By Miami City Ballet

This season, Miami City Ballet celebrates its 25^th anniversary with the return of live music and the Opus One Orchestra led by award-winning principal conductor Maestro Gary Sheldon.  Orchestral accompaniment was cancelled halfway through the 2008-09 season due to lack of funding. The orchestra returns to MCB courtesy of a $900,000 challenge grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation’s Knight Arts Challenge.

Principal conductor Gary Sheldon’s arrival marks the beginning of a new chapter in Miami City Ballet’s repertory. He is considered one of the most versatile and multi-faceted conductor/composers in his field, an expert in the specialized style of conducting to accompany ballet. He will lead 42 to 56 musicians per ballet program, with four Company Premieres highlighted by the full-evening version of John Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet.  He comes to Miami City Ballet after conducting the San Francisco Ballet from 2004-2009.

Jerome Robbins’ Fanfare, a bright and goofy take on Benjamin Britten’s “The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra” will premiere in Program I this season. This ballet premiered on the night of the Queen’s coronation in 1953.  Now it salutes the opening of MCB’s 25^th Anniversary Season and the return of live music with the Opus One Orchestra.

MCB is so fortunate to have received the Knight Arts gift; however the grant must be matched by $135,000 by August 31. Friends of Miami City Ballet such as Darla and John Karlton have already made generous pledges. To help us and the Knight Foundation get the orchestra get back in the pit, you can donate at miamicityballet.org/support, by phone at 305.929.7000, ext. 1412, or by mail at Miami City Ballet at the Ophelia & Juan Js. Roca Center, 2200 Liberty Avenue, Miami Beach, FL 33139.

Jennifer Kronenberg, MCB principal dancer, sums it all up by saying, “A great partnership exists between the musicians and the dancers, providing a uniquely fulfilling experience for us and our audiences.”