By Henry Adams
Concertgoers can enjoy complimentary coffee and doughnuts at The Florida Orchestra’s next morning Coffee Concerts in a program titled “Theme and Variations,” which showcases this musical approach in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, Stravinsky’s Pulcinella Suite and Charles Ives’ Variations on “America,” among other works. Stuart Malina conducts these concerts on Wednesday, April 2, at 10 a.m., at Ruth Eckerd Hall and again on Thursday, April 3, 11 a.m., at the Mahaffey Theater.
At the next Raymond James Pops concert, it’s “A Tribute to Benny Goodman” featuring clarinetist Dave Bennett and his sextet in a swinging night of Let’s Dance, Bugle Call Rag, I Got Rhythm and more. Jeff Tyzik conducts these concerts on Friday-Sunday, April 4, 5 and 6 in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater.
Famed conductor Gerard Schwarz is on the podium for the next Tampa Bay Times Masterworks concert with Mozart’s Symphony No. 28, Arnold Schoenberg’s orchestral version of Brahms’ Piano Quartet in G minor and David Diamond’s Symphony No. 4. These concerts are Friday-Sunday, April 11, 12 and 13 in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater.
Then it’s a multi-sensorial experience with rock-concert lighting, big-screen video game images and The Florida Orchestra performing symphonic scores showcasing the “heroic themes” from Final Fantasy, Portal, The Legend of Zelda, and many other popular video games. For music lovers and video game lovers alike, rePLAY: Symphony of Heroes has something for everyone at this evening performance on Saturday, April 19, at the Mahaffey Theater.
The following Tampa Bay Times Masterworks concert features Principal Percussionist John Shaw in a unique performance with Chinese composer Tan Dun’s Concerto for Water Instruments and Orchestra, which critics hail as “hypnotic,” “other-worldly” and “playful and profound.” The concert also includes Haydn’s Symphony No. 103, Drum Roll, and Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2. Rossen Milanov conducts these concerts on Friday-Sunday, April 25, 26 and 27 in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater.
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 to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
