The South Florida Symphony Orchestra brings its full lineup of musicians and vocalists to Pembroke Pines this Sunday, September 27, for a free pops concert that closes out the city's Summer Symphony Series. The event runs from 4 pm to 6 pm at the Susan B. Katz Theatre of the Performing Arts, located at 17195 Sheridan Street.
The show is billed as an exhilarating pops concert open to audiences of all ages, according to the City of Pembroke Pines
. Admission is free and no tickets are required, but seating is limited, and anyone with questions can call the city at 954-392-2122.
A Full-Orchestra Send-Off After a Summer of Smaller Ensembles
This performance is the final event in a four-part series, according to the City of Pembroke Pines, whose Art and Cultural Department presents the annual series. Earlier dates included a string quartet program on June 14 and a woodwind quintet concert on July 12, followed by a brass quintet concert on August 16, all staged at the Charles F. Dodge City Center in Pembroke Pines, per the same city calendar. Sunday's show shifts to a full orchestra and vocalist pops format at the Katz Theater, giving the series a bigger finish than its chamber-music beginnings.
The venue itself brings real constraints. The Susan B. Katz Theater seats just 442 people, including six designated accessible seats, within a 26-by-34-foot stage inside Pembroke Pines' River of Grass ArtsPark, according to the City of Pembroke Pines. With free admission and no ticketing system to control the crowd, that seating cap makes early arrival important for anyone hoping to get in.
A Historic Hall Built for Sound
According to Think Simple, the theater opened in 1994, when its original sound system was installed. The venue is on the Pembroke Pines Charter High School campus, according to On The Stage. A new sound-system project eliminated audio coverage dead spots and reverberation issues that had plagued the hall, according to Think Simple, a detail worth noting for an orchestral concert where acoustic clarity matters. The venue also serves as the home stage for the Pembroke Pines Theatre of the Performing Arts, a local troupe that has existed for more than 25 years and presents four Broadway musicals each year, according to a listing on On The Stage.
The Orchestra Behind the Free Show
The South Florida Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1997 in Key West by Music Director Maestra Sebrina María Alfonso and is now the largest professional orchestra serving Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe counties, headquartered in Fort Lauderdale's Flagler Village, per the orchestra's own account on the South Florida Symphony Orchestra website. The Broward County Cultural Division designates the ensemble a Major Cultural Institution, and the orchestra was named the first Partner in the Arts at The Parker in Fort Lauderdale by the Broward Center, according to OutClique Magazine.
Beyond ticketed and free public concerts, the orchestra runs Symphony in the Schools, an education initiative established in 1997 that has reached more than 130,000 South Florida students, with a focus on under-resourced communities. That program includes afterschool string programs, instrument fittings, and masterclasses across local school districts.
