The Florida Orchestra To Kick Off Race Week With Free Concert At Sebring International Raceway

The Florida Orchestra is off to the races for its first-ever concert at Sebring International Raceway in March as part of TFO’s state residency program. The free performance kicks off the track’s biggest race week of the year for the 65th Annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida.

The speed-themed concert will be in the racetrack infield on Saturday, March 11, at 4:30 p.m., with music from Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, William Tell Overture, Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4 and Flight of the Bumblebee, all conducted by Music Director Michael Francis. Gates open at 3:30 p.m., and the audience is encouraged to bring picnic baskets, blankets and chairs.

“Sports car racing often links to the ‘wine and cheese crowd,’ so we encourage everyone to bring a picnic basket and spread out on the lawn to kick off the 65th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida,” said Wayne Estes, president and general manager of the raceway.  “Presenting a Florida Orchestra concert here at Sebring will launch this historic event in a brand new way: a free concert on the lawn and everyone is invited.” 

Over the past six decades, Sebring has attracted the world’s finest drivers and cars on the third Saturday in March, when the motorsports world turns its attention to the track nestled among the orange groves and cattle ranches of Highlands County.  Sebring hosted its first “12 Hours of Sebring” sports car endurance in 1952, with drivers competing on the grueling road course that still includes runway sections of the World War II B-17 training base known as Hendricks Field.

 “Sebring International Raceway has been an amazing and supportive partner among many we have found in Highlands County,” said TFO Community Engagement Director Erin Horan. “We are so thrilled to be able to kick off Sebring's 65th 12 Hour Race with a program inspired by speed and endurance that we really think the community will enjoy.”

TFO’s state residency program is a combination of classical, community and youth concerts and builds on Michael Francis’ vision of extending TFO’s reach into the community and across the state to support symphonic music and education. It is sponsored in part by the Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Council of Arts and Culture and the State of Florida.

About The Florida Orchestra

The Florida Orchestra is recognized as Tampa Bay’s leading performing arts institution, the largest professional symphony orchestra in Florida, and one of the most vibrant and innovative orchestras in America. Under the leadership of Music Director Michael Francis, it performs series of classical, popular, rock and morning coffee concerts in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater, as well as free Pops in the Park concerts. Dedicated to bringing music to all people, connecting to the community is a priority, with pre-concert talks, family and youth concerts and other educational activities. Kids and teens get in free to classical Masterworks concerts with Classical Kids tickets. To subscribe or buy tickets: 727.892.3337 or 1.800.662.7286; floridaorchestra.org.