The hearty souls who remain in Sarasota year-round know what June brings – rising temperatures, afternoon storms, perpetual bad hair days. But in addition to the humidity and occasional gator sighting, Sarasota also has an influx of extraordinary musical talent. 

Each June, for three weeks, the Sarasota Music Festival brings 60 gifted pre-professional classical musicians from around the world together with 40 of the most celebrated faculty artists from today’s most exalted concert stages and music conservatories. 

This year, the Festival runs from June 4-25, with a theme woven throughout nine concerts of “The Power of Storytelling Through Music.”  In addition to the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday concerts featuring faculty and fellows, frequently performing side by side, there will be three concerts performed by ensembles of fellows, a lecture by world-renowned pianist and Mozart scholar Robert Levin, as well as daily masterclasses, all available to the public.

It is an opportunity for music lovers to hear extraordinary performances by world-class musicians, watch as young pre-professionals play and learn from some of the greatest artists on the stage today, and revel in the magic that results when youthful ambition and sage wisdom come together through music. It is truly an abundance of musical riches.

In the Festival’s first week, the summer’s opening performance on Thursday, June 8, features a 4:30pm faculty performance at Holley Hall titled “Romance and the City.” The “romance” comes in the form of the Romance for Violin and Piano by Amy Beach. The Harlem String Quartet’s violinist Melissa White joins pianist Joy Cline Phinney for this glorious work.

The “City” reference in the title is Manhattan, which is the subject of Grammy-nominated composer Valerie Coleman’s Rubispheres for woodwind trio. The program also includes Schumann’s delightful Märchenbuilder (Fairy Tales) for viola and piano, featuring two-time Grammy nominee Paul Neubauer, and Brahms’ mighty Piano Trio No. 1, performed by Alexander Kerr, Concertmaster of the Dallas Symphony, Brinton Smith, Principal Cello of the Houston Symphony, and Festival Music Director and world-renowned pianist Jeffrey Kahane.

The Sarasota Opera House is the site for a 7:30pm concert on Friday, June 9, by faculty and fellows, which includes music from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, as well as Dvořák’s extraordinary “American” String Quintet.  On Saturday, June 10, a full symphony orchestra of fellows and faculty take the Opera House stage at 7:30pm to perform music from Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Beethoven’s “Pastoral” Sixth Symphony, as well as Schumann’s mighty Piano Concerto featuring Anne-Marie McDermott.

McDermott made her Carnegie Hall debut at age 12, and performs regularly with the world’s greatest orchestras. She herself is an alumna of the Festival, having attended as a fellow in 1985. Concluding Week 1 is the Festival “Rising Stars” concert on Sunday, June 11, at 2:30pm in Holley Hall, featuring Festival fellows performing works they have prepared over the previous week.

In addition to these four captivating performances, the public can attend masterclasses throughout the week at the Beatrice Friedman Symphony Center where they can watch the world-class faculty members work with fellows one-on-one. These masterclasses provide an extraordinary window into the lives of the fellows as they strive to perfect their craft, and the outstanding faculty as they share the wisdom gained through years of professional experience.

The Sarasota Music Festival offers the public incomparable access to witness the mentorship of the next generation of classical music superstars by some of today’s greatest performers. Do not miss the opportunity to be moved and amazed by the talent that makes its way to Sarasota’s sunny shores in June. For those of us bold enough to make Sarasota our home year-round, June truly is a “hotbed” of musical riches!

Full information on all the offerings of the 2023 Sarasota Music Festival can be found on Sarasota Orchestra’s website, or by calling 941-953-3434.

To learn more and purchase tickets for the Sarasota Music Festival, visit the Box Office at the Beatrice Friedman Symphony Center, call (941) 953-3434, or visit SarasotaOrchestra.org/Festival. Program and featured artists subject to change.