The Santa Rosa Symphony and Music Director Francesco Lecce-Chong rehearse for one of eight virtual concerts during the 2020-21 season. Photo by Kate Matwychuk/Santa Rosa Symphony
“When the Santa Rosa Symphony made the risky decision in May 2020 to go on with the show for the 2020-21 season—virtually, with a downsized orchestra … and an all-new repertoire—no one really knew how it would turn out,” writes Diane Peterson in Friday’s (6/4) Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, CA). “With the string players spaced 6 feet apart and the woodwinds surrounded by Plexiglas boxes, would they even be able to hear each other? How would the orchestra survive financially…? Luckily, … ‘The financial outcome was exceedingly positive, [with] a doubling of donor households and a 300% increase in new donors,’ said Alan Silow, president and CEO of the Santa Rosa Symphony…. Music director Francesco-Lecce Chong realized … that ‘The most beautiful thing was … that everybody wanted to make it happen,’ he said…. With pivots, learning curves and new skill sets, the symphony musicians continued to play…. By late August, when COVID-19 cases kept spiking … Lecce-Chong … started learning everything he could, from the orchestra’s budget to the testing protocols for COVID-19. ‘I kind of threw caution to the wind,’ he said.” Included are interviews with Lecce-Chong, Silow, two musicians, an audio engineer, and the orchestra’s manager.
