St. Paul Chamber Orchestra to resume live concerts, but no audience
The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra will resume broadcasting live performances from the Ordway Concert Hall starting March 20. Five live concerts and two rebroadcasts will be streamed online free of charge at thespco.org/live.
The orchestra had been performing live concerts online last year, but suspended them in November due to a COVID-19 surge.
Musicians will perform chamber music repertoire for small ensembles with at least six feet between players with no audience on site. Other safety measures will be followed, including mask wearing, hygiene protocols, ventilation improvements, frequent surface cleaning and COVID-19 testing for musicians and support staff.
A group of SPCO musicians collaborated to curate the series, and several will serve as virtual hosts, welcoming the audience and providing insight into each program. Repertoire includes 10 works by living composers in the five livestreams this spring, including five world premieres of SPCO commissions for solos or duos.
Concerts will stream live at 8 p.m. and will be available for on-demand streaming after that. The schedule includes:
- Rebroadcast of the third annual Musician Appreciation Concert; March 6.
- Lamentations, a program centered on grief but anchored in hope; March 20.
- Rebroadcast of Bach’s Saint John Passion; April 2.
- Sounds from Home, featuring the world premiere of Elegy for Solo Oboe by composer Chen Yi; April 10.
- Bach, Cuong, Frank and Mozart; May 8.
- A Brighter Tomorrow, featuring the world premiere of a new work for solo flute by American Indian composer Brent Michael Davids; May 22.
- Season Finale, which includes two world premieres, one for solo clarinet by Michi Wiancko and a duo with principal bass Zachary Cohen by Clarice Assad; June 12.
