Ten years ago violinist Samantha Bennett and percussionist George Nickson founded ensembleNEWSRQ, a chamber music ensemble devoted to playing and championing the music of contemporary composers. A decade later, ensembleNEWSRQ is opening its 10th season with Tangled Whispers on October 27, the first of six programs produced by the organization this season.

“We focus exclusively on the works of living and contemporary composers,” says Bennett. “We’ve played over 250 unique pieces, have commissioned around 20 works and have done a number of world, North American and Florida premieres. We’re one of the few organizations in the state that’s solely focused on presenting this type of work with local artists.”

Tangled Whispers furthers the organization’s mission with the presentation of four intimate and varied works. “All of the music is very intricate, with a lot of sounds that push the boundaries on the soft end of things. A lot of what we do with contemporary music can be very loud and feature large forces—with this concert we’re inviting people to lean in to what we’re presenting on a more intimate scale and to turn on your ears to hear music on a different level.”

Tangled Whispers kicks off with Jerod Tate’s Inchokkillissa, written for guitar and percussion. Tate, a member of the Chickasaw Nation, derived the melody for Inchokkillissa from the merging of Native American musical traditions and standardized church hymns brought in by white settlers. “There’s this interplay that’s referenced throughout the piece, in which when you’re borrowing from both musical backgrounds, you’re creating something unique that’s different from either tradition on their own.”

Following Inchokkillissa is Amy Williams’ 2024 piece, Tangled Madrigal, written for a string quartet. Tangled Madrigal takes inspiration from Baroque music, putting a contemporary twist on the style of musical composition from the 16th and 17th centuries. The third work is Sebastian Currier’s 1996 composition Whispers. “Whispers is an exploration of the edge of audibility of sound. It’s also a meditation on fragility and the space between sounds as well,” says Bennett. “It’s very subtle in how he uses instrumentation to create suspense, tension and these fleeting musical motifs.”

The program ends with Elliot Carter’s Triple Duo. First premiering in 1983, Triple Duo is the oldest of the works presented in Tangled Whispers, yet according to Bennett, perhaps the most contemporary sounding of them all. “It’s a little bit more rhythmically focused and engaged rather than harmonically. When you listen to it live, you get a sense of the acrobatics the performers have to do for the music to come off the page,” says Bennett.”

Tangled Whispers, October 27, 7:30pm, First Congregational Church, 1031 S Euclid Ave., Sarasota, 34237 

Samantha Bennett and George Nickson. Photo by Matthew Holler.

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On October 31, Urbanite Theatre will kick off its 12th season with the regional premiere of Monsters of American Cinema. The play, written by Christian St. Croix, made its debut in 2023 at the ArtsWest Playhouse in Seattle and is befitting of its Halloween premiere date in more ways than one. Set outside of a drive-in movie theater, Monsters of American Cinema follows Remy Washington, a Black man who recently lost his husband and now has taken on the responsibility of raising his late husband’s teenage son, Pup. Although Remy and Pup bond over a shared affinity for classic American monster movies, their fraught relationship is tested when Remy discovers that Pup has been antagonizing a gay classmate.

“One of the things that attracted me to the play is that we’re exploring issues of anti-LGBTQIA sentiment through this relationship between a gay father and his son,” says Summer Wallace, producing artistic director of Urbanite Theatre. “Families come in all different colors, shapes and sizes— there’s so much pressure and controversy today around not having the standard family dynamic that producing a play that showcases that and lifts up the queer community is extremely important.”

Although Remy and Pup—played by Jon Gentry and Sarasota native Tyler Gevas, respectively—live together in an RV, there are layers of separation between them. Remy is Black, Pup is white. Remy is gay and Pup is straight. They are not related by blood, instead bonded by marriage and the loss of Pup's late father. “It’s navigating being a parent in this very difficult situation,” says Wallace, who will also direct the play. “We’ve never quite done a play with this type of father-son dynamic. There are the growing pains of raising a teenager as teenagers become monsters themselves.”

Wallace intends to use the play’s setting to further accentuate the pressures and mounting tension in Remy and Pup’s relationship. Not only does staging the production in an RV force the characters into close proximity with each other, but it allows for moments where the play can leave the boundaries of reality, the projections of cinematic monsters on the drive-in theater’s screen coming to life. “The play goes to these interesting, wild places where we’re witnessing the monster within Pup. Pup is behaving like a monster, but Remy isn’t clocking it yet, he doesn’t realize what’s happening to Pup,” says Wallace. “We really get to see the inner turmoil that Pup is going through and the demons that he’s dealing with in his personal life.”

Monsters of American Cinema, October 31-December 7, Urbanite Theatre, 1487 2nd St, Sarasota, 34236 

Jon Gentry (left) and Tyler Gevas. Photo by Sorcha Augustine.

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For a third consecutive year, Florida Trend Magazine has named president and CEO Jennifer Rominiecki to the Florida 500, a list of Florida’s most influential business leaders representing 500 candidates across major industries. The editors of Florida Trend selected the executives after conducting hundreds of interviews and months of research, culminating in a highly selective biographical guide to the leaders of Florida. The complete Florida 500 list can be found at https://floridatrend500.com. 

On Saturday, October 25, Nathan Benderson Park will become a sea of pink as our community rallies to end breast cancer. Whether you’re a survivor, thriver, supporter, or friend, this is your moment to be a part of something bigger – the 2025 Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk! Making Strides isn’t just any walk—it’s the nation’s largest breast cancer movement! Every step fuels lifesaving research, patient support like rides and lodging, and the American Cancer Society’s 24/7 helpline. Together, Sarasota and Manatee have already raised hundreds of thousands locally to fight breast cancer—and this year, we’ll go even further. Lace up, bring your brightest pink, and join us! Hope starts here, and every stride brings us closer to a world without breast cancer. 

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The holiday season is starting early this year — and it’s bringing a bit of green mischief with it! On Saturday, November 1, The Bazaar on Apricot & Lime will transform into Whoville when The Grinch himself makes a special visit from 10:30 to 11:30 am. Visitors can enjoy a free photo opportunity with The Grinch, while exploring more than 40 local artists, creators, and curators inside The Bazaar. The event is part of a fun partnership with the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, who will be on-site offering guests a chance to win tickets to “How The Grinch Stole Christmas". Alongside the holiday fun, visitors can enjoy delicious food from Hamlet’s Eatery, the permanently parked food truck on-site known for its creative, locally inspired menu. The Bazaar will be decorated in true Whoville style, so guests never know what surprises may pop up throughout the day.

Saturday, November 1, 10:30–11:30am (Grinch appearance) The Bazaar is open until 3pm. The Bazaar on Apricot & Lime – 821 Apricot Ave, Sarasota, BazaarOnApricotandLime.com 

Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College (SAM) is pleased to announce the line-up for its 2025-2026 Quotable Series. Launched in 2021, Quotable is SAM’s annual author event series, dedicated to bringing authors, artists and contemporary creatives who are sparking new ways of thinking about art, culture and creative practices to Sarasota. This year’s line-up features Tony Award-winning dancer and activist Jennifer Jones, known for becoming the first African American Rockette; former associate curator for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Jared Goss; Curator emerita at Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City, Ellen Lupton; and six-time New York Times best-selling author, Laurence Leamer. Tickets are $40 ($35 for Museum Members) for each Quotable Talk and are now on sale at SarasotaArtMuseum.org. Ticket prices include Museum admission. 

The Suncoast Black Arts Collaborative’s (SBAC) “Beyond Regional Boundaries” initiative continues its exploration of diverse artistic voices with “Silent Witnesses: Silent Observers in a Changing World, Untouched Yet Not Unaffected,” an exhibition of charcoal drawings by Wonda J. Granville, November 8–December 8, at Venice Theatre, 140 W. Tampa Avenue, Venice. A reception with the artist takes place Tuesday, November 18, 5:30–7 p.m., coinciding with the theater’s production of the play, “The Amish Project,” inspired by the 2006 Nickel Mines schoolhouse tragedy—an event that profoundly echoes the quiet resilience and forgiveness depicted in Granville’s art. To attend the reception, please RSVP at SuncoastBlackArtsCollaborative.org. To purchase tickets for “The Amish Project,” visit VeniceTheatre.org.