to bring their special chemistry and extraordinary voices to iconic tunes everybody knows and loves. Single ticket: $65.
Steven Moeckel, violin, and Joanna Goldstein, piano
Monday, January 30, 2023, 7:30 p.m.
Fischer/Weisenborne Residence
Celebrated violinist Steven Moeckel, violin professor at Northern Arizona University, first appeared as a concerto soloist at the age of eight. Since then, he has continued to perform throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia as a concertmaster, concerto soloist, and recitalist. This program features the works of women composers. Refreshments served following the performance. Single ticket: $55.
Hanzhi Wang, accordion
Thursday, February 9, 2023, 11:00 a.m. performance, 12:15 p.m. luncheon
Sarasota Yacht Club, 1100 John Ringling Boulevard, Sarasota
Featured Young Artist
Praised for her captivating stage presence and performances that are technically and musically masterful, the groundbreaking young musician Hanzhi Wang is the only accordionist to ever win a place on the roster of Young Concert Artists in its 61-year history. In the five years since, she has debuted at both Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center and was named Musical America’s New Artist of the Month in 2018. Single ticket: $60.
Maria Wirries On Broadway
with Alan Corey, piano
Thursday, February 23, 2023 – 5:30 pm
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens Downtown Campus, 1534 Mound Street, Sarasota
Featured Young Artist
Sarasota’s own Broadway star comes back home, where it all started, for an evening of musical theater under the stars. Most recently a member of the Broadway cast of “Dear Evan Hansen,” Wirries has been hailed for her solo performance at Feinstein’s 54 Below, and for three albums of her own music. With her former teacher and mentor Alan Corey at the piano, the evening promises to be an emotional homecoming for this fast-rising star. Single ticket: $40.
“Quartet for the End of Time”
Featuring the Lincoln Trio with Bharat Chandra, clarinet
Tuesday, February 28, 2023, 7:30 p.m.
Historic Asolo Theater, 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota
Olivier Messiaen’s “Quartet for the End of Time” was composed in a WWII prisoner-of-war camp in Görlitz, Germany. Messiaen had been captured in the early days of World War II, and this mystical work was written for fellow prisoners to perform. The Grammy-nominated Lincoln Trio – Desirée Ruhstrat, violin; David Cunliffe, cello; and Marta Aznavoorian, piano – is joined by Sarasota Orchestra principal clarinetist Bharat Chandra for this deeply moving and unforgettable masterpiece. Single tickets: $30-$50. Concert sponsored by Barbara Staton.
Daniel Solowey, clarinet, and Milana Strezeva, piano
Sunday, March 5, 2023, 4:00 p.m. and Monday, March 6, 2023, 7:30 p.m.
Fischer/Weisenborne Residence
Featured Young Artist
The Sarasota area has produced some accomplished performing artists, including clarinetist Daniel Solowey. The son of two Sarasota Orchestra musicians, he was featured on NPR’s From the Top where he was a Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist award winner at age 17. He is currently a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Artist Series Concerts brings this rising star home to Sarasota for two performances. Refreshments served following each performance. Single ticket: $55. Artist sponsored by James H Johnson Jr MD PA.
Michelle Cann, piano
Tuesday, March 7, 2023, 7:30 p.m.
Historic Asolo Theater, 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota
Featured Young Artist
Winner of the 2022 Sphinx Medal of Excellence recognizing extraordinary classical Black and Latinx musicians, Michelle Cann made her orchestral debut at age 14 and has since performed as a soloist with numerous orchestras including The Philadelphia Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, and The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Her program includes repertoire by Florence Price, whose music Cann has championed. Single ticket: $30-$50. Artist sponsored by the late Jane Riggin, and Joseph Holt and Paco Martinez-Alvarez. Michelle Cann appears by arrangement with the Curtis Institute of Music.
Samantha Bennett, violin
Thursday, March 23, 2023, 11:00 a.m. performance, 12:15 p.m. luncheon
Sarasota Yacht Club, 1100 John Ringling Boulevard, Sarasota
Featured Young Artist
Principal second violin of Sarasota Orchestra and co-artistic director of ensembleNEWSRQ, Bennett has become one of the most visible and versatile classical musicians in our community since arriving here in 2015. In this program of music that has inspired her career, she leads us on a journey through the centuries, performing works by Prokofiev and Berio, as well as perhaps the most famous unaccompanied violin piece of all, the Chaconne of JS Bach. Single ticket: $60.
Feder Duo
Cheryl Losey Feder, harp, and Abraham Feder, cello
Sunday, April 9, 2023, 4:00 p.m.
Temple Sinai, 4631 S. Lockwood Ridge Road, Sarasota
Cheryl Losey and Abraham Feder began their orchestral careers on the same day in 2008 as they both assumed principal positions in the Sarasota Orchestra. He introduced himself as she was tuning her harp, and the rest is history. He is now assistant principal cellist of the Detroit Symphony and she a sought-after soloist, chamber musician and recording artist. They return to Sarasota for a program of music for harp and cello, including their own transcriptions of music by Bach and Johann Strauss, Jr. Single ticket: $40. Artists sponsored by Peter and Tova Phillipes.
JIJI, guitar
Thursday, April 20, 2023, 5:30 p.m.
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens Downtown Campus, 1534 Mound Street, Sarasota
Featured Young Artist
Selected by the Washington Post as “one of the 21 composers/performers who sound like tomorrow,” JIJI is an adventurous artist known for her virtuosic performances of music ranging from traditional classical to free improvisation, played on both acoustic and electric guitar. The first guitarist to win the Concert Artists Guild competition 1st prize in 30 years, JIJI has performed at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and the Kennedy Center, and has been featured on PBS and NPR. Single ticket: $40. Artist sponsored by Miles and Barbara Capron.
Cameron Crozman, cello, and Meagan Milatz, piano
Thursday, April 27, 2023, 11:00 a.m. performance, 12:15 p.m. luncheon
Sarasota Yacht Club, 1100 John Ringling Boulevard, Sarasota
Featured Young Artist
Named “Canada’s next big cello star” by CBC Music and “2019-20 Classical Revelation Artist” of Radio-Canada, Canadian cellist Cameron Crozman is making a name for himself as the next superstar cellist of the classical music world. His program is titled “Wanderlust” and features music inspired by composers’ vacation trips. Single ticket: $60.
Collaboration with The Sarasota Ballet Studio Company: Spotlight on Young Artists
Tuesday, May 2, 2023, 7:00 p.m.
Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Avenue, Sarasota
Artist Series Concerts joins with dancers of The Sarasota Ballet Studio Company, Margaret Barbieri Conservatory, and students from other youth arts organizations for “Images of Dance,” a program celebrating new generations of Sarasota artists. Tickets and information: sarasotaballet.org or (941) 359-0099.
Vivaldi and Mendelssohn
Rimma Bergeron-Langlois, Nikki Chooi, Jun Iwasaki, Emerson Millar, violins
Tuesday, May 9, 2023, 7:30 p.m.
Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Avenue, Sarasota
Featured Young Artist
Superstar concertmasters from four American orchestras share the role of soloist in Vivaldi’s iconic Four Seasons. Mendelssohn’s beloved String Octet sees all four together, with four additional artists, performing the masterpiece Mendelssohn composed when he was only 16. Single ticket: $30-$60; post-concert reception sold separately for $35. Concert sponsored by J. Russell and Margarete Wiltshire.
Viola Royale
Paul and Steven Laraia, violas
Sunday, May 14, 2023, 4:00 p.m.
First Presbyterian Church, 2050 Oak Street, Sarasota
Featured Young Artists
The sultry alto voice of the string family gets its moment in the spotlight in this program by the Laraia brothers, both world class violists. Paul is with the Grammy Award-winning Catalyst String Quartet and has been acclaimed by The Strad for his “eloquent” and “vibrant” playing. Steven is with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, having begun his career as principal violist of the Sarasota Orchestra. Their program features music by composers who played the viola, including a viola quintet by Mozart where they will be joined by several Sarasota Orchestra colleagues. Single ticket: $40.