The Winter Residency Celebration Concert. Provided photo.

Some of classical music’s best young minds are coming to Sarasota. Earlier this month, the Perlman Music Program Suncoast announced that it will be moving its Winter Residency program to downtown Sarasota. The PMP Winter Residency, which is celebrating its 22nd year this winter, was previously held at the USF-Manatee Sarasota Campus. While venues are still being determined, PMP confirmed that some of the rehearsals will be held at the First Presbyterian Church of Sarasota.

The Perlman Music Program, founded in 1994 by violinist Toby Perlman, wife of violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman, is a haven for string-instrument prodigies from around the world. Students, aged 12-18, audition for a spot in the highly competitive 7-week summer music camp in New York’s Shelter Island—after which they are invited to travel to Sarasota, for the PMP Winter Residency. “The program was established to be a holistic, non-competitive approach to learning for these very gifted string music students from all over the world,” says Lisa Berger, Executive Director of PMP Suncoast. “They come here and work very hard, but there’s no competition—nobody is featured over anybody else. We provide them with good, healthy food and lots of recreational activities as well. It’s like a camp, but for extremely dedicated musicians.”

From December 30, 2025 to January 10, 2026, roughly 28 students will descend on Sarasota for the Winter Residency. During the residency students will engage in individual and group lessons, orchestra rehearsals, chorus rehearsals and debut works in progress, all in preparation for the PMP Celebration Concert, held at the Sarasota Opera House on January 9. These rehearsals are not just for the students—they are free for the public to attend and enjoy top-notch classical orchestral and chamber music.

“The orchestra rehearsals are conducted by Mr. Perlman, who wears a microphone, so you get to hear what he’s saying to the kids and he addresses the audience as well. The WIPS or works in progress are solo recitals—a student string instrumentalist is accompanied by a pianist and they get to try out whatever it is they are working on, be it an audition for a college or a competition, in front of a live audience,” says Berger. “Audiences get to know a lot of the students because they come back year after year, which is even more exciting because then they see them grow up and become professional musicians.”

PMP Winter Residency, Downtown Sarasota, December 30, 2025-January 10, 2026

The Winter Residency Celebration Concert. Provided photo.

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