National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba to Offer Master Classes for UT Students

As part of The Florida Orchestra’s presentation of the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba’s (NSOC) visit to Tampa Bay in November, members of the Cuban orchestra will give master classes to pre-selected music students at The University of Tampa on Tuesday, Nov. 6, from 3–5 p.m.

The instruments include violin, cello, clarinet, French horn and percussion. UT language students and faculty members will serve as interpreters in the classes.

The master classes will be held in various venues on campus, including Plant Hall (Fletcher Lounge, Grand Salon, Music Room), Sykes Chapel and the Ferman Music Center. The public and media are invited to observe the master classes.

The master classes will be open to UT student musicians, and students from other Florida universities have been invited to attend. Local high school and community arts school students will also participate.

Also on Nov. 6, a presentation and discussion about The Florida Orchestra’s multi-year cultural exchange with Cuba will take place at 1:30 p.m. in the Reeves Theater on campus.

The NSOC’s two-day residency, which also includes a collaborative chamber music concert and full orchestra concert, is part of The Florida Orchestra’s (TFO) multi-year cultural exchange with Cuba. The first phase of TFO’s multi-year cultural exchange with Cuba took place this past fall, when the orchestra sent its Principal Winds Quintet to Havana to perform and teach master classes, marking the first time since 1999 that a professional American orchestra had sent musicians to Cuba, and only the second time since the 1959 revolution.

Other Tampa Bay events include:

Tuesday, Nov. 6, 7:30 p.m. Collaborative chamber music concert at the Cuban Club in Ybor City featuring musicians from both TFO and NSOC.
Wednesday, Nov. 7, 7:30 p.m. Full NSOC concert at the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg.

For more information about the master classes, contact Bradford Blackburn, associate professor of music, at bblackburn@ut.edu, or (813) 257-3399.