Sarasota Orchestra unveils new ‘Discoveries’ concert series at Opera House

For its 2017-18 season, the Sarasota Orchestra is unveiling a new series called “Discoveries.” The orchestra is calling the new series “a refreshing classical music experience,” and it consists of briskly paced 75-minute concerts at the Sarasota Opera House. The concerts are followed by discussions with the conductors and soloists.

The first “Discoveries” program is set for Saturday. It is titled “Renaissance” and it features works by Ottorino Repshigi, Lukas Foss, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and George Walker.

Steven Jarvi conducts and Betsy Traba is the flute soloist.

As the program for the first entry in the series suggests, one of the ideas behind the “Discoveries” series is to combine works by familiar classical composers, such as Mozart, with those of contemporary composers, including Walker.

The Mozart piece on the program is his “Symphony No. 25 in G Minor.” The Walker work is “Lyric for Strings,” which was formerly titled “Lament.” Walker is the first African-American composer to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music, and “Lyric for Strings” has been called one of the most frequently performed works by a living composer.

Also on the program are Foss’ “Renaissance Concerto” and Respighi’s “Ancient Airs and Dances.”

Details: 7:30 p.m. Sept. 23, Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota. $25-$65. 941.953.3434, sarasotaorchestra.org.

This story was originally published September 20, 2017 at 12:30 PM with the headline "Sarasota Orchestra unveils new ‘Discoveries’ concert series at Opera House."