“The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra took the unprecedented step Wednesday of eliminating guest soloists and furloughing its five artistic partners—a roster of internationally famed performers who mount special programs,” writes Terry Blain in Wednesday’s (5/14) Star Tribune (Minneapolis). “Instead, … fifteen SPCO musicians will be featured as soloists in the season scheduled to begin Sept. 11 at Ordway Center with an unconducted performance of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony. All told, 101 performances are scheduled at 11 Twin Cities venues—a significant reduction from the 124 concerts and 17 venues planned for the current season, which was curtailed by the coronavirus outbreak…. ‘We are anticipating social distancing protocols for next season [and] planning for our revenue to be down 31 percent in financial year 2021 compared to our FY20 budget,’ SPCO president Jon Limbacher said…. ‘We will be offsetting this decline with expense reductions, our Rainy Day Fund and special one-time fundraising.’ … Although the season leans on some tried and trusted favorites … the SPCO continues its commitment to contemporary music…. The SPCO’s strong outreach to younger audiences continues…. The orchestra also will continue to expand its online Concert Library, which has been visited more than 80,000 times during the coronavirus crisis.”
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