Sarasota Orchestra Music Director Bramwell Tovey, 69, Dies

SARASOTA, FL — Bramwell Tovey, music director for the Sarasota Orchestra, has died from cancer “following declining health in recent days,” the organization said in a news release. He was 69.

The British-born maestro joined Sarasota Orchestra last year. He also extended his artistic leadership position with the Rhode Island Philharmonic and was appointed as principal guest conductor with Orchestre Symphonique de Québec.

“The musical world has lost a real treasure,” said Tom Ryan, Board Chair of Sarasota Orchestra.

Tovey, an international musical leader, “impacted several generations across multiple continents through his music making, conducting and teaching,” according to the news release. “Known for his warm personality, clever wit and superb musicianship, Maestro Tovey was beloved by musicians with whom he shared the stage and countless music lovers from around the globe who attended concerts.”

• Related Story: Sarasota Orchestra Names New Music Director

His debut concert with Sarasota Orchestra was in October and he led the finale to the Sarasota Orchestra Masterworks in April.

“There was immediate chemistry between Maestro Tovey and our Orchestra. We shared with him an expectation of a long partnership. Like so many, all of us at Sarasota Orchestra feel the tremendous loss of a great friend and sincere collaborator. Our heartfelt thoughts are with his family during this most difficult hour,” Joseph McKenna, the orchestra’s president and CEO, said.

He was diagnosed with a rare form of sarcoma in 2019. After undergoing surgery at Dana Farber in Boston in June of 2021, he was briefly cancer free. The cancer came back and was detected in January of this year, the orchestra said.