In 12 short years the Key West Symphony Orchestra has become world renowned, mostly due to the talents of their music director and conductor, Sabrina Maria Alfonso. Born and raised in Key West, Sabrina had a yearning to bring orchestral music to the island she loves. When Sabrina started the symphony in 1998 she realized a different model was needed, so she developed one that brought together musicians from a pool of over 150 from other orchestras all over the Unites States and combined that with soloists from around the world. The symphony not only performs some of the world’s greatest masterpieces, but Maestra Sabrina likes to infuse music from exciting contemporary composers.
Sabrina made her New York debut conducting the American Symphony Orchestra at the finals of the Stokowski International Competition in Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. She was announced the clear winner by the audience poll. In 2002 Sabrina became the first Cuban American conductor invited to conduct Cuba’s premier orchestra, where she received standing ovations from the standing room only crowd. Since then she has returned to Cuba many times. She has been guest conductor for numerous orchestras and has worked with most of the greats she is also a featured conductor with the San Jose Chamber Orchestra of American Composers.
Shortly after making the decision Sabrina met Entrepreneur Jacqueline Lorber and they immediately clicked. Jacqueline, who has lived primarily in South Florida since 1971, was made CEO. She has since secured an office for the Symphony at the Josephine S. Leiser Opera Center in the heart of the Arts and Entertainment District in downtown. She has also started an intense marketing campaign letting everyone know that the orchestra will now have performances in Fort Lauderdale. According to Jacqueline, “Everyone I talk to is so thrilled that the cultural landscape is going to be expanded in Fort Lauderdale.”
The Symphony’s ultimate goal is to achieve a close to neutral revenue cost ratio for their Master Concert Series while building their long term endowment through corporate donors, benefactors and auxiliary activities.
