Tessa Lark performs Michael Torke’s “Sky” during the opening concert of the Sarasota Orchestra’s 2023-24 Masterworks season. Photo courtesy of Sarasota Orchestra.
In Saturday’s (11/4) Herald-Tribune (Sarasota, FL) Gayle Williams writes, “There was a celebratory spirit in the air as Principal Bass John Miller welcomed the audience to the Sarasota Orchestra’s 75th season, noting there was nowhere better to be 75 than in Sarasota…. Guest conductor David Alan Miller quickly invited all into a world brimming with the high spirits of the overture to ‘Die Fledermaus’ by Johann Strauss II…. It was a particular pleasure to hear Michael Torke’s ‘Sky’ (2018), the result of a collaboration with the evening’s soloist, violinist Tessa Lark…. Lark’s unique artistry was highlighted throughout the three movements of the work. Infused with banjo-picking drive, the music grabbed us immediately with the pulsing rhythms and repetitive phrases and further enveloped us with layered textures and vibrant orchestration…. It was a true tour de force for Lark and orchestra as well…. David Alan Miller, music director of the Albany Symphony Orchestra since 1992 … has an obvious good rapport with the musicians…. Miller seems born to be with the Sarasota Orchestra if the performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 55 (Eroica) is any measure.”
