Violinist Fiona Simon, left, and countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo perform a test concert at Inwood Hill Park in Manhattan for the New York Philharmonic’s touring NY Phil Bandwagon series. Photo by Erin Baiano
“With theaters and concert halls closed by the coronavirus pandemic at least until the end of the year, the New York Philharmonic is trying out a decidedly more casual, outdoor and mobile space,” writes Zachary Woolfe in Wednesday’s (8/26) New York Times. “Enter the NY Phil Bandwagon. It is a rented gray Ford F-250 pickup truck … And it—along with Philharmonic musicians—may soon be appearing at street corners … for short, impromptu chamber events…. With a plan to perform … Friday through Sunday, three concerts a day, for the next eight weeks—the Bandwagon is designed to counter livestream fatigue among both musicians and audiences … The Bandwagon is expected to stop in all five boroughs … Social distancing will be enforced, and masks will be distributed; participating musicians will be repeatedly tested for the virus and will also wear masks, when possible. The project is the brainchild of the countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo … Many of the neighborhoods it plans to visit are more diverse than its usual audience, and so fit into its broader efforts to expand its offerings—and access to them—at a time of a nationwide reckoning with race.”
