Page 21 - BusinessWest August 3, 2020
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The SSO hasn’t been able to perform live since the pandemic arrived, but it has found ways to keep the music
coming.
desires; we’re just listening. And when it’s the right time, we have a season ready to rock and roll. We may have to move some dates around, we may have to move some soloists around ... but we know what we’re doing when the time comes.”
Beaudry stressed that she and others at the SSO are not simply waiting. Far from it.
In fact, she said she’s probably working harder and longer than she would during a typical sea-
19, that it needed to expand its base of patrons and supporters, said Beaudry, adding that the pandemic has perhaps brought a greater sense of urgency to this work.
“What we’re not doing is waiting,” she explained. “We’re fully engaged, and we’re work- ing very, very hard. We still have to raise money, we still have to market our brand, we have to keep our musicians in front of our patrons, we have budgetary issues, a strategic plan to under-
Indeed, even before state and federal shut- down orders were put if effect, orchestras, knowing that their audiences are dominated by seniors, began postponing or canceling events — a few weeks or a month at a time.
“We were halfway through March, and we said, ‘let’s just cancel the rest of March,’” she explained, noting that there were several events
“We’re fully engaged, and we’re working very, very hard. We still have to raise money, we still have to market our brand, we have to keep our musicians in front of our patrons, we have budgetary issues, a strategic plan to undertake.”
impacted, from a show at Symphony Hall to a chamber-music performance at Twin Hills Coun- try Club in Longmeadow. “The board agreed — ‘it’s prudent, it’s the right thing to do ... let’s not worry about April yet.’”
Soon, though, those at the SSO had a lot more to worry about than just April. As the full scope of the pandemic became clear, the rest of the season was canceled — and soon it also became apparent that the new season, which tradition- ally starts in September, was now a huge ques- tion mark.
Which takes us back to that order to stop the presses. The program book that was set to roll detailed a truncated schedule that would start with the popular Holiday Pops performance and include four or five other events, said Beaudry.
Now, as noted, even that shorter, simpler schedule is very much in doubt — but ready to go when and if the word — in whatever form it takes — is given.
In the meantime, there is much more than waiting to do — starting with the HomeGrown series, which started back in April with Maestro Kevin Rhodes performing some Brahms on the piano. Over the ensuing weeks, the program has presented a variety of short programs featur- ing individual artists and even the entire oboe section.
“It’s been very successful, and we’ve received
SSO
Continued on page 43
         “When it’s the right time, we have a season ready to rock and roll. We may have to move some dates around, we may have to move some soloists around ... but we know what we’re doing when the time comes.”
take ... I’m working harder and longer hours than ever, but it’s exciting, fun, and rewarding work.”
As BusinessWest contin- ues its extensive coverage of the pandemic and its broad impact on the region and its business community, we take an in-depth look at the SSO and how it intends to not just weather the storm but use
    son, largely because of an even longer to-do list. It includes providing music to an audience
— not the typical audience and not in the typi- cal way; the SSO is now offering the HomeGrown Series, a weekly (Wednesday) webcast featur-
ing a performance, demonstration, or lecture. It also includes fundraising, creating a fund to pay musicians sidelined by the pandemic, planning — as much as that assignment can be carried out in the COVID era — and working ever harder to create ways to broaden the orchestra’s audience.
Indeed, those at the SSO were well aware, long before anyone had ever heard the term COVID-
the time and this extreme challenge to examine how to change and become a stronger institution moving forward.
Working in Concert
As she and others at the SSO packed up their computers and whatever else they might need
in mid-March and left the orchestra’s offices
in downtown Springfield to work at home, the expectation was that it would be for just a few weeks, said Beaudry, adding that this was roughly the same mindset taken with regard to shelving events on the schedule.
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