Chairman’s Reflections
Dear Friends,
Welcome! On behalf of the Board, musicians, and staff, we are
delighted that you are joining us for this performance of superb
music by your Florida Orchestra.
This is The Florida Orchestra’s 50th anniversary season, and we are
striving to play more music for more people across Tampa Bay
because we believe that music enriches lives. In addition to our
concerts performed at the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg, Ruth
Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, and the Straz Center for the Performing
Arts in Tampa, we are committed to playing outside of the concert
halls. In mid-October, we performed for nearly 30,000 people in just
one week, almost all for free. Music Director Michael Francis led our
extraordinary musicians in our annual Pops in the Park concerts,
youth concerts, and side-by-side concerts across the Tampa Bay region.
As a community-supported nonprofit, it is the orchestra’s privilege and responsibility to make a positive
impact on the quality of life in the places we call home. The Florida Orchestra plays a lead role in
developing partnerships with schools, businesses, cultural institutions, libraries, and others to serve
local residents where they live. Music has the power to bring people together to celebrate and mourn,
to learn in new ways, to coalesce neighborhood redevelopment efforts, and to touch the deepest part of
who we are as humans.
All of this is possible because of you. Our greatest strength is the people of Tampa Bay whose support and
interest have driven our success for the past fifty years. We are grateful to concertgoers and donors from
across the region who support The Florida Orchestra, making possible all that the orchestra does in our
communities.
We are thrilled to share our music with you today. Thank you for being a part of our 50th anniversary season.
With your continued support, fifty years is just the beginning.
Best regards,
Thomas H. Farquhar
THE FLORIDA ORCHESTRA | 2017-2018
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