Even in the prosperous Delaney Park neighborhood near downtown Orlando, few houses boast the facilities of Benoit Glazer’s “White House.” Glazer is a trumpet player, composer, retired conductor, and co-founder of Timucua Arts Foundation. He has turned his home into a concert hall and studio with one of Florida’s few acoustic control systems. His venue hosts live music from jazz, classical, world music, and folk genres; poetry readings; plays; and art galleries by local and international artists.
March Opera Festival
Timucua Arts Foundation, which has called the White House home since 2006, commenced spring 2025 with a month-long Opera Festival featuring performances by Opera del Sol, the Helena Collective, and Opera Orlando.
Opera del Sol’s “Vino e Voce” (March 21 and 22) “partnered opera with different wines, making it a fun interactive event to showcase local talent,” according to Executive Director Leah Nash, while the all-female Helena Collective returned to Timucua on March 23 with their production “6/VIII: The Six Wives of Henry VIII”. Opera Orlando rounded out the month with performances of acts from “Die Zauberflöte,” “Don Pasquale,” and “Don Giovanni.
According to Nash, Timucua was “excited to work with Orlando-based opera companies” to create an opportunity “to bring our partners together in one festival and showcase local talent.”
The Vocal Arm of the Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra (VoxO) also performed during the festival on March 16. Two members of the group, Andrew Smith (‘27) and Enrique Ynaty (‘26), are current Rollins College students. Ynaty, looking back on his performance at the venue, noted the “intimate space with the acoustics of a vast cathedral” and the performance of “an eclectic selection of works.” Claire Hodge, a vocalist and the artistic director of VoxO, described the venue’s “balance of sound that enhances the character of the group performing.”
Month of Jazz
In April, the White House is hosting a Month of Jazz, aligning with the nationwide Jazz Appreciation Month, or “JAM,” declared in honor of Duke Ellington’s birthday. Featured guests will include Jake Hart, Kelly Green, Joel Klein, and Puerto Rico’s Afro-Latin Jazz Project with Dimas Sánchez.
Nash explained that the Month of Jazz is a collaboration with Artists-in-Residence (AiR). It is 12-week funded program enabling Timucua to work with candidates from three artistic disciplines: music, spoken word, and visual art. The candidates from these disciplines are paid a stipend to produce and market their own show, funded by a grant provided by the Pabst Steinmetz Foundation.
A “Jazz Jam” on April 10 is one of a series of open-invite jam sessions held monthly at the venue since last September. College students will receive priority to sit in at the jam session.
Other performers include Markus Gottschlich, a pianist from Austria (April 26), and the quartet of woodwind player and composer Manny Echazabal with pianist Tal Cohen (April 12). “We always enjoy having Cohen come back to the White House, and he will be returning again on May 31 as part of our World Music Series,” Nash said. Glazer highlighted the diversity of the musicians’ countries of origin, hailing “from NYC, Miami, Israel, Austria, Tampa, and D.C.” over the course of the year.
As for plans for the 26th anniversary, which Timucua will celebrate on September 19, Nash noted that all shows during that month will be discounted at $25 per ticket. However, for college students, “we always have student discounts,” she said, pointing to Timucua’s goal of accessibility. “We provide free parking and easy access, offer internships to college students, and strive to diversify our offerings to reach out to as many people as possible.”
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