Concert Companion

Sarasota Orchestra's Concert Companion connects classical music fans with Orchestra musicians who share personal previews of concert programs coming up this season. By giving listeners a little something extra to take along to the performance, the Concert Companion aims to deepen patrons’ appreciation of the works they’ll enjoy live in the concert hall. You're invited to join each enriching adventure with an Orchestra musician as your friendly guide.

Episodes

Lightsabers Out | A Movie Pops Concert Companion

October 20, 2025 • 20 mins

Episode Overview: In Sarasota Orchestra's Concert Companion to the 2025-2026 season's Movie Pops concert, we're joined by Joshua Horne, Co-principal horn and self-proclaimed "biggest Star Wars fan in the world" for a deep dive into the music, magic, and memories woven into experiencing Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back live in concert. As Sarasota Orchestra prepares for this highly anticipated symphonic screening at the Van Wezel ...

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It’s Alive | A Concert Companion to Masterworks: Grand Treasures

March 23, 2025 • 39 mins

In Sarasota Orchestra's Concert Companion to Masterworks: Grand Treasures (April 4-6, Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall), we dig into a deep question about orchestral music: Art museum or living art form? Well, what if it's both?! Principal Keyboardist Jonathan Spivey masterfully guides us through Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3, to be performed by Jon Kimura Parker in this concert. In highlighting Sarasota Orchestra’s co-commission ...

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Out of this World | A Concert Companion to Masterworks: The Planets

February 26, 2025 • 38 mins

In Sarasota Orchestra's Concert Companion to Masterworks: The Planets (March6-9, Neel Performing Arts Center and Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall), the conversation blasts off to a whole other level as we journey with Holst’s "The Planets" beyond the physical realm, exploring how music transports us into the domain of pure imagination. We ask Phoebe Powell, Principal harpist for Sarasota Orchestra, what she thinks it would sound like...

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Teleporter | A Concert Companion to Masterworks: Melting Pot of Music

February 14, 2025 • 35 mins

In Sarasota Orchestra's Concert Companion to Masterworks: Melting Pot of Music (February 21-23, Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall), we examine music’s ability to carry us across the globe and immerse ourselves in the sound worlds of different cultures. Works such as Billy Childs’ Concerto for Saxophone, Jimmy López's "Fiesta!" and Richard Strauss' Suite from "Der Rosenkavalier" embark on journeys across continents to help listeners br...

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Superpowers | A Concert Companion to Masterworks: Heroic Spirit

January 7, 2025 • 39 mins

In Sarasota Orchestra's Concert Companion to Masterworks: Heroic Spirit (January 30, Neel Performing Arts Center; January 31 - February 2, Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall), we hear from Nicholas Arbolino, who has played oboe and English horn with Sarasota Orchestra since 2014. Every professional orchestra musician may not live in the spotlight; however, they all pour astonishing amounts of time, energy, sweat, and soul into their p...

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Beat It | A Concert Companion to Masterworks: Ravel’s Bolero

December 14, 2024 • 31 mins

In Sarasota Orchestra's Concert Companion to Masterworks: Ravel's Bolero (January 10, Neel Performing Arts Center; January 11-12, Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall), Principal Percussionist Marcelina Suchocka generously shares her professional insights into the mystique surrounding Ravel's infamous hit. With the hypnotic Bolero as a reference point, Marcelina shares how she develops and exercises extraordinary powers of focus. We also...

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Here We Go! | A Concert Companion to Masterworks: Going Places

October 28, 2024 • 18 mins

In Sarasota Orchestra’s Concert Companion to our first Masterworks concert of the season (Going Places, November 7-9, 2024, at the Sarasota Opera House), Principal Flutist Betsy Hudson Traba joins us to talk about how she and her colleagues are feeling in one of the most exciting and joyous moments a symphony orchestra can have: the appointment of a new music director! Betsy visualizes the bold direction Sarasota Orchestra is headi...

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Resolve | A Concert Companion to Masterworks: Beethoven’s Seventh

October 27, 2024 • 43 mins

Check out Sarasota Orchestra’s Concert Companion to our second Masterworks concert of the season (Beethoven's Seventh, December 6-7, 2024, at Church of the Palms)! In this must-listen episode, cellist Chizuko "Cheeko" Matsusaka takes listeners on a fascinating journey, linking Carlos Simon, Brahms, Beethoven, Homer's Iliad, and symbols of human perseverance through some of history's darkest times. Cheeko also details her musical hi...

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