The Florida Orchestra
Jake Thonis is an accomplished bassoonist currently serving as the Acting Associate Principal Bassoon with The Florida Orchestra since January 2022. In addition to this role, Thonis has maintained a freelance music career since 2018, and has held various substitute musician positions with prominent orchestras, including the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and others. Thonis was also a Principal Bassoon with the Victoria Symphony Orchestra from September 2017 to May 2019 and participated as an Artist in Residence with Marlboro Music from 2020 to 2022. Educationally, Thonis holds a Post-Baccalaureate Diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music, a Master’s Degree from Rice University, and a Bachelor of Music degree from the Colburn School, in addition to completing high school studies at both the Walnut Hill School for the Arts and Wellesley High School.
The Florida Orchestra
The Florida Orchestra’s history is steeped in orchestral tradition from both sides of Tampa Bay. In 1966, the Tampa Philharmonic and St. Petersburg Symphony merged as the Florida Gulf Coast Symphony, which opened its first season on November 14, 1968, under the baton of Music Director Irwin Hoffman. Performing as the Florida Gulf Coast Symphony until changing its name to The Florida Orchestra in 1984, the orchestra has since been led by music directors Jahja Ling and Stefan Sanderling. In 2015, Michael Francis took over as music director. Over the years, The Florida Orchestra has had a series of successes. In 2011, it launched a multi-year cultural exchange with the Cuban Institute of Music as well as its Accessibility Initiative, which effectively reduced ticket prices to all of its Masterworks and Pops concerts. The orchestra also has taken steps to be more involved with the Tampa Bay community, including a collaboration with the Tampa Bay Lightning to produce the team’s onetime theme song and free pop-up concerts in hospitals, malls and beyond. To showcase its artistic excellence, the orchestra released a CD featuring music by Florida influenced classical composer Frederick Delius on the Naxos label in 2012. On the CD, the orchestra is joined by The Master Chorale of Tampa Bay and baritone Leon Williams in a performance of Delius’ Sea Drift and Appalachia. In 2014, the orchestra released another CD, Holiday Pops Live! on its label TFO Live! The Florida Orchestra is recognized as Tampa Bay’s leading performing arts institution, one of the leading professional symphony orchestras in Florida, and one of the most vibrant orchestras in America. Through extraordinary musical performances, the orchestra inspires the people of Tampa Bay and serves as a leader and beacon for the musical arts throughout the state.