Large music concerts and bars top a widely circulated chart of risky places for novel coronavirus infection. For the Dallas Symphony Orchestra — and other performing arts organizations that depend on filling theaters and concerts halls — a highly contagious, wildly unpredictable and sometimes fatal disease is a major problem.
But the DSO isn’t giving up. While pondering various scenarios for a 2020-21 season sure to be altered from announced plans, musicians and management are exploring new ways of connecting with audiences, and even new ways of presenting concerts.
For example, groups of DSO musicians have been doing casual “run-out” concerts outside homes of patrons and friends.
“It’s basically for patrons who are missing music, for a special birthday party, for someone who is sick, facing adversity,” says principal oboist Erin Hannigan, who started what have been dubbed “Special Delivery” performances. “People literally had tears in their eyes as we were performing.
“It’s not perfect. Sometimes our music blows away. Sometimes it’s hot. It’s not what we normally do, but it’s not about that. It’s about touching hearts at a time it’s needed.”
“We are about live music,” president and CEO Kim Noltemy says. “We have to find a way to make that happen. Even with all the restrictions and parameters, I feel like we can do it.”
The DSO has been adding video and audio recordings of performances to its website, mydso.com. In addition to performances led by music directors present and past, Fabio Luisi and Jaap van Zweden, there are “virtual” ensemble performances assembled by DSO musicians.
New to the website are videos of chamber music performances by DSO musicians recorded June 12 and 13 at the Meyerson Symphony Center. The selections are by Mozart (Serenade in C minor, K. 388, for wind octet), Brahms (Viola Quintet in G major, Op. 111), Ravel (Introduction and Allegro for harp, flute, clarinet and string quartet) and George Walker (Lyric for Strings). Next will come brass-and-percussion performances and a program of Bach and Tchaikovsky works for strings.
Programs have been worked out in collaboration between musicians and Peter Czornyj, the DSO’s vice president of artistic operations. Rehearsals and performances have followed rigorous guidelines, including temperature checks and COVID-19 tests for musicians.
With everyone widely spaced onstage, string players wear masks as they play; wind players are separated by Plexiglas shields. Handfuls of invited listeners are spread around loge boxes.
“We’re doing it with so much care that the musicians feel totally safe,” says Hannigan, who played in the Mozart concert. “All the things put in place by the management and the orchestra committee are incredible. I didn’t feel at all vulnerable when we were at work.”
For the June 13 recording session at the Meyerson, it was an eerie sensation to see small groups of musicians take turns on a stage cleared of the usual risers. Aside from the musicians, two video camera operators and the few listeners, the hall was empty.
But what a sound it was, and how wonderful to hear music in that glorious space after three months of silence. Once again, I marveled at the vivid projection of sound from a few musicians on a stage that far away, bathed in a sumptuous acoustical wash.
“We’re a real trailblazer right now,” Hannigan says of the chamber music videos and Special Delivery performances. “While a lot of arts organizations are not seeing much hope, the Dallas Symphony is looking for the bright spots, the ways we can continue.”
Concertmaster Alexander Kerr, who played first violin in the Brahms piece, is all for doing as much as safely possible. Possibilities include concerts with smaller numbers of musicians and far fewer people in the audience.
“For wind players, if they were to contract the virus, with the scarring of the lungs, that’s a career breaker,” he says. “If the string players take one for the team, until the wind players can get back onstage, we’re totally ready to do that. If we’re going to have anything to come back to, we’re going to have to make sacrifices.”
The new initiatives, Noltemy says, “came from the idea that we needed to keep our audience close to us when we couldn’t play concerts. As we worked through ideas, it became clear that we have to stick with chamber music at least for a while, until people feel more comfortable, safer. There’s still so much we don’t know about COVID-19.”
With concert cancellations already subtracting $4 million in income, the DSO on Wednesday announced administrative salary cuts between 2.5% and 12.5%; Noltemy is taking a 25% pay cut. Sixteen staff positions will be furloughed. Musicians are not affected.
“If we’re not able to perform in the fall, in spite of our plans and hopes,” Noltemy says, “we’ll just have to look at the financial picture, and see how we can make the budget work in that situation."
She adds: “Did you ever think we’d be on the phone talking about face masks and social distancing? It’s like a science fiction novel.”
Rarely do orchestra musicians speak highly of their managements, but both Kerr and Hannigan praise the support and openness to new ideas from Noltemy, who came to the DSO in January 2018 from the Boston Symphony.
“It’s really nice to have a CEO who has vision, who’s trying to find any solution to getting us back onstage,” Kerr says. “I can’t tell you how grateful we are to have her — each and every player.”
