Concerto Soloists Internationale to perform at Mann Hall

Three internationally acclaimed singers will perform “Great Voices from Opera to Broadway” Monday, Feb. 5, at the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall, as part of the Fort Myers Community Concert Association’s 2024 season.

“Concerto Soloists Internationale is one of Europe’s premier classical ensembles. We are delighted that they will be performing in Fort Myers once again with an entirely new program,” said Community Concert Association President Mary Lee Mann.

The concert will include popular highlights from grand opera to Broadway to pop performed by soloists from three continents. They will be accompanied by a live, on stage orchestra.

Selections from classics by Mozart and Verdi will be performed along with more modern music from enduring musicals Carmen, South Pacific, Phantom of the Opera and many others.

Tickets are now on sale at the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall on the Florida SouthWestern State College campus in Fort Myers. Tickets may be purchased at the box office at 239-481-4849 or online at bbmannpah.com. Prices are $55 for orchestra and mezzanine seats, $35 for lower balcony seats and $25 for upper balcony seats. The performance begins at 7:30 p.m.

Mrs. Edison’s Hymn Sing Feb. 6 to feature two performances

Celebrate the Edison Festival of Light and help feed the hungry by attending Mrs. Edison’s Hymn Sing Tuesday, Feb. 6, at The First Presbyterian Church in downtown Fort Myers at the corner of Second and Lee streets.

It’s the 34th anniversary of the hymn sing, which is an official sanctioned event of the Edison Festival of Light. Sponsors are the Galloway Family of Dealerships and Susan Bennett Marketing & Media.

Because of the overwhelming popularity of the event, two performances are planned at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. The doors will open 30 minutes prior to each performance.

Admission is free, but because of the increased need for food for the hungry, organizers are requesting that those who attend bring cans of non-perishable food and a voluntary cash donation, if possible, to benefit Sam’s Community Kitchen & Cafe of Community Cooperative.

Community Cooperative is an innovative nonprofit organization made up of social service entrepreneurs fighting to end homelessness and hunger in the Southwest Florida community. It provides more than 26,000 meals each month through Sam’s Community Café, Meals on Wheels programs and school programs, distributes more than 2.1 million pounds of groceries through its Mobile Food Pantries, and serves 14,000 individuals and families with homeless and comprehensive case management services through its Social & Education Resource Centers. A proud United Way partner, Community Cooperative serves Lee and Collier Counties.

The church has been a strong supporter of the agency from the beginning and continues to support its ministry there by providing volunteers and other support for Sam’s Community Kitchen & Café and the Meals on Wheels program.

Cash donations are especially valuable because Community Cooperative can buy five times as much food for the same amount of money that residents spend at local grocery stores.

This year’s event will feature the First Presbyterian Sanctuary Choir and many other singers, along with a piano-organ combination.

In addition to Mrs. Edison’s Hymn Sing, First Presbyterian Church annually presents the very popular Christmas Carol Sing in December. Both events benefit Sam’s Community Kitchen & Café of Community Cooperative.

For more information or directions to the church, call 334-2261 or visit fpcfortmyers.org. For more information about Community Cooperative, call 239-332-SOUP or visit communitycooperative.com.