LSO returns to Florida for festival
The largest international and orchestral festival in Florida, the Florida International Festival, has been bringing the highly-acclaimed London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) to the Daytona Beach area for more than 40 years. The 16-day, biennial Festival kicks off its 2007 season on July 13, 2007, with a schedule that includes over 55 performances by more than 200 different artists and groups at venues throughout Central East Florida.
As the headliner for the Festival, the LSO returns to its “Official American Summer Home” for a 10-day residency. The world-renowned orchestra and its members will perform seven concerts, several chamber concerts and recitals, and a special world-premiere performance marking the 50th anniversary of “West Side Story”.
In addition to the LSO, a host of world’s most distinguished artists will fill the Festival’s stages, including Hungarian phenomenon Roby Lakatos, world-renowned jazz artists Ahmad Jamal, Irish favorite Solas, and Arabic music master Simon Shaheen, among many others. Members of the LSO and many of these outstanding artists will also participate in the Festival’s educational outreach program, which includes free concerts, and once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for area student musicians to talk and train with the masters.
Festival performances are organized into five series – the London Symphony Orchestra, Festival Stage, Jazz & Beyond, Family Fest and the Tippen Davidson Concert Series. Audiences may notice rich Mediterranean influences throughout the diverse and artistically brilliant performances, ranging form orchestral to jazz and world beat to family entertainment. Joining in with the Mediterranean theme, the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Daytona Beach will offer a Venini glass art display for visitors to enjoy during the Festival, starting June 8.
For this year’s Festival, special travel packages and discounted hotel rates will be offered online at www.fif-lso.org. Tickets for the Festival Stage, Jazz & Beyond, Family Fest, and the Tippen Davidson Concert Series purchased before April 27 will receive up to a 20 percent discount. Groups of 20 or more are eligible for ticket discounts and other added benefits. For group sales, please contact Joyce DeLoach at (386) 872-2331.
Tickets may be purchased Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Festival Box Office, 212 S. Beach St., Daytona Beach, by calling the Box Office toll-free at (866) 849-0731 or by mailing in the ticket order form, which can be found online at www.fif-lso.org
Report by Chitra Mogul
Chitra Mogul
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