The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Robert Spano in a previous performance at Woodruff Arts Center. Photo credit: Raftermen Photography
“Forced to reinterpret its 2020-2021 season due to the spread of COVID-19 in Georgia, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra will launch a scaled-back series of seven virtual concerts on September 26,” writes Jon Ross in Wednesday’s (8/12) Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “A socially distanced orchestra of no more than 50 musicians … will perform from the Symphony Hall stage. Masked string players will play … to an empty venue, with woodwind and brass players buffeted by plexiglass barriers. High-definition robotic cameras will record each performance. Season subscribers and patrons can then access the shows through the ASO Virtual Stage platform. Plans for single-view tickets are still in the works. The initial [plans for the] 2020-2021 season celebrated departing music director Robert Spano…. Spano will now stick around well into 2022 to conduct many of the originally programmed large-scale works…. Group singing is now a high-risk activity, and all fall choral performances have been canceled. ‘Our priority really was to try to get the orchestra back together playing again … in a way that makes the most sense and is safest for everyone,’ said ASO Executive Director Jennifer Barlament…. ‘We’re calling this our first phase of reimagining the fall. There’s more to come.’ ”
