Ballet Vero Beach makes a grand jeté onto the scene this month with three programs. First is the 10th season’s final program, “Choreographer’s Notebook: Samuel Kurkjian,” which performs this weekend. The program includes the late great choreographer’s “Debussy Suite,” “Chopin Variations” and “German Dances.” Kurkjian, who studied with Balanchine, was the first resident choreographer for the Boston Ballet and ballet master for Basel Ballet in Switzerland and the Dance Theater of Harlem. Ballet Vero Beach artistic director Adam Schnell calls the program the “perfect cap on our 10th Anniversary Season … (the) work not only pleases audiences with their sublime musicality and expansive nature, they allow our dancers truly meat neoclassical (work) to dive into … We are proud to be the only professional company in the world to hold the rights to these ballets.” Choreographers Notebook: Samuel Kurkjian ballet performs 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 14, and 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 15, at the Vero Beach High School Performing Arts Center, 1707 16th St. A “Watch-at-Home” film will be available. Tickets are $10 to $75. Ballet Vero Beach’s hour-long accessible/family friendly ballet will be “The Sleeping Princess” and will perform 2 p.m. Sunday, April 16, at Vero Beach High School Performing Arts Center. Tickets for that are $10. While “Ballet Under the Stars” takes place later this month, you really do need to plan ahead and get those tickets now. The “casually elegant” cocktail party is a major fundraiser and typically sells out. It features hors d’oeuvres and a light seafood-themed buffet by Adrienne Drew, an open bar featuring craft beer by Sailfish Brewery, a live performance by the Ballet Vero Beach, a live auction and dancing to the Dave Capp Project. Ballet Under the Stars begins 6 p.m. Friday, April 28, at the Tree House Vero Beach, 8010 43rd Ave., Vero Beach. Tickets are $150 per person. For more information, visit BalletVeroBeach.org or call 772-269-1065.
There are a good number of musical concerts happening in the next few days. First is the Atlantic Classical Orchestra Masterworks IV concert starting 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 13, at the Community Church of Vero Beach. The concert program includes Wagner’s “Siegfried Idyll,” Lopes’ “Concerto for Harp, Recife,” with guest artist harpist Bridget Kibbey, and Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 5.” Maestro David Amado conducts. Tickets are $30 to $65. The Community Church of Vero Beach is located at 1901 23rd St., Vero Beach, Fla. Call 772-460-0851 or visit AtlanticClassicalOrchestra.com.
The Gifford Youth Orchestra Jazz Concert begins 3 p.m. Sunday, April 16, at the Gifford Community Center. The fund-raising concert features Muffy Charles, Gary Palmer and the A.S.A.P. Band. and includes food by Phatz Restaurant. Doors open at 2 p.m., dinner is served at 2:30 p.m. and the concert begins 3 p.m. Tickets are $60 to $75. The Gifford Community Center is at 4855 43rd Ave., Vero Beach. For more information or to buy tickets, visit GYOTigers.org.
Concerts in the Park with Group Therapy begins 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, April 14, at Riverview Park, Sebastian. Free admission. Bring your own chairs and blankets. Call 772-589-5969 or visit SebastianChamber.com. The Treasure Coast Jazz Society presents Geno Bruno in “Sexy Saxophone” 12:30 p.m. Saturday, April 15, at the Oak Harbor Club. Call 772-234-4600.
Gin & Jazz serves up 1920s style to benefit the Sally Wilkey Foundation, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, April 15, at the Grand Harbor Golf and Beach Club, 4985 Club Terrace, Vero Beach. The event includes dinner, casino, live music with Brenna and Her Bodacious Band, and comedian Jay-R Milton. $200. Visit SallyWilkeyFoundation.org.
The Distinguished Lecturer Series presents Walter Isaacson, journalist and professor of history at Tulane University, 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. at Riverside Theatre, 3250 Riverside Park Dr., Vero Beach. Isaacson’s most recent biography is “The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race,” which explores how Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna and her colleagues “launched a revolution that will allow us to cure diseases, fend off viruses, and have healthier babies.” If you can find a single ticket, it will cost you $85 to $125. Call 772-231-6990 or RiversideTheatre.com.
