Northwest Florida Ballet announces the creation of its own symphony orchestra led by David Ott

Northwest Florida Ballet announces four performances for the 2016-2017 season and the creation of its own symphony orchestra led by David Ott

The Northwest Florida Ballet (NFB) announces programming for its forty-seventh season and the creation of the Northwest Florida Ballet Symphony Orchestra led by renowned conductor and composer, David Ott. The 2016-2017 season features four productions at the Mattie Kelly Arts Center at Northwest Florida State College, with live musical accompaniment for two of the productions by the newly created orchestra. The season will conclude with the annual Ballet at Twilight, a free outdoor performance of mixed repertory and classical dance pieces, held in Grand Boulevard at Sandestin during the summer.

The 2016-2017 Northwest Florida Ballet season opens with Lightwire Theater’s newest adventure, Moon Mouse: A Space Odyssey on Fri., Sept. 23 at 7:30 p.m. at the Mattie Kelly Arts Center. Audience members will join Marvin on the space adventure of a lifetime: a trip to the surface of the moon on his homemade rocket, where he meets a strange cast of misfit creatures, learns of infinite peril and views awesome beauty.

NFB will feature three more productions in the 2016-2017 season including Stars of American Ballet in October, the perennial favorite, The Nutcracker in November, and From Russia With Love in April.

“Three years ago NFB made a commitment to bring live music back to our performances and since then we have been overwhelmed both by attendance numbers and audience feedback. With the amazingly talented David Ott as NFB’s Music Director, the NFB Symphony Orchestra will add yet another layer of depth to our productions in addition to providing exciting opportunities for our NFB Academie music program in the future,” said NFB Artistic Director & CEO Todd Eric Allen.

Ott ranks among America’s most-performed composers of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. His works have been performed or recorded by some of the most renowned American and European orchestras, including the Chicago, National, Minnesota, Atlanta and London Symphonies.

“The Northwest Florida Ballet is one of Florida’s finest cultural institutions. It is an honor to be associated with such an outstanding organization,” said Ott.

Tickets to the four main stage productions individual performances at the Mattie Kelly Arts Center will be available four weeks prior to performance dates. Season subscriptions will be available on the NFB website beginning Aug. 5. Subscriptions include tickets to each of the four main stage productions and are available for $135 per adult and $55 per child (12 and under). Please visit the NFB website and Facebook page to purchase subscriptions, individual tickets or for additional information.