“Two world premieres—both by composers with Florida ties—will be performed March 5-8 at venues in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Key West” by the South Florida Symphony Orchestra, writes Mike Hamersly in Monday’s (3/2) Artburst (Miami, FL). “ ‘Sunset’ by John Gottsch is a symphonic poem that captures his love for the beauty and fragility of Key West; and Concerto for Cello and Orchestra by Miami’s Ellen Taaffe Zwilich [with cellist Zuill Bailey] reflects her love for the versatility and power of the cello. Both pieces were dedicated to the South Florida Symphony Orchestra’s founder and conductor, Maestra Sebrina Alfonso, who was born and raised in Key West…. Zwilich, 80, is a Coral Gables High School grad who became the first female composer to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1983 for her Symphony No. 1.… Zwilich wrote her new concerto in memory of Leonard Rose and Mstislav Rostropovich, two great cellists of the 20th century.… When Alfonso founded the South Florida Symphony Orchestra in 1997, it was for a decidedly humble motive. ‘Basically, I wanted my family to share my music,’ she says. ‘I just wanted my grandma to see me conduct.’ ”
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