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The Florida Orchestra, in the midst of its 40th anniversary celebration, has taken some of the guesswork out of this season’s holiday shopping for area music lovers by offering Flex Passes for all upcoming performances.

Flex Passes can be redeemed for any concert — Progress Energy Masterworks, Raymond James Super Pops, Holland America Line Coffee Concerts or special concerts — at any of The Florida Orchestra’s concert venues around the bay area.

Upcoming shows include “Cirque de la Symphonie,” “Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5,” “Carmina Burana,” “Motown Hits with The Contours” and “Beethoven & Brahms.” Passes can be used in a number of combinations: one at a time, a romantic evening for two or a group of friends sharing a concert outing. Six Flex Passes can be purchased for $204, or $34 a concert. Flex Passes are also offered in packs of 12 ($384 or $32 per concert) and 24 ($720 or $30 per concert). Passes can be redeemed any time for the best available seats in sections B, C and D, or they can be redeemed the night of the concert for a chance to sit in the best seats in the house.

To purchase tickets, contact the TFO ticket center at 813-286-2403 or 1-800- 662-7286, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri.; online via www.floridaorchestra.org; or through the venue box offices at: Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center: 813-229-7827, Mahaffey Theater: 727-892-5767 or Ruth Eckerd Hall: 727-791-7400.

BY HENRY ADAMS

Special to Tropical Breeze

For those who enjoy that uniquely American institution of the musical, the next Holland America Line Coffee Concert features Resident Conductor Andrew Grams leading the orchestra in a program of highlights from Leonard Bernstein’s “On The Town,” Jerome Kern’s “Showboat” and George and Ira Gershwin’s “Porgy & Bess.” With complimentary coffee and donuts, this concert is 11 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 20 at the Mahaffey Theater at the Progress Energy Center in St. Petersburg.

At the next Progress Energy Masterworks concert, internationally renowned conductor Gunther Herbig conducts a program of Mozart’s dazzling “Jupiter Symphony” and Sibelius’ gloriously romantic “Symphony No. 1.” With more than 100 recordings to his name and a conducting career that includes most of the world’s great orchestras, his TFO debut promises to be a special experience for The Florida Orchestra musicians and audience members alike. In fact, England’s Manchester Evening News calls Herbig “one of the greats,” adding that he “brings life and distinction to everything he touches.” These concerts are January 4, 5 and 7 in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater respectively.

During January, The Florida Orchestra (TFO) offers a spectrum of emotionally packed symphonic blockbusters, a morning Coffee Concert and a pair of Super Pops shows, including one with world renowned cirque artists.

The Raymond James Super Pops series features Cirque de la Symphonie showcasing world-class cirque artists accompanied by the orchestra performing a hit parade of favorites by Khachaturian, Rimsky-Korsakov, John Williams and others on Friday, Jan. 11 in Tampa and Jan. 12 and 13 in St. Petersburg. Pops fans should also mark their calendars for a sizzling salute to George and Ira Gershwin with Broadway star Lisa Vroman on Feb. 1, 2 and 3.

TFO Music Director Stefan Sanderling takes the podium on Jan. 19 and 20 for Bruckner’s monumental “Symphony No. 9.” Great masters have described Bruckner’s music as “a cathedral of sound,” “being of staggering epic proportions,” and “an expression of his profound faith.” More simply put, Bruckner’s music touches people deeply. Appropriately paired with this work is Messiaen’s “LAscension,” inspired by liturgical texts depicting Christ’s ascent from earth to heaven.

On Jan. 25, 26 and 27, Stefan Sanderling conducts Tchaikovsky’s ever-popular “Symphony No. 5” on a program featuring award-winning French cellist Xavier Phillips performing fellow compatriot Henri Dutilleux’s “Tout un monde lointain.” On Jan. 31, concertgoers will enjoy complimentary coffee and donuts at a French-themed morning Coffee Concert with Resident Conductor Grams at the Mahaffey Theater at the Progress Energy Center.

The orchestra regularly performs at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center in Tampa, Mahaffey Theater at the Progress Energy Center in St. Petersburg, and Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater. For concert details and tickets, visit www.floridaorchestra.org or call 813-286-2403 or 1-800-662-7286, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri.