Punta Gorda Symphony moving forward after turbulent season finale

On a Sunday afternoon in April, the Punta Gorda Symphony generated national attention when its leaders canceled a season finale concert just two hours before it was to begin, with authorities escorting the music director out of the venue and letting musicians inside only to retrieve their instruments.

That day capped a turbulent week for the musicians who had all been given just a few days to audition again for their jobs ahead of some significant changes that were anticipated within the symphony’s operations.

All that tension and drama now appears to be behind the organization, which went on to have a successful Memorial Day concert and is moving forward toward a new season under a new music director, Richard Stoelzel, who has been principal trumpet for four years and has served as the group’s personnel manager.

“I could not be happier with where we are today,” said Executive Director Jennifer Bitner, acknowledging “there was a lot of uncertainty” during the first weeks of April.

Stoelzel will lead half of the six concerts planned for the 2023-24 season, with guest conductors taking over for the final three.

Bitner, who was out of town the weekend of the canceled concert, said a handful of people stepped up “and offered their artistic and professional services and advice, helping to guide us through that transitional time, so we emerged from this quickly and with a fantastic and incredible opportunity before us.”

The April 2 concert was expected to be the final program led by former music director Raffaele Ponti, who had led the orchestra for 10 years, transforming it from a mostly amateur ensemble into a group of professionals, including some veterans of major orchestras from around the country.

Though he expected to stay for several more years, Ponti said he was told last year that his contract was not being renewed, though there had been no word about who would be taking over as music director, which usually involves a committee inviting guest conductors who lead concerts before a choice is made.

On the day of the concert, there were concerns by some symphony leaders that Ponte was going to tell the audience about expected changes within the organization, which he had been asked not to speak about publicly.

Some of the changes apparently involved The Venice Symphony, which has not commented on the situation other than to issue a statement saying it “had been exploring an artistic relationship with the Punta Gorda Symphony that is currently no longer seen as viable or positive for either organization.”

Bitner said she could not comment on the nature of the agreement the two organizations were discussing, but she said Punta Gorda Symphony “would not have changed structurally.”

Many of the Punta Gorda musicians, most of them freelance artists who are brought in for a series of six concerts a year, expected their time with the orchestra to be over, especially after they were given just a few days before the final concert to prepare taped auditions to retain their positions.

Rebuilding and diversifying

Bitner and Stoelzel said they expect everyone back for the new season. Stoelzel said the April events created a sense of chaos, but he praised Bitner for how “she kept her nose to the grindstone and kept working through all this.”

Stoelzel said his transition has been eased because he has known most of the musicians for several years and worked with them as personnel director. He has been spending more time focused on conducting while maintaining his own solo trumpet career and performing with The Gaudi Trio, which will be featured in the new season.

“I jumped on board with Jennifer to help get moving and to not let an unfortunate situation take down an organization that has done so many things for the community, not to mention the musicians themselves,” he said. “What a sin that would be to allow one thing like this to take down an entire organization.”

He said the symphony immediately began reaching out to other local arts organizations to begin setting some collaborations. “Then we had our Memorial Day concert, which was packed. It was standing room only. When the musicians first came back, they were excited but a little reticent about the whole thing, but by the end of the concert, I think the musicians came to enjoy working with me. It’s not my first rodeo. I’ve done this before.”

Stoelzel said he has performed with numerous orchestras around the country. “I can tell you of all the organizations I’ve been involved in, this orchestra is absolutely the most family-oriented, the most friendly, open orchestra I’ve ever played with. We love playing together. As personnel manager, I never had to deal with any problems with people. It’s quite an amazing orchestra.”

Over time, he hopes to be able to have more full-time musicians “but that’s a ways away. It depends on how well Charlotte County rallies around us.”

Bitner said one of her goals is to diversify the audience by diversifying the programming, like the John Williams concert which she hopes will attract younger people as well as those who “don’t have a high level of classical experience.”

“We want them to realize how amazing and magnificent this orchestra is,” Bitner said.

The 2023-24 season

The new season will be presented at the Charlotte Performing Arts Center. All concerts begin at 3:30 p.m.

Oct. 22: “John Williams ‘Star Wars’ – A Galaxy Far, Far Away.” Stoelzel will lead this program built around movie themes by multiple Oscar-winning composer John Williams. There also will feature a family fun day with lobby activities including a musical adventure zone, trick or treating, and a costume concert.

Nov. 12: Antonin Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 “From the New World.” Stoelzel will conduct the program that will feature trumpeter Rex Richardson as a guest soloist.

Dec. 3: “Holiday Spectacular.” Stoelzel will lead this concert of holiday favorites.

Jan. 14: Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” and Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto will be led by guest conductor Miriam Burns, director of the orchestras at the Ohio State University. Concertmaster Ming Gao will be the featured soloist.

Feb,. 18: “An Evening of Poetry Through Music.” David Gier, music director of the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, is the guest conductor of this program that features Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 and Mozart’s Symphony No. 29 and “Exsultate, jubilate.” Soprano Hennah Celeste Lu is the guest soloist.

March 17: “Rhapsody in Blue.” Composer, arranger and conductor Sean O’Loughlin is the guest conductor for this program which features Stoelzel’s own group the Gaudi Trio. Stoelzel said O’Laughlin created most of the arrangements for the trio of trumpet, violin and piano.

Subscription and family tickets are available. Single tickets are $65 for premium seating, $35 for regular seating and $15 for youth and student seating. For more information: pgsymphony.org/performances

Follow Jay Handelman on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Contact him at jay.handelman@heraldtribune.com. And please support local journalism by subscribing to the Herald-Tribune.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Punta Gorda Symphony plans 2023-24 season with new music director