On July 13th, the Sarasota Orchestra announced with heavy hearts that Music Director Bramwell Tovey had passed away, following a battle with a rare form of sarcoma. Tovey, who passed on Tuesday night, just one day after celebrating his 69th birthday, joined the Sarasota Orchestra as Musical Director in 2021.

“While his time here was short, his impact was really quite grandiose,” says Joseph McKenna, President and CEO of the Sarasota Orchestra. “He’s going to leave a remarkable legacy in the music world, far bigger than just Sarasota. His legacy is one of an institution builder—from his time with the Vancouver Symphony and Winnipeg Symphony, and countless other companies, he was respected all over the world as a conductor."

Tovey’s illustrious career began as a student at the Royal Academy of Music and the University of London and included stops at the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic and an array of other high profile companies. In 2021 alone, Tovey was not only named Music Director of the Sarasota Orchestra, but also extended his artistic leadership position with the Rhode Island Philharmonic and was appointed as Principal Guest Conductor with Orchestre Symphonique de Québec.

Through it all, Tovey’s incredible music acumen was matched only by his down-to-earth spirit. “Bramwell was like the commoner who became the conductor—if you were to meet him in the hallway, he’d have a very warm and casual conversation with you. He brought that same sort of warmth and genuineness to the podium when he was making music and leading the orchestra,” says McKenna. “One of the things that was so remarkable about him was that he treated everybody the same, whether you were a first-year player, a board member or one of our administrative staff. We were really blessed to have him as our Music Director." 

Sarasota City Commissioner Jennifer Ahearn-Koch’s voice lifts as she discusses achievements at City Hall in her first five years of office. “How much time do you have?” she said. “I could rattle off a laundry list on the commission of things we have accomplished.”

A new wastewater system now sets Sarasota apart as the most advanced in Florida, sans the one at Walt Disney World. Efforts strode forward on a North Trail overlay district. Retail space on Martin Luther King, Jr. Way that stood vacant since the 2009 recession now has locally owned stores operating at Janie’s Garden. Parkland preserved at The Bay has started to come online. 

But Ahearn-Koch hesitates to take too much credit, even as she runs for a second term in office. “None of it is my accomplishment,” she said. “We are a body of five people. We agree or don’t agree, we discuss, debate and compromise. Everything we have done in the past five years was as a body of government, and I contributed one fifth of that.”

There’s a cooperative spirit Ahearn-Koch espouses that’s somewhat atypical among activists-turned-politicians. But that’s not to say she doesn’t see threats to City Hall, many of them the same ones that spurred her to run for office in the first place.

On the immediate horizon, she warns against a fresh push to expand administrative review further from the city core. “The public voice is essential for big, impactful developments and especially for those contiguous to single family neighborhoods, which are big part of the mix of our city,” she said.

She sees a proposal for a mixed-use corridor as a massive expansion of administrative review that, while done under the guise of constructing more affordable housing, would result in eliminating a critical voice from planning decisions.

She rejects a characterizing that staff approvals without public hearings would streamline development. Instead, she compares the planning process to a three-legged stool supported by the developer application process, city staff review and public input. Eliminate that third leg and the whole stool falls over.

For a comparison, she points to an apartment project near her own neighborhood where developers initially planned a pool with facilities near existing neighborhoods. Nothing violated city development regulations but neighbors asked that developers move the potential high-use pool to a part of property away from existing homes. The developer took the suggestion, the neighborhood presented no opposition to the plan and the cost for the project actually went down.

Developers have often complained a city public hearing where an unruly crowd opposes a project can result in projects being shot down after years of work. But Ahearn-Koch rejects the notion that giving up those hearings for an administrative process will streamline anything. For one thing, projects face other uncertain factors from supply chain issues to market uncertainty. But cutting out citizens early in the process also potentially could result in problems later. “It could be crippling to project after it is designed and built to then have citizens say, ‘Hey, you put a dumpster next to my kids’ bedroom,” she said. 

She’s now running for another term. She faces five other candidates: Dan Lobeck, Sheldon Rich, Terrell Salem, Carl Shoffstall and Debbie Trice. The top three vote-getters in August go to a November runoff, with the top two there winning seats. To date, Ahearn-Koch feels good about the campaign tone.

“I’m honored to be surrounded by five other really qualified and caring candidates,” she said. “Everyone brings something valuable to conversations.” 

In the July/August 2022 edition of SRQ Magazine, we interviewed Cheryl Mendelson, CEO of the Van Wezel Foundation as part of our In Conversation feature about nonprofit leaders. Below is an excerpt published in the magazine in which Mendelson shares her insights with SRQ readers on community growth and changes.

What are some of the goals you'd want to see fulfilled in the next three years?

We've got three key goals, the first one is to continue our investment in serving the community in arts education and integration in deepening that work, but also adding an element of outcomes measurement in efficacy. It's important that we understand the investment and the impact that it makes. And so, a big focus for us over the next three years, is taking a look at measurement and identifying new partners in the community who believe also that the arts can play a deepening role in the work they're currently doing. The second one is continuing to engage the community and their feedback on the aspirations they have for the performing arts center. We're calling our community engagement, a place for ideas, a place for the arts, a place for you. And we really, really want people to feel the element of where artists, learners, and audience all intersect, that's really the secret sauce of Sarasota. And so, we'll continue to grow and develop that communication over the next three years. And then, of course, the main big goal is in three years, we will have the shovels in the ground. 

The Van Wezel Foundation, 777 N Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, 941-366-5578.

To read the full article, click here.

Our community is filled with many incredible young people doing such amazing things. This summer, we are featuring some of these young people in our Thursday Family & Education edition. Each of the students we are highlighting has been chosen as one of this year’s SRQ Magazine’s top youth leaders based on their values, determination and outstanding achievements in different aspects of their lives in and out of school. Boys & Girls Clubs of Manatee County recently named Isabel F., a senior at Bayshore High School, as the organization’s 2022-23 Youth of the Year Representative. Isabel is passionate about helping others, especially the homeless. Isabel's goal for the future is to further her education and go to college for dentistry, with aspirations of becoming an orthodontist. "I want to be successful at whatever I do and make my family proud, as well as continuing to help others around me in need," she said. 

Pictured: Isabel F., Boys & Girls Clubs of Manatee County Youth of the Year Representative. Photo courtesy of Boys & Girls Clubs of Manatee County.

Florida Studio Theatre (FST) presents Smoke & Mirrors, a riveting comedic thriller by Will Osborne and Anthony Herrera. Called “Outrageously funny” by the Bennington Banner and “Clever” by Talkin’ Broadway, Smoke & Mirrors is an intriguing murder mystery with twists and turns that keep the audience guessing (and laughing) until the end. Smoke & Mirrors will begin playing in FST’s Gompertz Theatre on Wednesday, August 3, 2022. Tickets are now on sale at FloridaStudioTheatre.org or at 941.366.9000. Smoke & Mirrors follows Hamilton Orr, a power-hungry Hollywood director who will stop at nothing to get control over a multi-million-dollar film. To achieve this, Hamilton comes up with a deadly scheme to get rid of Derek, the dim-witted star of the movie. Hamilton persuades the movie’s screenwriter, Clark, to join his crafty plot and ensures that his wife, Barbara, stays in line. But when his ploy doesn’t go as planned, Hamilton meets the wily local sheriff, Leroy, who unearths one surprise after another until the play’s stunning conclusion. 

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Just for Girls (JFG), anglers, guests and sponsors are all winners in the 2nd annual Jess for Girls Fishing Tournament. 15 fishing teams enjoyed favorable weather and abundant hauls when they competed Friday, July 8th – Saturday, July 9th at Bahia Mar West Marina in Bradenton. The anglers and guests celebrated at a fish fry featuring the delicious fresh catch. They bid on the silent auction luxury items, and generously donated to the Out of School Time (OST) Scholarship Program. The tournament reeled in a total of $52,014 that will be used to support the 3 JFG Leadership and Learning Centers. This beat the $44,000 goal and out distanced last year’s contribution. This year’s tournament sponsors are Jess Jewelers, Silverberg Jewelers, Bahia Mar West Marina, Anna Maria Oyster Bar, Sembler, XPLOR, Mosaic, Salt & Pepper Café, NDC Construction, The Orns Solution, The GP and SEP Family Fund, JP Designs, Forristall Enterprises, EZ Livin' Solutions, Goldman & Wetzel, PLLC, Callaghan Tires, Marger Investments, LLC, and Dan Duenkel. The winning teams are: First Place: Longshank @ 21.8lbs Second Place: Mosaic @ 21.8lbs Third Place: Mosaic @ 19.6lbs. Calcutta tournament winning teams: Largest Red Snapper: Longshank @ 24.0lbs Mystery Fish (Porgy): Fat Bottom Girl @ 10.5lbs Largest Grouper (Gag): Big Game @ 35.4lbs. If you would like more information about Just for Girls, please visit JustforGirls.org or contact us at 941-747-5757 or email JustforGirls@myjfg.org. 

Pictured: First place winners at the 2nd annual Jess for Girls Fishing Tournament.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota and DeSoto Counties’ (BGCSDC) role as a United Way Suncoast strategic community partner moves into a new era this month with the launch of a multi-year funding commitment from the venerable nonprofit leader. United Way Suncoast kicked off its new fiscal year on July 1 by initiating the distribution of a three-year grant that will deliver $300,000 to BGCSDC. The funds will be used to support the Grade-Level Reading program. The purpose of the program is to ensure Club members are achieving grade-level benchmarks in Reading/Language Arts and are on-track for on-time grade advancement. Staff lead Club members through high-yield literacy activities, including leisure reading, writing activities, discussions with staff, helping others, homework help, tutoring and games that develop young people’s cognitive skills. 

To learn more, visit