Music Collaboration with Sarasota Orchestra

On Tuesday, February 1, the Sarasota Orchestra presented a program in Holley Hall for its Maestro Society, focusing on the ongoing collaboration between the Orchestra’s resident chamber ensembles and New College of Florida student composers.  Following introductions by moderator Dirk Meyer, Assistant Conductor of the Sarasota Orchestra, Professor of Music Stephen Miles discussed the importance of the program–now in its tenth year–to the training to the New College Music Program.  This unique collaboration allows New College students to work with one of the resident chamber ensembles for an entire academic year, taking compositions from the initial sketch to the finished work, which is performed for the campus community and the public.  Professor Bret Arden then talked about the collaborative process in greater detail, and the Sarasota Brass Quintet performed excerpts from works by two of this year’s participating students, Michael Waas and Susannah Payne-Passmore. A question and answer session followed.  Based on audience response and feedback from Sarasota Orchestra administrators, this was a highly successful program.