Close to season’s end, The Florida Orchestra is full steam ahead

The Florida Orchestra’s 2025-26 season has less than a month to go, before the start of the summer break.

There’ll be no laurel-resting here, however. Music director Michael Francis and the master musicians of TFO will continue to fire on all cylinders.

The Master Chorale of Tampa Bay joins the orchestra for this weekend’s ambitious performances of A Sea Symphony, by Ralph Vaughan Williams.

First performed in 1910, conducted by the composer, the hourlong piece is considered one of the very first in which a chorus is employed throughout the entire symphony, as opposed to one or two specific movements or moments. Combining elements of symphony, oratorio and opera, A Sea Symphony is set to poems by Walt Whitman.

Says TFO writer Kurt Loft in his program notes for this concert: “This imposing work is known for its power and grandeur, a blend of symphony, oratorio and opera. It serves as the composer’s philosophical meditation on the oceans as well as the perseverance of the human spirit.”

Master Chorale Soloists are Nicole Cabell, soprano, and Roderick Williams, baritone.

This is not to be confused with the title of the TFO’s free concert June 6 at the BayCare Sound Amphitheatre. That’s called Symphony By the Sea, and the program includes Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, John Williams movie music and patriotic songs.

This weekend’s program, Friday (8 p.m.) in the Straz Center’s Ferguson Theatre, and Sunday (2 p.m.) at the Mahaffey Theater, also includes a performance of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2. Indonesian-born pianist Janice Carissa makes her TFO debut.

Carissa, who made her Philadelphia Orchestra debut at 16, has been featured as a soloist with the Kansas City, Nashville, Curtis, Promusica, Amarillo, Sacramento, Kalamazoo, Bay Atlantic, Battlecreek, Symphony in C and Tacoma symphonies, among others.

She has performed for the President of Indonesia at the Presidential Palace, and at the United Nations, Carnegie Hall, Sydney Opera House and Louis Vuitton Foundation.

Maestro Franc is will conduct.

From Loft’s notes: “’In the world of art and music, there are certain works that are perfect, and the Rachmaninoff Second is perfect,’ the pianist Garrick Ohlsson said in an interview with the Tampa Tribune prior to his appearance with TFO. ‘It has a flawless, heavenly quality to it. It’s a romantic journey from despair to triumph, full of brooding tragedy and some of the most gorgeous tunes ever written. It sounds as if this piece dropped out of heaven fully formed.’”

The remainder of the season looks like this:

June 6: Symphony by the Sea at the Baycare Sound. This concert, conducted by Chelsea Gallo, was originally scheduled for May 8. It was moved because the Country Thunder Festival, after getting kicked off of St. Pete Beach due to environmental concerns, relocated to Coachman Park (which includes the amphitheater). Symphony By the Sea then was assigned the June 6 date.

June 7: Defying Gravity – The Music of Stephen Schwartz. There’s just one performance of this salute to the Broadway legend who wrote Pippin, Godspell, Wicked and more at 2 p.m. in the Straz Center’s Morsani Hall. Conducted by Chelsea Gallo.

June 20: Music of Studio Ghibli features the orchestra performing music, without video visuals, composed by Joe Hisaishi for the Japanese animation company Studio Ghibli. Lawrence Loh conducts. This concert (7:30 p.m. at Ruth Eckerd Hall) was not part of the originally planned 2025-26 season; it was announced May 20.

The orchestra will announce the 2026-27 season Friday (May 29). Watch this space.

Find all tickets and other information at the Florida Orchestra website.