Andrew Kurtz Dear Friends, All of us at the Gulf Coast Symphony have been thinking of you during these challenging days, post-Hurricane Irma. We hope you and your families are safe, and that your lives are starting to return to some semblance of normal. We, too, are regrouping – both individually and as a staff – and … Read more
Thank you for helping to make this season the best one yet! Please enjoy a look back at our season.
Nancy Stetson is a journalist with Florida Weekly who has been learning how to play the cello along with our MusicWorks Students. You can read an incredible article about her experience, and gain a first person perspective on what it’s like to be a MusicWorks! student
It’s amazing to realize that less than half a year ago, like many of the children in the MusicWorks! Orchestra, I’d never touched a real stringed instrument before, let alone played one. And now here we were, on the stage of the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall, performing to an audience of more than 1,400 … Read more
Doug LaBreque has created a prestigious touring career singing around the world with symphony orchestras. A dear friend to Gulf Coast Symphony, Doug was in our concert, From Hollywood to Broadway. We asked him a few questions about touring, music, and why he loves Southwest Florida (hint: he doesn’t miss tee time!)
Rachel York has a voice that is warm an inviting, and comes alive with great cheeriness even on a particularly miserable day in New York City. The award-winning actress may have several Broadway shows and Hollywood movies under her belt, but she still has to face the eternal annoyance of city traffic (Stars—They’re Just Like Us!) “It literally is a rat race [in New York],” she says. “They came up with that term, I think, because you constantly feel like you’re on one of those little wheels in a cage.”
York, a Florida native, is excited to be coming back to where she grew up, “Because it’s my home…anytime I’m in Florida, I just relax.” Lately, York has been traveling around the country performing with symphonies and solo concerts, which allow her more flexibility, and require less time away from her daughter.
Even before they travel to Florida, two of our guest singers work on the set list!
I think I’ll just take a #selfie at symphony#rehearsal while #RachelYork calls the orchestrator about the details of the vocal arrangements. Let the smart redhead #goddess do all the hard work!!! @therachelyork concert April 9th in #florida
Claudia Chapa will be a featured singer in the upcoming Mahler Symphony No. 2: Resurrection. We asked her a few questions in this week’s Spotlight!
Broadway performers Larry Alexander and Carolann Sanita will sing the songs of Irving Berlin at a fundraising gala for Gulf Coast Symphony next month.
The cabaret-style show, called “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” takes place Saturday, Feb. 4, at Gateway Golf and Country Club. The program includes Berlin classics such as “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” “Always” and — of course — “Puttin’ on the Ritz.”
The symphony will also honor longtime supporter Sam Galloway Jr. and the orchestra’s volunteer librarian, Tom Santin.
The Gulf Coast Symphony is partnering with the Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) Institute for Entrepreneurship to present a panel discussion, “Making Music Together: Immigration, Culture and Social Entrepreneurship,” on Saturday, January 14 at 11:00am at Lutgert Hall, Room 1201, on the campus of FGCU. The panel moderator is Dan Bevarly, FGCU Adjunct Professor, and panelists include Rosendo Chendy Leon, Percussionist, Sultans of String; Renata Ribeiro, Gulf Coast Symphony Musician; Sister Maureen Kelleher, Immigration Attorney with Legal Aid of Collier County; Sonia Messaoudi, Program Director, Hult Prize Competition for the Institute for Entrepreneurship; and Dr. Sandra Kauanui, Director of the Institute for Entrepreneurship.
