The education programs of The Florida Orchestra seek to cultivate an appreciation for the experience of live orchestral music and to provide support for music education at all age levels throughout the Tampa Bay area.
Progress Energy Youth Concerts: Specially designed by conductor and educator Randal Swiggum for students in the fourth and fifth grades, these 45-minute concerts are presented during the school day at the major concert venues around the Tampa Bay area. Students and teachers prepare for the concerts through curriculum materials designed in accordance with state education standards. Each season, over 30,000 students from Hillsborough and Pinellas school districts attend these programs, which are also open to private and home schools on a limited space-available basis.
Master Classes: Through a partnership with St. Petersburg College, certain artists appearing on TFO subscription programs present performance/demonstrations and master classes with area college and high school musicians. These presentations usually take place at the Music Center on the centrally-located Gibbs campus of St. Petersburg College and are free and open to the public.
Sphinx Partnership: Based in Detroit, The Sphinx Organization strives to increase cultural diversity in classical music through education and professional development programs targeted to minority populations. Each year, a winner of the annual Sphinx Competition performs with TFO on a Coffee series concert and spends time working with students in area schools as an ambassador for classical and symphonic music. This season’s Sphinx guest artist is Tony Rymer, a cellist of Dominican descent, who performs the finale of Elgar’s cello concerto on our Coffee Concert, Last Night of the Proms, on January 21, 2010. Learn more about the Sphinx Organization at www.sphinxmusic.org.
Open Rehearsals: Each season, certain TFO rehearsals are opened to students from St. Petersburg College as well as a limited number of public and private school music classes as availability permits. These rehearsals offer music students an opportunity to meet world-class conductors and guest artists, and to observe how they and the orchestra prepare for performances.
Introduction to Music Course – St. Petersburg College: St. Petersburg College offers a special section of its Introduction to Music course centered on selected subscription programs of The Florida Orchestra. Tuition includes tickets to the selected concerts and attendance at Masterworks pre-concert conversations with the conductor or guest host.
Student Tickets: Students, teachers and education staff members may purchase individual $10 tickets with a valid school I.D. to most Florida Orchestra concerts, subject to availability. Limit two tickets per concert. Some restrictions may apply. Tickets may be purchased in advance exclusively through The Florida Orchestra Ticket Center, Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5 pm, at 244 2nd Avenue North, St. Petersburg, FL 33701. Tickets may also be purchased in person on concert nights1-1/2 hours prior to curtain at the given concert hall. Click here for more information.
For additional information about The Florida Orchestra’s education programs, please contact Carrie Olin, Marketing and Communications Manager, at colin@floridaorchestra.org.
Thank you to our Education Sponsors:
| The Bank of America Foundation | The Nichols Foundation, Inc. |
| Catalina Marketing Corp. | Pat Grubb |
| Anonymous | Pinellas Community Foundation |
| The Cowles Charitable Trust | Pinellas County Schools |
| The Franzblau Family | Progress Energy |
| Gatewood Foundation, Inc. | The Saunders Foundation |
| General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems | School District of Hillsborough County |
| Jacarlene Foundation | St. Petersburg Times Fund, Inc. |
| Margaret A. Cargill Foundation | The USAA Foundation |
| Margaret E. Dickins Foundation |
