“The Sarasota Orchestra is hoping to make it easier and more comfortable for newcomers to attend symphony concerts by launching a new Discoveries series of shorter and more conversational programs with lower ticket prices,” writes Jay Handelman in Sunday’s (8/20) Sarasota Herald-Tribune (Florida). “ ‘A shorter program without intermission is attractive to people with a busy lifestyle,’ said Joseph McKenna, the president and CEO of Sarasota Orchestra. Three different conductors, two of them new to Sarasota audiences, helped put together each of the three concerts, which are built around themes to highlight both contemporary composers and soloists from the Sarasota Orchestra. The series is ‘very much designed for first timers to the symphony,’ … said Aram Demirjian, who will conduct the final program in the series on May 5…. Tickets for the each of the Discoveries concerts will be $25 to $55, compared to $33 to $95 for typical Masterworks programs. Each program will run about 75 minutes (compared to roughly two hours for Masterworks concerts) and will be followed by a brief and optional conversation with the conductor.” Steven Jarvi conducts the first program in the series on September 23, and Stefan Sanders follows on January 6.
Posted August 23, 2017
