By Henry Adams
Music lovers can start their day with complimentary coffee and doughnuts at the Coffee Concert with Stuart Malina leading The Florida Orchestra in a program titled “Sounds of Celebration.” The music includes Morton Gould’s American Salute, Sousa’s Thunderer March, Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker and other works saluting our many holidays. Taking place in a relaxed setting with a casual format, the conductor talks to the audience about the music and the composers during this performance on Thursday, December 12, at 11 a.m. at the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg.
Already an annual tradition, the Holiday Pops concert on the Raymond James Pops series is sure to get everyone in the spirit of the season with Silent Night, Ave Maria, Behold the Lights, O’ Holy Night, Deck the Halls, highlights from Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite, Three Holiday Songs from Home Alone, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Rag and more, all with the 150 voices of The Master Chorale of Tampa Bay. Jeff Tyzik conducts three evening concerts on December 13, 14 and 15 in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater, as well as special matinee performance on December 14 in St. Petersburg. Concertgoers are invited to bring canned food donations for the Tampa Bay Harvest food bank to assist others during the holiday season.
The orchestra regularly performs at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa, Duke Energy Center for the Arts – Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg and Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater. For tickets, visit www.floridaorchestra.org or call 727-892-3337 or 1-800-662-7286, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
