Wichita Symphony carries on with virtual concerts, Zoom recitals, new music by living composers

“Its December concert was canceled, but Wichita Symphony Orchestra still wants to provide holiday entertainment,” writes David Burke in Sunday’s (12/20) Wichita Eagle (KS). “It’s doing so in several different ways: a string quartet concert on KPTS, the world premiere of a piece devoted to a Wichita landmark, and Zoom recitals featuring several of the symphony’s performers. ‘At Home for the Holidays with the Wichita Symphony’ will air on KPTS … Christmas Eve and … Christmas Day… A string quartet of concertmaster Holly Mulcahy, assistant concertmaster Timothy Jones, principal violist Catherine Consiglio and principal cellist Leonid Shukaev will perform the 30-minute program, recorded before the canceled Dec. 6 concert…. The quartet was filmed without an audience, but Mulcahy said, … ‘The cameramen after some of the pieces couldn’t stop applauding.’ ” Also covered are the orchestra’s December world premiere of George S. Clinton’s Prairie Reminiscence for string orchestra, streamed on the Wichita Symphony’s Facebook page; and weekly Zoom recitals run by Mulcahy and marketing manager Arleigh McCormick. The Zoom recitals were “also a springboard for connections such as Music Director Daniel Hege’s online introduction to composer Wang Jie, whose piece was played by the symphony in its October concert.”