The Kansas City Symphony onstage at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City, Missouri. Photo by Tal Wilson
“In a joint statement released on Tuesday, the Kansas City Ballet, Kansas City Symphony, Lyric Opera of Kansas City and the Harriman-Jewell Series announced canceling or postponing performances scheduled through December 31, 2020, at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts,” writes Tim Hursley on Tuesday (7/7) at Kansas City radio station KCUR. “ ‘It really comes down first and foremost to safety,’ said Danny Beckley, Executive Director of the Kansas City Symphony…. It’s not only public health and safety standards to consider…. ‘What we have consistently been getting is 80 percent of our audiences did not want to come back until there’s a vaccine,’ Deborah Sandler, the Lyric Opera of Kansas City’s General Director and CEO, said.… The Kauffman Center remains closed through August 2. But when the venue reopens … there are plans to host special events and receptions for smaller groups, 50 to 150 [people]…. The Kansas City Symphony’s Danny Beckley said they’ll postpone the subscription concerts—and present the pops, classical, and family series from early January to June 2021 in [the Kauffman Center]. But … starting in September, … ‘We’re going to take concerts all over the community and try to play in outdoor spaces,’ he said.”
