SCF Bradenton Symphony Orchestra performs debut concert

Bradenton has its own symphony orchestra, and this weekend you can be among the first people to see and hear it perform.

The SCF Bradenton Symphony Orchestra presents its first-ever concert Friday at the newly refurbished Neel Performing Arts Center at the State College of Florida. It’s a community classical music ensemble made up of student musicians (mostly string players) from the college as well as musicians from the Bradenton area. In this first season at least, soloists will be members of the SCF music faculty.

Robyn Bell, the director of instrumental studies at SCF, leads the orchestra. Bell also heads the Pops Orchestra.

The program for Friday’s concert includes Brahms’ Academic Festival Overture, Glazunov’s Saxophone Concerto (featuring soloist Pete Carney), and Hayden’s Symphony No. 94, more commonly known as the “Surprise Symphony.”

This concert, and others to come, will follow the classic orchestral format of an overture, a concerto and a symphony. The selections are almost all from composers whose work is familiar to even the most casual classical music fan, and most of the pieces have at least some passages that most people will recognize.

The orchestra’s next concert, on Dec. 2, will feature the Christmas section of Handel’s “Messiah” and will also include the SCF Concert Choir and SCF Alumni Choir. Remaining concerts this season are set for Feb. 24: Mozart’s Overture to “Cosi Fan Tutte,” Albinoni’s Trumpet Concerto “St. Mark” (Aaron Romm, soloist) and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1.; and April 21: Shostakovich’s Festival Overture, Grieg’s Piano Concerto (Aza Torshkoeva, soloist) and Saint-Saens’ Organ Symphony No. 3.

Details: 8 p.m. Oct. 7, Neel Performing Arts Center at the State College of Florida, 5840 26th St. W., Bradenton. $15 general, $5 for students and SCF employees. 941-752-5252.

This story was originally published October 5, 2016 at 5:18 PM with the headline "SCF Bradenton Symphony Orchestra performs debut concert."