New Music Showcase Bursts with Energy

A full house rocked with enthusiasm Saturday evening when Sarasota-based composer Francis Schwartz and his musical colleagues presented a concert of music of our time, including several Sarasota firsts and one world premiere. In his witty introductory remarks, Schwartz was careful to emphasize that we each should feel free to form opinions about the music, something that would ideally be true at every concert if it were not for persistent snobbery and societal pressure. Since almost everyone in the room was hearing this repertoire for the first time, there were no residual effects of “good taste” or educational pressure. Truth be told, some of the compositions were more successful than others. Also true: they were all worth listening to and, occasionally, participating in.