Sarasota Music Festival

The Sarasota Music Festival is an annual festival that takes place for three weeks every June in Sarasota, and is considered one of the finest music festivals in the country.  The Festival brings together 40 renowned guest artists from around the United States and from foreign nations, as well as 85 participants, all of whom converge to study and to perform chamber music.

The Sarasota Music Festival was founded over 40 years ago by Paul Wolfe.  Since that time, the Festival has grown in popularity; today, more than 500 applicants vie for 85 participant openings.  Since 1984, the Festival has been designated by the Florida State Legislature as the "Official Teaching and Performing Festival of the State of Florida."

The leader of the Festival is Artistic Director Robert Levin, a concert pianist who has been involved with the Festival since 1979.  Levin, a Mozart scholar, is known internationally, having performed throughout the United States and Europe.  His compositions based on Mozart fragments have been performed and recorded worldwide.  Levin offers popular and informative pre-concert lectures on Friday evenings during the Festival.

Guest artists of the Sarasota Music Festival come from all over the country and beyond the borders of the United States.  The artists, many of whom are alumni of the Festival participant program, include concertmasters, recording artists, conductors, composers, published music scholars, and many other talented masters of chamber music
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Participants range from professional musicians to exceptional students of music schools and conservatories.  Participants have the privilege of learning from the 40 guest artists, and focus during the three weeks on master classes that offer coaching and performance of chamber music and on concerts thereof.  Further information on becoming a participant in the Festival is available at https://tickets.fwcs.org/public/load_screen.asp?screen=Sarasota_Music_Festival, where interested persons can also download an application form.

The Sarasota Music Festival offers much for audiences as well.  Thursday afternoons feature Artist Showcase concerts.  On Friday and Saturday evenings, audiences are treated to chamber concerts and Festival Orchestra concerts.  The eight concerts during the three weeks that feature the 85 participants are free to the public.

Sarasota Music Festival concerts take place at the Beatrice Friedman Symphony Center, located at 709 North Tamiami Trail in Sarasota’s arts and theater district.  The Beatrice Friedman Symphony Center is home to the Florida West Coast Symphony, and includes numerous musical and theater offerings year-round in addition to the Sarasota Music Festival.

Tickets to the Sarasota Music Festival range from $5.00 to $40.00.  Patrons may purchase a Festival Pass, which offers access to artists’ master classes, behind-the-scenes tours, and rehearsals.  Tickets are available through the Florida West Coast Symphony, which sponsors the annual event.  More information is available at the Florida West Coast Symphony web site, at http://www.fwcs.org, or by calling (941) 953-04252.  Tickets can be ordered online or through the box office, located at 709 North Tamiami Trail in Sarasota, or by telephone at (941) 953-3434.