ADVISORY/The 40th Annual Sarasota Music Festival, a Three-Week Festival for the Teaching and Performance of Chamber Music, to Take Place May 31-June 19.

Entertainment Editors/Music Critics & Feature Writers

ADVISORY...for May 31-June 19

--(BUSINESS WIRE)

Sarasota Music Festival:

WHAT:
The 40th annual Sarasota Music Festival, a three-week festival for
the teaching and performance of chamber music.

WHERE:
Beatrice Friedman Symphony Center, 709 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota,
Florida, 34236

WHEN:
May 31-June 19, 2004

WHY:
Now celebrating its 40th anniversary, the Sarasota Music Festival
is one of the nation's premier summer festivals for the performance
and teaching of chamber music. Scheduled for May 31-June 19, this
three-week event is an intense immersion in chamber music for nearly
85 students from top colleges and conservatories, 40 professional
musicians serving as the Festival's faculty, and its audiences. The
Festival holds close to 250 rehearsals, over 60 different master
classes, and 14 concerts all featuring the talents of the faculty and
students. This year a FREE student concert, held in celebration of the
Festival's 40th anniversary, will take place on June 19 at 3:00 pm at
the Sarasota Opera House.

The Festival process starts with choosing the best Faculty Artists
from around the world, including violinists Joseph Silverstein and Ani
Kavafian, pianists Robert Levin and Susan Starr, and flute virtuoso
Carol Wincenc. Hundreds of students from around the world send in
applications and audition tapes. Only the best are accepted.

The schedule includes three Artist Showcases on Thursday afternoons in
the Symphony Center, and six Festival Concerts held on Friday and
Saturday evenings in the Sarasota Opera House, which also include two
student orchestral performances. Artist Showcases allow the faculty to
shine, presenting works of small ensembles in an intimate setting. The
Festival Concerts present treasures of the chamber music repertoire,
including works by Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms. The final
concert on June 19 is a Mozart Tribute, featuring the 40th Symphony.

Passes can be purchased to many of the classes, lectures and
rehearsals, for a behind-the-scenes look into the collaboration
between musicians and students. This year, in celebration of the 40th
anniversary, a full festival pass may be purchased for $40 - a $75
value - when eight or more concert tickets have been purchased by
June 1.

The Sarasota Music Festival is a program of the Florida West Coast
Symphony, a $4.5 million organization serving the west coast of
Florida.

Ticket prices range from $5 to $36. The Box Office telephone number
is 941-953-3434. Further information can be obtained by calling
941-953-4252 or by visiting http://www.fwcs.org.