arts & entertainment

Lions and tigers and bears –oh my! It’s all about fur and feathers when the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra presents the musical menagerie for concertgoers, Carnival of the Animals on Sunday, March 3 at 3:00 PM, at the Trinity Episcopal Church, 2365 Pine Avenue in Vero Beach, 32960. The audience will encounter elephants, kangaroos, donkeys, lions, cuckoos, swans, and more as conductor Aaron Collins leads the orchestra through Saint-Saëns’s beloved masterwork, filled to the brim with humor and vivid color.

Scored for orchestra and two pianos, Carnival of the Animals features the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra principal keyboardist Jean Black, together with accomplished Vero Beach pianist, Dr. Jacob Craig. Craig will also be featured on Saint-Saëns’s famous Piano Concerto No. 2. Another concert highlight includes the world premiere of Sonya Leonore Stahl’s “Eagle Music,” a soaring work that evokes the American national bird gliding majestically through the sky. Rounding out the program are the juxtaposed works of two luminaries: Antonín Dvořák’s celebratory Carnival and Claude Debussy’s gentle Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun. $30 tickets for Carnival of the Animals are available through the orchestra website at www.SpaceCoastSymphony.org or at Marine Bank & Trust, beachside and mainland branches. Tickets at the door are $35. Concertgoers aged 18 and under or with a college ID are admitted free to every SCSO concert. For more information about Carnival of the Animals, call toll free to 855-252-7276 or visit www.SpaceCoastSymphony.org.   

Space Coast Symphony Orchestra Conductor and Artistic Director, Aaron T. Collins predicts Carnival of the Animals will be a hit with the audience.

“Saint-Saëns, Dvořák, Debussy –their music is universally loved,” said Collins. “And we are also proud to be premiering the work of an up-and-coming composer as part of our commitment to new music. This is a fantastic program with incredibly talented performers. People will be blown away by the virtuosity of our pianists.”  

The Space Coast Symphony Orchestra is one of only a handful of U.S. orchestras to perform year-round. Concertgoers aged 18 and under or with a college ID are admitted free to every SCSO concert. For more information about the Space Coast Symphony 2023-24 season or the Symphony for Everyone ticket program, visit SpaceCoastSymphony.org or call toll-free (855) 252-7276.

ABOUT the Guest Artists —

Dr. Jacob Craig is the Director of Music and Arts at First Presbyterian Church of Vero Beach. He received his Bachelor of Music Education and Piano Performance degree from Shorter University in Rome, GA before moving on to Tallahassee, FL to receive his M.M. in Choral Conducting and Literature under Dr. Andre Thomas at Florida State University. As of 2019, Jacob completed his Doctorate of Sacred Music in Performance at the Graduate Theological Foundation and Oxford University. He is the Director of the Vero Beach Choral Society, ACTS Choristers, Sea Oaks Chorus, John’s Island Singers, and Silver Tones community choirs.  Jacob is also a competitive highland bagpipe player and Pipe Major for the Vero Beach Pipes and Drums. Jacob moved to Vero Beach in 2012 and continues to delight churchgoers and crowds alike with his virtuosic skill on piano and organ. He is particularly talented at jazz piano, which he frequently performs during services. Former Dean Andrew Galuska of the Treasure Coast Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, said of Craig, “Jacob is an enthusiastic and multi-talented young musician who has not only revitalized the performance of sacred music in his own church, but has also had an exciting impact on music in our community at large. His success at working with and encouraging young musicians is unparalleled.”

Jean Black is a Brevard County native, born in Rockledge, Florida. She began studying piano under the tutelage of Connie Trainor, with whom she studied from the age of five through high school. During her school years, Jean sang with her family, played handbells, and began playing the flute, but piano remained her first love. By age 15, she was the accompanist for the Titusville High School Madrigals. Upon her high school graduation, she attended The Florida State University, where she minored in music while pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film from the School of Motion Picture, Television, and Recording Arts. Over the past 25 years, Jean has earned a reputation for excellence as a collaborative pianist working with Brevard County public school choirs and soloists, band and orchestra students, and theatrical productions at the Cocoa Village Playhouse, Titusville Playhouse, and the Henegar Center. In 2016, she had the privilege of playing keyboard at The Dr. Philips Center in Orlando for the National Tour of “Wicked.” She is the principal pianist and keyboardist for the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra and works frequently with the Brevard Symphony Orchestra, Central Florida Winds, Orlando Light Opera, Opera del Sol, Central Florida Vocal Arts, Riverside Chamber Orchestra, and Riverside Community Chorale. She is the accompanist for the Brevard Chorale at Eastern Florida State College and serves in the worship arts ministry at Indian River City United Methodist Church as a pianist and singer.

Sonya Leonore Stahl is a violinist with the Gainesville Orchestra and Ocala Symphony Orchestra, and was the state fiddle champion at the Florida Folk Festival in 2011. She studied with Janna Lower and Paul Richards at the University of Florida, and her compositions center love, nature, faith, and fairy-tales. Her “Solutions” was performed both by the Professors’ Choir at the 2022 Southeast Trombone Symposium and the Cramer Choir at the 2023 International Trombone Festival, and her “Song of the Rose” appears on Dr. Jemmie Robertson’s Red Dragonfly album.  In 2023 she was awarded one of the prizes in the “Silent Voices” Festival out of Bemidji State University. She previously spent two decades working with fruits and vegetables, both in scientific research and wholesale logistics, and was the winner of the Florida State Horticultural Society’s Best Paper for her 2021 review of bamboo shoot freshness. Find her musical compositions on YouTube at the channel “I eat too many clementines.”

ABOUT THE SPACE COAST SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA— The SCSO is a lively and passionate Central Florida orchestra comprised of professional musicians, music educators and mentored amateurs of exceptional ability. The Orchestra was formed by Conductor and Artistic Director Aaron T. Collins with a two-fold mission: to provide mentoring and performance opportunities for Florida’s finest young musicians as well as to provide professional concerts at genuinely affordable prices. The ultimate goal of the organization is to help ensure the symphonic tradition for the enjoyment of future generations.

Aaron T. Collins is garnering recognition for his achievements.  LEAD Brevard named the ambitious Collins one of their “4 under 40” Young Professionals, the youngest-ever recipient of the honor.  Space Coast Business magazine listed him as one of Brevard’s “100 Most Admired Businesspeople.” Collins is a past recipient of the Richard A. Stark Award for cultural leadership from the Cultural Council of Indian River County. Through his personal involvement with more than a dozen performing arts groups, pioneering reciprocal ad program and social media cross promotions, Collins has gained a reputation for generosity; championing other arts organizations throughout Central Florida for the cultural enrichment of the community. 

School-aged children 18 years and under are admitted free of charge, as are college students with a valid ID.  In keeping with their mission, the symphony provides a unique Symphony for Everyone ticketing program, a “pay-what-you-can” option designed to provide substantially discounted admission to any Space Coast Symphony concert. Relying on a non-traditional orchestra model and a slim budget, the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra is one of only a handful of U.S. orchestras to perform year-round. The nonprofit organization also maintains the Space Coast Symphony JAZZ Orchestra and the Space Coast Symphony Wind Orchestra, with several free performances each year. More information about the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra’s upcoming concerts, ticket sales, venues, directions and sponsorship opportunities is available at SpaceCoastSymphony.org by calling toll free (855) 252-7276.