Benise brings a performance filled with authentic music and high energy to the Music and Arts Community Center. -COURTESY PHOTO
Gulf Coast Symphony mixes familiar favorites, genre-spanning concerts and unexpected entertainment throughout September, offering a musical and performance palette for all tastes.
“It is a journey across countries, cultures and musical traditions. The connective tissue is not genre; it is quality and the immediacy of live performance,” Gulf Coast Symphony’s President & CEO/Music Director Dr. Andrew M. Kurtz said.
For Kurtz’s creative process in curating a season, he says, “I look at the calendar as a whole. Not every program should be designed for the same audience. The purpose of the MACC is to give different people different reasons to walk through our doors—and then to make the artistic experience good enough that they want to return.”
As the Music and Arts Community Center (MACC) enters its seventh season, Kurtz states they are presenting more programming throughout the year than ever before. “A Band Called Honalee connects us with the folk music that helped define the American experience in the 1960s, while the Gulf Coast Jazz Collective celebrates the composers whose songs became part of our shared musical language,” he believes. “We balanced those programs with international artists, contemporary popular music and theatrical entertainment.”
The folk trio behind A Band Called Honalee. -COURTESY PHOTO
A Band Called Honalee opens the September slate on Sept. 10, followed by two candlelight tributes on Sept. 12, Colours of Céline on Sept. 19, Benise returns on Sept. 23, the Gulf Coast Jazz Collective on Sept. 24, two Candlelight® concerts on Sept. 25 and the British duo The Conjurors closes the month’s lineup on Sept. 26.
Kurtz describes the month-long performances slated. The four Candlelight Concerts are tributes to Michael Jackson, the Beatles, 90s Hip Hop on Strings and Queen vs. Abba. A Band Called Honalee is a contemporary folk trio inspired by Peter, Paul & Mary and the great American folk tradition. Colors of Céline brings together three powerhouse vocalists and a live band to celebrate Céline Dion’s extraordinary catalog. Benise, the “Prince of Spanish Guitar,” is an international production combining Spanish guitar, world music, dance and theatrical spectacle. The Gulf Coast Jazz Collective explores the Great American Songbook, and the British duo The Conjurors closes the month with magic, mind-reading and theatrical illusion.
“What I like about September is that it demonstrates exactly what the Music & Arts Community Center (MACC) was created to be: a year-round home for many kinds of excellent live performance,” Kurtz added.
Trending across many venues are Candlelight Concerts and beyond the music, they are visually stunning, and Southwest Florida audiences are being treated to four tribute concerts in September.
“Candlelight concerts aim to make music accessible to a wider audience and they combine familiar music with a visually striking setting,” according to Kurtz. “The Candlelight Concerts are intimate, atmospheric experiences in which the Listeso String Quartet performs familiar Beatles or Michael Jackson music surrounded by hundreds of flickering, flameless candles. The Candlelight ensemble is the Listesso String Quartet, which is actually comprised of a rotating group of freelance South Florida musicians.”
Presenting popular music in a season in a variety of formats helps attract people who might not ordinarily attend a symphony concert.
“Most people do not live their musical lives in one category. They may love Beethoven, Céline Dion, Broadway, jazz and classic rock simultaneously,” Kurtz reflects. “Our job is not to tell people which music they should value. It is to give them exceptional live experiences with music they already love while also creating opportunities for discovery.”
The Gulf Coast Symphony has always believed in playing the music people love to hear. “Someone may first visit the MACC for Céline Dion, Benise or Peter, Paul & Mary and then return for jazz, musical theatre or a symphonic masterwork,” he continued. “The gateway can work in either direction. The genre changes; the standard of performance does not.”
Returning to Southwest Florida after his recent audience adrenaline performances earlier this year at the MACC is the Emmy award-winning composer and world-renowned “Prince of Spanish Guitar” Benise, who is celebrating 25 years of fiery Flamenco fusion in song and dance.
Benise takes the audience on a musical journey through Spanish Flamenco, Cuban Salsa, Brazilian Samba, Parisian Waltz, exotic drumming and more. -COURTESY PHOTO
The 25th anniversary tour establishes Benise’s Emmy Award-winning show as one of the longest-running Latin-themed theatrical productions touring the world.. -COURTESY PHOTO
“Our previous show was our intimate candlelight show, which focused more on flamenco and Spanish Guitar,” Benise reflects. “This show is a celebration of music and dance styles from around the world. From Cuban salsa to Spanish flamenco, to Brazilian samba, to Argentine tango, to exotic drumming, this shell has something for everyone. This is our big show that won an Emmy award. It’s been on PBS. We will have four dancers, a larger band and multimedia production.”
When reflecting on 25 years of performance and artistry, Benise ponders on why his music resonates with audiences and how he also offers something for new fans.
“This is our 25th anniversary tour, so we hope we have some new fans and some longtime fans at the show. We hope they can come to the show and escape for a couple of hours into a world of Spanish courtyards, stunning choreography, beautiful costumes and great music,” he said. “I think people like our story – that we started out as street performers and now, we’re traveling around the world.”
Audiences can feel the emotion and passion in the dance and music, Benise believes.
Paul Gavin will be performing for the Gulf Coast Jazz Collective. -COURTESY PHOTO
“I think we have something for everyone. If you’re a fan of classical music, we have Bach and Beethoven. If you’re a fan of classic rock, we have Led Zeppelin, AC/DC and the Eagles – all on Spanish guitar,” Benise added. “All these songs – whether it be originals or covers – mean so much to me.”
Another of September’s highlights is a performance by the Gulf Coast Jazz Collective, led by Paul Gavine, the artistic director and drummer.
“Paul is the artistic force behind the ensemble. I hired Paul, whom I have known since he was a teenager growing up in Fort Myers,” Kurtz said. “He has grown into an amazing Jazz musician who helped us create one of the most dynamic jazz ensembles in the state of Florida.”
Founded in 2021, the Gulf Coast Collective’s core trio is comprised of Florida jazz musicians, including pianist Gavine, Zach Bartholomew and bassist Brandon Robertson. Frequently joined by prominent guest vocalists and instrumentalists, their concerts honor the history of jazz while treating it as a living, evolving art form.
“They can move from Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane to original compositions and genre-crossing programs without losing the spontaneity and energy that make live jazz exciting. Many of their MACC performances have sold out,” Kurtz adds.
On September 24, the Gulf Coast Jazz Collective’s program is titled “The Standard Bearer: An Evening of the Great American Songbook” and will explore music by George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Rodgers and Hart, and others whose songs jazz musicians have been reinventing for nearly a century.
“A guest vocalist will join the trio for a program ranging from intimate torch songs and ballads to up-tempo swing. These melodies have survived because they are beautifully constructed, emotionally direct and endlessly open to reinterpretation,” Kurtz describes. “The audience will know many of the songs, but live jazz ensures that they will never hear them performed exactly this way again.”
The Conjurors will be giving an audience a show at the Gulf Coast Symphony. -COURTESY PHOTO
Colours of Celine features three vocalists sharing the iconic music of Celine Dion. -COURTESY PHOTO
Kurtz believes attendees will appreciate the variety and intimacy of the MACC setting the most about the September lineup.
“Within a few weeks, audiences can hear American folk harmonies, the music of Céline Dion, Spanish guitar, jazz standards and international touring artists and then experience a completely different kind of theatrical performance with The Conjurors,” he added. “Our regular patrons will find the quality they expect, while each event introduces new people to the MACC. That is how a cultural institution becomes part of its community: not by asking everyone to like the same thing, but by creating a place where everyone can find something that belongs to them.”
Tickets are on sale now and can be reserved by calling 239-277-1700, visiting gulfcoastsymphony.org or MACCtickets.org. The Music & Arts Community Center (MACC) is located off Daniels Parkway at 13411 Shire Lane in Fort Myers, on the campus of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fort Myers.
The Gulf Coast Jazz Collective brings together a blend of instruments including soulful piano performances. -COURTESY PHOTO
Brandon Robertson will be performing for the Gulf Coast Jazz Collective. -COURTESY PHOTO