By Henry Adams
The Florida Orchestra covers a remarkable amount of musical territory through a variety of concert experiences in November with indie rocker Ben Folds, the explosive choral extravaganza Carmina Burana, a morning Coffee Concert featuring musicians from Cuba, a pops salute to “Vegas and the Rat Pack” and two film concerts with the orchestra performing the soundtracks: Ocean Voyagers on humpback whales and Pixar in Concert featuring clips from 14 animated films.
If you are a Ben Folds fan already, you probably know that he is multi-platinum selling, singer-songwriter and indie-rocker as well as a critically acclaimed celebrity judge on NBC’s The Sing Off. As part of a world tour, he will join The Florida Orchestra for a night of such Folds’ classics as Effington, Jesusland, The Luckiest, Not the Same, Narcolepsy, Smoke, Landed, and Brick, among many more. He will also share his talents as a pianist in his own piano concerto, which critics hailed for its blend of “jazz, boogie-woogie, European baroque and Gershwin-esque, Hollywood sumptuousness.” Jacomo Bairos conducts this concert Friday, November 7, at the Straz Center in Tampa.
At the next Tampa Bay Times Masterworks, the orchestra joins forces with The Master Chorale of Tampa Bay and the Tampa Bay Children’s Chorus for Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana. Danail Rachev conducts this program, which also includes Schubert’s Rosamunde Overture and Debussy’s Nocturnes, all on Friday-Sunday, November 14, 15 and 16 in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater, which also includes an added 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday, November 15.
For film buffs, The Florida Orchestra will perform the eloquent and lyrical soundtrack to accompany the film Ocean Voyagers, documenting the relationship and five-year journey of a precocious baby humpback whale and his enormous 40-ton mother. This concert is Saturday, November 8, at the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg. On Thanksgiving weekend, concertgoers can experience the joy of Pixar’s most beloved characters as the orchestra performs the music to clips from 14 animated films, including Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Ratatouille, A Bug’s Life, WALL-E, Cars, UP, and others. These concerts are November Friday and Saturday, 28 and 29 at the Straz Center and Mahaffey Theater, respectively.
Visit www.floridaorchestra.org for more information. Most concerts offer affordable ticket prices of $15, $30 and $45.
For a free brochure or to order a series package or single tickets, visit www.floridaorchestra.org or call 727-892-3337 or -800-662-7286, Monday-Friday 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m.- 3 p.m.
