Sarasota Orchestra

Sarasota Orchestra, formally known as the Florida West Coast Symphony, is an American symphony orchestra located in Sarasota, Florida, which performs symphonic and chamber works for the Manatee, Sarasota, and Charlotte counties. The 80-member orchestra performs more than 100 classical, pops and family concerts each year, and is the "oldest continuing orchestra" in the state of Florida.
The orchestra also hosts a music education program including the 50-year-old Youth Orchestra, which features five ensembles, the most advanced of which, The Youth Philharmonic, made its Carnegie Hall debut in 2008.
==History==
In the fall of 1948, Ruth Cotton Butler, a Sarasota music teacher, enlisted the support of businessmen Dr. W.D. Sugg and J. Lorton Francis of Bradenton, and George Gibbs, an amateur musician from Venice. Their combined effort produced the debut concert of the Florida West Coast Symphony on March 12, 1949.
In 1961, Paul Wolfe began a 35-year tenure as artistic director and conductor. His leadership allowed the Orchestra to establish a core chamber and four resident chamber ensembles, expand the Youth Orchestra Program and consolidate the then Florida West Coast Symphony and the Music Festival of Florida, to create the Sarasota Music Festival. 
==Conductors==
*Ruth Cotton Butler
*Alexander Bloch
*Paul Wolfe
*Leif Bjaland
*Dirk Meyer
==References==
==External links==
*
*Official Sarasota Orchestra Site
Category:American orchestras