Festival hosts FGCU students for concert
Taking place in March, the Sanibel Music Festival kicked off its 2026 season with a concert on Dec. 5 at the Sanibel Congregational United Church of Christ (SCUCC) on Sanibel during the 39th annual Luminary Stroll. It featured groups from Florida Gulf Coast University’s Bower School of Music. A six-member cello ensemble performed selections by Shostakovich, Casals and Goltermann, with pianist Enzo Ortiz accompanying many of the pieces. Soloist Isabel Sanchez Riverio delivered a presentation of Kol Nidrei, while the String Quartet closed with Haydn’s String Quartet Op. 76, No 1. The audience delighted in a Peter, Paul and Mary selection and Hanukkah selection sung by soprano Kelly Johnson and Bat Yam Temple of the Islands Rabbi Sunny Schnitzer and Steve Garrett. There were sing-a-longs led by SCUCC Music Director MacKenzie Albert, and festival Co-President Shirley Witte emceed.