January 23-24, 2027
Step into worlds where magic is real, danger is overcome, and transformation is possible. This program brings together three beloved ballet scores—Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, Stravinsky’s shimmering Firebird Suite, and Prokofiev’s enchanting Cinderella—each telling stories of curses broken, heroes tested, and impossible dreams made real. From the swan’s haunting theme to the Firebird’s blazing dance, from midnight’s chime to the final waltz, these are tales we return to again and again, not because they are simple, but because they remind us that wonder, courage, and hope are forces as powerful as any spell. Prokofiev’s Cinderella will be brought vividly to life with narration by Nell Page, a beloved fixture of the North Central Florida arts community, adding warmth and storytelling charm to this timeless fairy tale. Conducted by the Ocala Symphony’s Principal Guest Conductor, Raymond Chobaz, this concert invites you to rediscover the magic that lives in great orchestral storytelling.
Featured Works:
Suite from Swan Lake / Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
The Firebird Suite (1919 version) / Igor Stravinsky
Cinderella Suite No. 1 / Sergei Prokofiev
Featured Artists:
Raymond Chobaz, conductor
Nell Page, narrator
Raymond Chobaz, Professor of Music and Conductor Laureate of the Gainesville Symphony Orchestra
Raymond will conduct “Vive la France!” in January, 2025.
Raymond Chobaz holds the Provost’s UF Term Professorship and is music director and conductor of the University of Florida Symphony Orchestra and conductor of Dance Alive National Ballet. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in physics and mathematics summa cum laude, and a Master of Arts degree in music theory. As an International Rotary Scholar at the University of Utah, he received both a Master of Music degree in orchestral conducting and a Ph.D. in music composition under Vladimir Ussachevsky. Post-doctoral studies allowed him to assist and work with Herbert Blomstedt in San Francisco, Kyrill Kondrashin in Amsterdam, Raphael Kubelik in Lucerne, Erich Leinsdorf in New York, Witold Rowicki in Vienna, Georg Tintner in Prague, and Pierre Boulez in Basel and Paris.
Chobaz is the recipient of numerous federal grants, scholarships, awards, and first prizes in both composition and conducting, which include the Leroy Robertson, Intercollegiate Bicentennial Composition Competition, Utah Composers Guild, Paul Sacher Stiftung, Martha Baird Rockefeller, Blomstedt International Conducting Award for Orchestral Performance and Symphonic Literature, the Beethoven Festival in Marienbad, and Czech National Opera and Radio Prague International Conducting Competition. As the top winner, he was invited to conduct all major symphony orchestras and opera companies in the Czech Republic and appointed conductor-in-residence of the Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic, the Marienbad International Music Festival with the West Bohemian National Orchestra, and the annual International Composition Workshop with the Olomouc Symphony Orchestra.
In recognition of his national and international accomplishments, Chobaz has received grants for Advanced Research in Music Performance from the International Research and Exchanges Board in Washington, D.C., US Department of Education, US Information Agency, US Department of State, US Army, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Endowment for the Humanities, National Endowment for the Arts, and International Symphonic Workshops, Canada. Additionally, he has received various grants from the Florida Department of Cultural Affairs, which included the official representation of the State of Florida with Dance Alive National Ballet at the International Ballet Festival in Havana, Cuba, Florida Sea Grant, a special Research Leave by the Office of the Provost to work with Prof. Richard Ernst, Nobel Prize Laureate, at the Swiss Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, and most recently, both a Distinguished Alumnus and Lifetime Achievement Award from the University of Utah. This past fall, Dr. Chobaz has also been asked to take over the Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra in Orlando.
During his tenure at the University of Florida, Chobaz has founded the Gainesville Symphony Orchestra and provided many new experiences for his students with internationally known artists, first-time ballet and opera productions, television and radio broadcasts, children’s and pops concerts, multi-media and interdisciplinary collaborations with painters, poets, writers, dancers, and ethnic ensembles, commissions and first performances that earned the orchestra an ASCAP Nissim Award for innovative programing.
Nell Page
Nell is an arts advocate with an extensive background in professional theatre. She is a fixture in the Gainesville Arts community having performed in over 60 mainstage productions at the Hippodrome Theatre since 1974. The art of acting has given Nell a strong foundation in communication, perseverance, and discipline.
Giving back and volunteering her time and talent is important to Nell. How fortunate we are to live in a community rich with non-profit organizations. Her role as development director and success raising funds for several non-profits is a source of pride. She presently serves as a Board member for the UF Friends of Theatre and Dance and the Hippodrome Theatre Leading Ladies Giving Circle. Nell looks forward to putting your real estate needs center stage.