Scene & Heard

+ Stringing the season together
The Glenridge String Orchestra, a local adult amateur orchestra, has tapped three candidates to fill the conductor position — following in the footsteps of the Sarasota Orchestra, which is doing the same thing.

The group has recorded two seasons together but found itself conductorless when its former conductor relocated last summer. Each candidate will direct one-third of the season, and the orchestra will vote at the end. GSO performs at The Glenridge Performing Arts Center, 7333 Scotland Way.

Violinist with Sarasota Orchestra Roxane Solowey will direct the holiday concert to take place at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 12; violinist with Sarasota Orchestra Sean O’Neil will direct the winter concert to take place at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 18; and violinist Dawn Stahler will direct the spring concert at 3 p.m. Wednesday, April 14.

+ Writing ‘Nemo’
Sarasota Youth Opera has a unique opportunity. It will work with a librettist and composer who created a work specifically for its artists, “Little Nemo in Slumberland.” It’s an adaptation of a comic strip from 1911 and follows the story of a little boy who escapes to a dream world —with expanding beds and exploding cannons.

Composer Daron Hagen and librettist J.D. McClatchy worked on commission with Sarasota Opera and will be able to guide their vision through to fruition while visiting Sarasota.

I sat down with Hagen and McClatchy to ask them a few questions about the process. You can find the exclusive online story at YourObserver.com.

+ Musicians are here to stay
The Sarasota Orchestra and its musicians have completed a new contract. The four-year contract covers the 2011-12 season, as well as the next three seasons.

The musicians are getting raises of 1.5% this season and 1% in years three and four and are switching from a defined benefit pension plan to a 403(b) retirement plan, the nonprofit version of a 401(k).

+ All in the Family
Nearly two years ago, a friend told Observer Media Group’s own Emily Walsh that she must meet Bob King. So, Walsh and King met for breakfast and King, who has lived in Sarasota for 30 years, regaled Walsh with wonderful stories about his life and family.

Then, when Bob King was proudly talking about his son, Scott King, who is a San Francisco-based diabetes scientist, Walsh realized why she and Bob King needed to meet — Scott served on the Paul Taylor Dance Company Board of Directors. Bob King then said that he would love to see Paul Taylor Dance Company perform in SRQ.

Lucky for Bob King, Walsh’s sister, Kate Honea, is a principal ballerina with the Sarasota Ballet, and being a former member of the ballet company and staff herself, Walsh knew exactly who to call: Director Iain Webb. After introducing Bob King to Webb, the ball starting rolling and Webb met Scott and, voila — the Sarasota Ballet presented the Paul Taylor Dance Company this weekend and will perform Taylor’s “Company B” in November. And at the ballet afterglow on Friday night Webb and Scott King were talking about possible future collaborations. We’re hoping for more.

Hot Ticket
‘Twelfth Night’: Shakespeare’s gender-bending romantic comedy will continue to grace the stage through Nov. 18, at FSU Center for Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail. You can see this FSU/Asolo Conservatory production starting at 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1. Tickets are $29. Visit asolo.org or call 351-9010 for more information.

‘How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying’: This production features two Observer employees: Digital Fulfillment Specialist Danae DeShazer and Pelican Press News Editor Alex Mahadevan. See them starting at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 6 through Dec. 2, at Venice Theatre, 140 W. Tampa Ave., Venice. Tickets $13 to $28. Call 488-1115 or visit Venicestage.com for more information.