“The Florida Orchestra will celebrate its 50th anniversary fundraising gala with Sting” in December, writes Andrew Meacham in Thursday’s (8/3) Tampa Bay Times. “The 16-time Grammy winner will play for 90 minutes Dec. 9 at the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg, joined by the orchestra and a three-piece band…. [Music Director Michael] Francis … will conduct the performance…. Snagging one of music’s most diverse talents mirrors the kind of mission Francis has undertaken since his debut as the orchestra’s music director in 2015…. Francis, 40, grew up in Sussex, England, and was an infant when the Police were being formed in 1977 by Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, the British musician now known as Sting. Sting achieved a new level of stardom in his solo work, starting with the 1985 jazz album The Dream of the Blue Turtles. He continued to branch out with dance beats, more rock tunes and folk music, going on a hugely attended reunion tour with the Police and becoming more engaged in environmental activism. ‘He really sums up what the Florida Orchestra is all about, especially as we look to the future,’ Francis said. ‘We are genuinely communicating with Tampa Bay in so many different ways.’ ”
Posted August 4, 2017
