Summon the Heroes
Twenty-five years after September 11, the passage of time has changed the shape of remembrance—but not its necessity.
By Edit Sarasota Staff
Twenty-five years after September 11, the passage of time has changed the shape of remembrance—but not its necessity. In Sarasota, where music has long served as both a gathering place and a language for feeling, the anniversary will be marked not with spectacle, but with a shared act of listening.
On Thursday, September 10, the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall will partner with the Sarasota Orchestra to present “Summon the Heroes,” a concert devoted to reflection, resilience, and remembrance. Led by conductor Evan Roider, the performance invites the community to consider the enduring human stories of September 11 and the ways that music can hold grief, gratitude, and hope at once.
The concert’s title suggests a summons not only to the figures whose courage became part of the historical record, but also to the quieter heroes who emerged in the days and years that followed: first responders, caregivers, neighbors, families, and communities learning how to carry on. In a city as deeply shaped by civic participation and the arts as Sarasota, such an occasion resonates beyond the concert hall. It offers a moment to pause amid the rhythms of everyday life and recognize how collective memory is sustained—through ceremony, conversation, and the act of showing up together.
The Sarasota Orchestra, one of the region’s central cultural institutions, has long brought the breadth of symphonic music into dialogue with the life of the community. Its collaboration with the Van Wezel gives this anniversary observance a fitting home. Set along Sarasota’s bayfront, the hall has welcomed generations of audiences to performances that range from classical repertoire to contemporary voices, and remains one of the city’s most recognizable spaces for communal cultural experience.
“Summon the Heroes” arrives at a moment when anniversaries can feel both historic and personal. For some, September 11 is a vivid memory; for others, it belongs to a history inherited through family stories and public rituals. The concert makes room for all of those perspectives, using live music to connect private recollection with a broader civic remembrance.
The performance will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 10, 2026, at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. In the gathering of orchestra, conductor, and audience, the evening will offer Sarasota a thoughtful way to remember—and to listen for the resilience that follows.