On Saturday, March 28, Panama City Symphony celebrates its 30th Anniversary Season with a magnificent concert featuring the brilliant works of three classical composers. The Best of Bach, Beethoven & Mozart, performed by a chamber orchestra and featuring select orchestra musicians as soloists, will be set in the intimate ambiance of Forest Park Church, 1401 W. 23rd Street in Panama City, with its stunning stained-glass windows, promising a visually and acoustically rich experience where the legendary composers’ timeless music harmonizes perfectly with the colorful light cast by the church’s stained glass.
This performance promises an evening of elegance, brilliance, and timeless mastery. The program opens with Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, a dazzling showcase of Baroque vitality. Mozart’s lyrical Clarinet Concerto in A Major, featuring clarinetist John Divine, follows with its sublime beauty and expressive charm. After intermission, the orchestra brings to life Beethoven’s spirited Symphony No. 1 in C Major – a bold debut that blends classical tradition with the first signs of the composer’s revolutionary voice.
“The Mozart is one of the most iconic works in the clarinet repertoire and I am so excited to get to perform it with the Panama City Symphony,” said John Divine, Principal Clarinet of Panama City Symphony. “It has charm, beauty, and truly showcases why the clarinet was one of Mozart’s favorite instruments later in his life.” John earned his master’s degree from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida. He has performed internationally, notably with the University of Florida Clarinet Choir during their European tour in 2011. As an avid chamber musician, John formed the “JoJo Duo” with Dr. Joseph Tomasso in 2013. He currently serves as Associate Professor at Gulf Coast State College and is an active soloist and performer throughout Northwest Florida.
Showtime is 7:00 PM; tickets for The Best of Bach, Beethoven & Mozart are available on Eventbrite.com and PanamaCitySymphony.org.
