Summon the Heroes
On a September evening in Sarasota, the familiar language of music will make room for memory.
By Edit Sarasota Staff
On a September evening in Sarasota, the familiar language of music will make room for memory. With “Summon the Heroes,” the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall and the Sarasota Orchestra will gather the community for a concert shaped by reflection, resilience and remembrance, marking the 25th anniversary of September 11.
The anniversary carries a particular weight because it belongs not only to history but to lived experience. For some, the date recalls loss; for others, the courage of first responders, the generosity of strangers, or the sudden sense of shared purpose that followed. A concert cannot resolve those memories, nor should it try. What it can do is offer a place to sit with them together, allowing the emotional reach of orchestral music to hold both grief and hope.
Led by conductor Evan Roider, “Summon the Heroes” is conceived as a communal act rather than a simple retrospective. Its title gestures toward the people whose bravery and service have become part of the national memory, while the concert’s setting invites Sarasota to consider the many forms heroism can take: public, private, immediate and sustained. In an era when civic life can feel increasingly fractured, the shared attention demanded by live performance becomes meaningful in itself.
The collaboration also reflects the cultural role both presenting organizations play in the region. The Van Wezel, with its distinctive waterfront presence and long history as Sarasota’s performing arts anchor, has welcomed generations of audiences to concerts, theater and dance. The Sarasota Orchestra, one of the area’s enduring musical institutions, brings to the evening the discipline and expressive power of a full ensemble. Together, they create a setting in which remembrance is not ceremonial alone, but felt through sound, silence and the presence of neighbors in the same room.
For Sarasota, a city accustomed to marking the seasons through performance, the evening offers a moment to pause before the fall calendar gathers momentum. “Summon the Heroes” will take place Thursday, September 10, 2026, at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. As the 25th anniversary of September 11 approaches, the concert provides an opportunity to listen, remember and leave the hall carrying a little more of the community’s shared story.