Our 56th Season!

Welcome back!
SILL’s all-volunteer Board has put together another wide-ranging, intellectually stimulating season of renowned experts in global affairs and outstanding musical performances.

Global Issues
New in 2027: Keith Melton on the CIA and modern espionage; Victor Cha on South Korea, Japan, and Australia; Ambassador Kate Byrnes on Hungary and Eastern Europe; and Jaime Palter on our changing ocean environment.

Returning favorites include Sean McFate on modern warfare; John Bruno on breakthroughs in brain science; Ambassador Robert Ford on Turkey and Syria; John Blevins on quantum computing; Jeremi Suri on the lasting impacts of the Great Recession and Covid; Ambassador Eric Rubin on Ukraine; Jill Dougherty on Russia and Putin; and Martin Walker on Europe’s demographic, economic, and security crises.

Special Event Speaker
Our third annual special speaker is Judy Woodruff, senior correspondent, and former anchor of the PBS News Hour, who has covered politics for five decades on NBC, CNN, and PBS. She will speak on “America at the Crossroads: The Last Two Years of the Trump Era” at Church of the Palms, Sarasota, Wednesday, February 3 at 3:30 pm.

Music Mondays
Joe Holt (Sarasota) and Betsy Traba (Venice) continue their conversations with performers spanning classical, jazz, opera, and folk. This year’s guests include pianists Michelle and Kimberly Cann, percussionist George Nickson (ensembleNewSRQ), countertenor Logan Tanner, musicians from Sarasota Orchestra and Sarasota Opera, jazz clarinetist Dave Bennett, and local trio Hot Club SRQ.

A Music Monday Special Event
Wednesday, February 10 with Broadway veteran and Sirius/XM host Seth Rudetsky, (location/time TBD), followed by a roundtable with Broadway professionals Andy Sandberg (The Hermitage Artist Retreat) and Peter Rothstein (Asolo Repertory Theatre) on the state of American theater.

Tickets, Subscriptions & Videos on Demand (VOD) Info
Choose from Series subscriptions, Flex tickets, or daily door tickets. Programs will also be available for purchase as Videos on Demand (VOD).  Online sales for Season and Flex Tickets open September 1, 2026. Woodruff and Rudetsky events are ticketed separately.

Our New Website Goes Live September 1, 2026
Check it for the latest schedule, speaker updates, and other announcements.

Schedule Change at Cornerstone Church, Lakewood Ranch
GI1 (Wednesday) moves to the larger Sanctuary at 1 pm; GI2 (Thursday) moves to the larger Sanctuary at 4 pm.

2026 Recap
SILL took part in the 2026 Giving Challenge, with gifts matched up to $100 by the Patterson Foundation. Thanks to our Board and patrons, we raised more than in 2024 — funds that help us keep speaker and entertainer honorariums competitive. The Challenge returns in 2028.

I am deeply grateful for your support this past year, which is essential to offering such an outstanding lineup of speakers and performers. As an all-volunteer organization, every dollar you give goes straight to our programs – please consider adding a contribution as a Friend of SILL when you purchase tickets. Learn more at sillsarasota.org/support.

I look forward to seeing you when our season opens  Monday, January 4, 2027.

Warmly,

Michael Boorstein, President