Pictured: SCF Participants at Lido Key Beach. Photo courtesy of Soundbox Ventures.

Soundbox Ventures is announcing its inaugural Suncoast Composer Festival (SCF). Festival events are open to the Sarasota public on October 4th, 5th, and 7th. The Suncoast Composer Festival is the latest component of Soundbox’s Suncoast Composer Fellowship Program (SCFP), established in 2022 as a private residency for early-career composers to work with world-class mentors and performers/recording artists. This year’s festival will be the Fellowship’s first public showcase after two closed sessions in September 2023 and 2024. This evolution “…reflects Soundbox’s commitment to engaging the community and deepening connections between composers, musicians, and audiences,” says Soundbox’s artistic director, Max Tan, who also performs as a member of the Sarasota Orchestra and is an alumnus of the Perlman Music Program. “Since 2007, I have felt at home in Sarasota and am always interested in developing projects that are nurtured by the rich cultural offerings in Sarasota as well as the resources it has to host artists and give them a platform to flourish.” The festival will feature a variety of classical and contemporary chamber music concerts as well as seminars held at multiple Sarasota locations, including Selby Public Library, First Congregational United Church of Christ, and a “secret” venue in South Poinsettia Park. For more details and tickets, visit SoundBoxVentures.org.

Pictured: SCF Participants at Lido Key Beach. Photo courtesy of Soundbox Ventures.