Under the leadership of Music Director Stefan Sanderling, The Florida Orchestra is recognized as Tampa Bay's leading performing arts institution, one of the leading professional symphony orchestras in Florida, and one of the best orchestras in America.
Founded as the Florida Gulf Coast Symphony in 1968, the orchestra was established by representatives of the Tampa Philharmonic and the St. Petersburg Symphony, who merged the two cultural institutions. The founders selected as their first music director Irwin Hoffman, who left the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to come to Tampa Bay.
In 1988, Jahja Ling became music director. He has also held prestigious positions as resident conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra as well as music director of The Cleveland Orchestra's Blossom Music Festival. Ling is currently the music director of the San Diego Symphony.
The 2001/2002 season marked Jahja Ling's final season as music director of The Florida Orchestra, and in May of 2002, Stefan Sanderling was appointed the current music director.
The orchestra performs more than 100 concerts annually in the tri-city area of Tampa, Clearwater, and St. Petersburg. Concert series include Masterworks, Raymond James Pops, Coffee Concerts, Pops in the Park Concerts, and youth concerts.
