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Two recent, free concerts at the Seminole Theatre performed by the Emmy Award-winning South Florida Youth Symphony were a hit with the Homestead/South Dade community according to Homestead officials, attendees and sponsors.
“These concerts were simply fabulous,” said Homestead Councilmember Erica G. Ávila.
“Both concerts — the kids’ concert and the classical concert — were beautiful and enriched the Homestead community, and I’m sure inspired our children.
“The South Florida Youth Symphony is a collection of incredibly talented, gifted musicians, and I really appreciate the community effort and generous sponsorships collected in order to have them here,” she added.
The May 22 socially distanced performances — the first indoor concerts in South Florida since the pandemic — also marked the first appearance in the Homestead/South Dade area for the 56-year-old organization.
“We were thrilled to be able to perform at the Seminole Theatre in this historic event,” said Marjorie Hahn, South Florida Youth Symphony executive and music director. “The kids loved the venue and the opportunity to bring our unique brand of music to Homestead. We look forward to returning in the near future.”
The Kiwanis Club of Homestead-South Dade, one of the area’s most active community service organizations, spearheaded the drive to bring the SFYS to Homestead. They were joined as event Gold Sponsors by the office of Miami Dade Commissioner Kionne L. McGhee, and the Rotary Club of Homestead. Silver Sponsors were members of the City of Homestead City Council, Miami Clippers and Carza Corporation.
“This was a great event for Homestead,” said Alberto Eiras, who watched the performance with his entire family. “This made me proud as a member of the Homestead community.”
The SFYS has performed world-wide over the past five years. This includes winning a Gold Medal at the Heritage Music Festival in Washington, D.C. (2017), performing at Carnegie Hall (2018) and capturing Gold at the Prague Young Bohemian Music Festival (2019). Once the pandemic cancelled live rehearsals, the group began practicing and rehearsing on Zoom and eventually performed four online concerts, the third of which captured a local, prestigious Emmy.
The SFYS program is sponsored through support from the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, Miami-Dade County Mayor and County Commissioners, The Children’s Trust (dedicated source of revenue established by voter referendum to improve the lives of children and families in Miami-Dade County), Miami-Dade County Office of Management and Budget, State of Florida Division of Cultural Affairs, The Kirk Foundation, Publix Charities, and the Nancy Friday Foundation.
For more information on the South Florida Youth Symphony, send email to MakeMusic@sfys.net or call 305-238-2729.
