East Texas Symphony Orchestra reschedules fall 2020 concerts

Published 12:31 pm Wednesday, June 24, 2020

The East Texas Symphony Orchestra’s Board of Directors announced it has voted to reschedule its September and November subscription concerts to the spring of 2021. This rescheduling allows the entire five-concert subscription season for the coming year to remain virtually as originally designed, according to a news release posted on the ETSO website.

This announcement comes at a time of tremendous uncertainty due to the deep and widespread impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“First and foremost, we are dedicated to ensuring the safety and well-being of our patrons, musicians, staff, and volunteers. That means doing everything we can to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” said ETSO Executive Director Vanessa Gardner.

Effective June 3, 2020, the state’s reopening guidelines indicated that performing arts venues could open at 50% capacity with “6 feet of distance between groups” and with increased health and safety guidelines for both staff and patrons. Initial models indicate that social distancing measures at the UT Tyler Cowan Center would further reduce the capacity to only 32%.

“Historically, ETSO subscribers alone exceed this capacity,” Gardner said. “With these requirements in place, we would have to greatly reduce the number of tickets available, resulting in a significant loss of income to ETSO but also a loss to members of the community who would be turned away.”

ETSO Board Chair Laura Hyde added, “We hope that rescheduling the start of our season to January 2021 will allow patrons to keep their existing seats and that we will have more information to ensure that the concert experience is safe and enjoyable for as many people who wish to attend as possible.”

Repositioning the entire 2020-2021 season to the spring months also keeps the programmatic offerings intact, something which ETSO Music Director Richard Lee views as important for both ETSO audiences and musicians.

“I am so proud of the diverse and exciting programming this season, which features so many local artists and musicians,” Lee said. “It was important that we make every effort to present each of our concerts safely and successfully.”

Instead of kicking off the season in September, Rock the Classics II will move to May 22, 2021, to close the 2020-21 season. The November concert, featuring cellist Colin Carr and a nod to Beethoven’s 250th birthday will be moved to Feb. 20, 2021.

“We are fortunate and appreciative of the leadership at the UT Tyler Cowan Center for working with us to make these alternative dates possible,” Gardner said.