As The Florida Orchestra winds down another successful Masterworks season and our thoughts turn to outdoor diversions, I thought I’d shift the classical spotlight to some lighter fare, including a pair of free concerts set for open-air venues.
At 7:30 p.m. on Friday, May 8, the orchestra will perform at the BayCare Sound at Coachman Park on Clearwater’s intracoastal waterfront. TFO resident conductor Chelsea Gallo will lead a “Symphony by the Sea” program featuring the music of Gershwin, Copland, Tchaikovsky and others.
And in another no-charge performance, Gallo and TFO will present the latest Raymond James Pops in the Park concert at 7:30 p.m., Sunday, May 10, at Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park in Tampa. The program will feature John Williams movie themes, some patriotic tunes and more.
Conductor Bob Bernhardt will lead TFO in a thoroughly patriotic-themed pops concert, “America 250: Stars and Stripes Forever,” on Friday, May 22, at the Straz Center in downtown Tampa and again on Saturday, May 23, at the Mahaffey Theater in downtown St. Pete. Both ticketed concerts begin at 8 p.m.
And finally, Gallo will lead a TFO program billed as “Defying Gravity” — that’s a song from the musical “Wicked” — featuring stage-and screen-composer Stephen Schwartz’s songs from “Godspell,” “Wicked” and more. Straz Center showtime on Sunday, June 7, is 2 p.m.
Over the Skyway
The annual Sarasota Music Festival features engaging programs of chamber music in downtown venues such as Sarasota Opera House and Holley Hall.
First up for this year’s fest — boasting five single-performance programs stretching through June 13 — is a night of works by Price, Beethoven, Beach and Mendelssohn. Featured artists will include Alan Stepansky, cello; Peter Kolkay, bassoon; Teng Li, viola; and David Bowlin, violin.
To whet the appetite for that and other festival concerts, there will be a ticketed Holly Hall lecture at 4 p.m. Wednesday, June 3, featuring former fest music director Robert Levin, an accomplished speaker on topics such as performance practice, improvisation, music history and music theory.
Community Comforts
Tampa Bay Symphony has a pair of performances set that will spotlight winners of notable youth competitions.
“Fate and Fantasies” will feature works including “The Fantastik Adventures of the Kalendar Prince,” by Matthew Mason, co-winner of the 2025-26 International Composition Competition, along with Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4. Jack Heller, winner of this year’s Young Artist Competition will be featured as a program soloist.
Performances are set for the New Tampa Performing Arts Center, 8550 Hunters Village Road, Tampa, 8 p.m. Friday, May 8, and the Palladium Theater, at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, May 10.
Another community ensemble, the Suncoast Symphony Orchestra, concludes its current season will a pair of concerts featuring excerpts of works by Elgar, Handel, Richard Strauss and Brahms. Performances are set for 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 1, at St. Jerome Catholic Church, 10895 Hamlin Blvd., Largo, and 2 p.m. Saturday, May 2, at North Bay Community Church, 3170 McMullen Booth Road, Clearwater. •
Carl DiOrio is a Tampa Bay area journalist and a lifelong music lover. He can be reached at carldiorio@gmail.com.
