After nine years as Music Director of the Sarasota Music Festival, conductor, pianist and pedagogue Jeffrey Kahane is stepping back from the leadership role and year-round involvement of the Festival founded 61 years ago.  During his leadership of the Festival, Kahane significantly expanded the profile of new faculty alongside a core of the Festival’s most revered and treasured artists and teachers. Complementing the expansion of the faculty was Kahane’s addition of internationally renowned chamber ensembles to perform, collaborate with, and coach Festival fellows. These ensembles have included the Attacca, Calidore, Borromeo, and the Pacifica String Quartets, as well as the Montrose Trio. Most important of all to Kahane has been the expansion of the Festival vision to include the teaching and performance of world music, jazz, and folk music, along with workshops on improvisation, yoga, and mindfulness.