Transformation: Sarasota Orchestra's New Music Center
About this Event
Join Architecture Sarasota in welcoming leaders from the Sarasota Orchestra and their design team!
Joseph McKenna, President and CEO, Sarasota Orchestra
Giancarlo Guerrero, Music Director, Sarasota Orchestra
Matt Edwards, President, Cultural Strategic Partners
Cliff Gayley, Principal, William Rawn Associates
ABOUT THE TALK
How does architecture influence the way we experience music?
Join Sarasota Orchestra for a compelling exploration of the transformative relationship between music, architecture, and community. Be among the first to view newly unveiled schematic renderings of Sarasota Orchestra’s future Music Center, featuring the Gulf Coast’s first purpose-built acoustic concert hall. Inspired by the concept of “light lyricism,” the Music Center is envisioned as a place where sound, space, and sunlight converge to inspire extraordinary artistic and learning experiences. Discover how this landmark project will shape the cultural future of our region, creating an iconic musical destination that will redefine how audiences connect with music for generations to come.
ABOUT THE SERIES
Architecture Sarasota believes design has the power to transform communities and shape a more vibrant future. The Future Landmarks series offers an exclusive look at three of the most significant cultural projects currently redefining Sarasota's built environment. Leaders from the Sarasota Orchestra, Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, and the Sarasota Performing Arts Center will present the vision, design process, and community impact of their transformative projects, offering audiences a rare opportunity to hear directly from the organizations and design teams behind these landmark investments. Together, these presentations celebrate Sarasota's enduring commitment to architecture, arts, and innovation while exploring how today's bold design decisions will become the defining landmarks of tomorrow.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Joe McKenna
Joe oversees all operational and administrative functions. He is responsible for executing the strategic direction of the Board and ensuring the organizations financial security. During his tenure, the endowment corpus increased by more than $10 million, the Youth Orchestra had its debut performance at Carnegie Hall and the orchestra re-launched its brand including the name change to Sarasota Orchestra. His previous positions include Managing Director of the Cedarburg Performing Arts Center (in Wisconsin), Executive Director of the Great Woods Educational Forum, and Assistant Professor of Music at Wheaton College. Joe holds a Bachelor of Arts degrees in Trombone Performance and Music Education from the New England Conservatory.
Giancarlo Guerrero
Giancarlo Guerrero is a six-time GRAMMY® Award-winning conductor whose imaginative programming and “curatorial and interpretive creativity” (Chicago Tribune) draw out of his orchestras “exceptionally powerful and enchanting performances” (BBC Music Magazine). His contagious enthusiasm on the podium has led critics to praise his “clear and exacting beat and a gift for shifting between ferocity and tenderness” (San Francisco Chronicle) and his style that is “at once vigorous, passionate, and nuanced” (BachTrack). 2025 marks Guerrero’s first season as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Grant Park Music Festival in Chicago. Guerrero also takes on the role of Music Director of Sarasota Orchestra in the 2025-26 season, becoming the seventh conductor to hold the appointment since the Orchestra’s founding in 1949.
Matt Edwards
Matt Edwards' background includes strategic planning, feasibility and programming, budget and schedule management, project team problem solving, contract review and negotiation, oversee design phases, and monitor construction progress. With nearly 20 years of real estate and development experience, his expertise is working with non-profit organizations and public-private developments focused on multi-purpose venues and culturally significant projects representing over $3.5 billion in development costs.
Cliff Gayley
For over 35 years, Cliff Gayley has served as a design leader for many of William Rawn Associates’ best known and large scale projects including 20 performing arts centers such as the Music Center at Strathmore, the Linde Center for Music and Learning and Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood, Weill Hall at Sonoma State, Klarman Hall at Harvard Business School, the Rubenstein Arts Center at Duke, the Performing Arts and Humanities Building at UMBC, RIT’s SHED, the Bloomberg Public Science Common at MoS, Tennessee Performing Arts Center (in design), and the Music Center for Sarasota Orchestra (in design). In his performing arts work, Cliff seeks to bring vibrancy, world-class acoustics, and new ideas to spaces that seamlessly connect to the public realm and focus on all phases of artistic production from rehearsal studios to maker spaces to large concert halls and theater venues.
PHOTOS courtesy of Sarasota Orchestra.
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
USD 0.00 to USD 28.21
