Take a step back in time to the early days of the City Beautiful when the fabulous Biltmore Hotel opened its doors on Jan. 15, 1926, hosting celebrities and the leading socialites of the day.
Throughout the Jazz Age, the Biltmore Hotel was the most fashionable resort in the entire country, and Orchestra Miami presents a program filled with music celebrating the Jazz Age and the rich history of this gorgeous locale on Sunday, Apr. 26, 4 p.m., at the Biltmore Hotel, 1200 Anastasia Ave. in Coral Gables.
Tickets are $30, $40 and $50, reserved seating. VIP tickets are available at $125 for members and $150 for non-members which includes premium reserved seats, a private reception during intermission and an exclusive post-concert reception with the principal artists on the Granada Ballroom Terrace. All proceeds from the VIP tickets to benefit Orchestra Miami and the Historic Preservation Association of Coral Gables.
A personal love and interest in Miami’s history led Elaine Rinaldi, founder and artistic director of Orchestra Miami, to create a new series called “Discover Miami through Music,” where Orchestra Miami presents appropriately themed concerts in Miami’s historic landmarks and other places of interest. Through music, people are encouraged to experience and learn more about their community’s collective history in a fresh surrounding.
Orchestra Miami’s first “Discover” concert — “Masonic Mozart” at the Kiehnel and Elliott’s 1922 designed Scottish Rite Temple on the Miami River, one of Miami’s least known landmarks — was wildly successful. This April, the second “Discover” concert will revisit a landmark — The Biltmore Hotel — which, even though it is one of Miami’s most iconic structures, many locals have never really visited, let alone, experienced a full orchestral concert set in one of the hotel’s ornate ballrooms. Orchestra Miami will partner with the Historic Preservation Association of Coral Gables, which will host an event after the concert to raise funds in support of its mission to promote the understanding and importance of historic resources and their preservation.
The Biltmore Hotel, built during the 1920s “Jazz Age,” will be the perfect venue to celebrate the Jazz Era with a full orchestra.
At the 1926 gala opening of the Miami Biltmore Country Club, Dr. Frank Crane predicted, “Many people will come and go, but this structure will remain a thing of lasting beauty.”
The upcoming Biltmore orchestra concert will consist of jazz-influenced masterpieces, such as Copland’s gorgeous Concerto for Clarinet (with Richard Hancock, soloist), A Jazz Symphony by George Antheil (originally composed in 1927), the Jazz Suite No.1 by Shostokovich and much more.
In 1973, following intense lobbying by Coral Gables officials and city residents for the Biltmore’s acquisition, the City of Coral Gables was granted ownership of the hotel through the Historic Monuments Act and Legacy of Parks program. In June of 1992, a multi-national consortium led by Seaway Hotels Corporation, a Florida hotel management firm, became the Biltmore’s longterm leaseholder (90 years) and operator.
Dr. Crane’s prediction came true in 1996, when the National Register of Historic Places designated The Biltmore a National Historic Landmark, an elite title offered to only 3 percent of all historic structures.
The Historic Preservation Association of Coral Gables is a 501(c)3 non-profit founded in 1991. The association promotes the understanding of the importance of historic resources and their preservation. For more information, visit www.historiccoralgables.org.
Orchestra Miami exists to create community through music, bringing high quality symphonic music to all people in South Florida. We seek to make concert-going convenient and affordable, and to provide our audience with performances that contain innovative programming, educational excellence with a clear focus on celebrating Miami’s diverse cultural heritage. For more information, visit online at www.orchestramiami.org.
