Charlotte Symphony musicians can return to being ‘complete people’ with August concerts
Even in a world filled with virtual entertainment, there is no substitute for live music – particularly for the performers.
“If you are the (NFL Carolina) Panthers, you’re going to miss the fans (at games), but you can still compete – you can still play against other teams,” said Charlotte Symphony music director Christopher Warren-Green.
“For us, music is in the hearts of the audience.”
After a two-month shutdown during the novel coronavirus pandemic, the Charlotte Symphony announced Saturday a plan to return to live performance: Six events Aug. 7-22 at various venues, including a free concert at Knight Theater Aug. 16 that will include music from the movies “Star Wars” and “Pirates of the Caribbean.”
On March 13 the symphony suspended all performances through at least July 2, in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. This new three-week festival includes a classical concert, a pops performance, a family concert, a film-related concert and a concert at Triple-C Brewery.
Warren-Green said it’s appropriate that Beethoven’s pastoral symphony will be the first of those performances Aug. 7 -9.
“(It) probably is the most complete celebration of the beauty of nature and the beauty of this world,” Warren-Green said in a phone interview from England. “It seems like a very apt piece to be playing the first time back.”
‘Optimistic’ schedule
Interim symphony CEO Michelle Hamilton acknowledged it’s impossible to project how N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper’s phase-out of stay-at-home orders will proceed. So scheduling anything for a large gathering this summer is tentative.
“It is optimistic, but we want to be prepared to return to the stage just as soon as we can,” Hamilton said of the August schedule. “Certainly, we will abide by any (government) recommendation or restriction.”
Like others in the arts, entertainment and sports, Hamilton is wrestling with how to arrange venues so people will be comfortable returning to performances after events are allowed again.
“The question for a lot of people is, even when it’s (deemed) safe to go back to church or back to school, how are people going to feel?” Hamilton said. “What will make people feel comfortable bringing their children and grandparents to a concert hall?”
Hamilton is still working through how to configure seating in different venues with social-distancing in mind. The symphony will recommend patrons wear masks at concerts, and all ushers and staff will wear masks.
Like numerous other arts organizations, the symphony has been hit hard financially by the pandemic. Hamilton estimates $1.4 million in funding has been lost or is at risk with the cancellation of spring concerts and slips in donations (about $250,000 less in the first quarter year-vs.-year, Hamilton said.)
The symphony was awarded a $1.1 million federal Paycheck Protection Program loan which Hamilton hopes can bridge that financial gap. The symphony has had no layoffs or furloughs because of the pandemic, Hamilton said.
‘Eat, breathe, drink music’
Hamilton said it’s important — for both the symphony’s patrons and its musicians — to set a schedule now, even if subject to change.
“We’re really anxious to see our patrons again,” Hamilton said. “I’m not a musician, and I can’t imagine what it must be like to literally not be able to do their work” by performing in public.
Warren-Green said classical music is primarily meant for live performance, and his musicians crave getting back to the halls.
“Us performing is bringing the music off the page. We eat, breathe and drink music,” Warren-Green said. “Without it, we’re not complete people.”
The symphony’s August schedule
Beethoven Pastoral Sarah Belk Gambrell Center at Queens University. Aug. 7 and 8 at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 9 at 3 p.m.
Best of James Bond Belk Gambrell Center at Queens, Aug. 14 and 15 at 7:30 p.m.
Peter and the Wolf (family concert) Belk Gambrell Center at Queens. Aug. 15 at 11 a.m.
Free community concert Knight Theatre, Aug. 16 at 7 p.m.
On Tap concert Triple C Brewing Company, Aug. 18 at 7:30 p.m.
Raiders of the Lost Ark Movie concert, Belk Theater, Aug. 21 and 22 at 7:30 p.m.
This story was originally published May 16, 2020 at 12:00 PM.
