Our Covid Story: A Story of Resilience and Hope
The Chamber Orchestra finished a live concert at First Christian Church on March 8, 2020. Five days later, the national emergency was announced. Out of concern for public safety, we canceled our April season finale and June Garden Party. The orchestra leadership decided to pay all staff and musicians as scheduled and offer refunds to patrons as requested. None of our patrons requested a refund and some volunteered additional contributions.
Our attention then turned to the long-range challenge. We moved our August Board retreat to June to strategize. That meeting was pivotal. All parts of the organization were represented, looking at available guidance and determining how we could safely make music. Winds and brass couldn’t perform safely, so concerts with strings, guitar, percussion and keyboard instrumentalists who could safely make music masked and distanced became the focus. Everyone came together to re-vision the program.
Subscribers were informally polled to see if they would support the revised program and recorded performances. We received a resounding "yes."
We rushed to build technical and licensing infrastructure to record these performances in highest quality for online dissemination, and set up safety, sanitation and social distancing protocols. We would try to pay everyone 100%, whether they played or not, and we did not lay off anyone despite possible revenue shortfalls. We knew it was a risk, but we were determined to serve our community and stand by our musicians and staff.
One unexpected benefit of these policy decisions was a substantial National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) COVID-19 recovery grant. We were one of only 63 orchestras awardees nation-wide.
Our 2020-2021 virtual season was a triumph, with our usual six concert series and a Rocky Mountain PBS Holiday special, all filmed live in First Christian Church and streamed to patrons. These online concerts received rave reviews for artistry and technical quality. Our wind players offered two additional, free, outdoor concerts at First Lutheran Church.
We also maintained the full spectrum of our outreach efforts. We recorded instructional videos to assist music teachers in District 11; expanded our SenioReach initiative, bringing musicians to more retirement homes in monthly instead of quarterly recitals; completed our 3rd Young Artist Competition via video submissions; recorded a special sensory-friendly performance of Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals with Colorado Ballet Society to honor our 2020 Peak Arts Prize award; and we planned special outreach events for our return, including a performance of Jake Heggie’s opera To Hell and Back to address domestic violence in collaboration with TESSA.
And in all of this, we won our third consecutive NEA grant for artistic programming!
A big THANK YOU to Colorado Springs, our donors and granting organizations, subscribers, and everyone who stepped up to support the orchestra through this. We have planned a full, live, in-person season for 2021-2022, and will continue to monitor the situation so we can return to the concert hall safely for everyone. We are stronger than ever. The character of the Chamber Orchestra is a reflection of you, our community.
Our attention then turned to the long-range challenge. We moved our August Board retreat to June to strategize. That meeting was pivotal. All parts of the organization were represented, looking at available guidance and determining how we could safely make music. Winds and brass couldn’t perform safely, so concerts with strings, guitar, percussion and keyboard instrumentalists who could safely make music masked and distanced became the focus. Everyone came together to re-vision the program.
Subscribers were informally polled to see if they would support the revised program and recorded performances. We received a resounding "yes."
We rushed to build technical and licensing infrastructure to record these performances in highest quality for online dissemination, and set up safety, sanitation and social distancing protocols. We would try to pay everyone 100%, whether they played or not, and we did not lay off anyone despite possible revenue shortfalls. We knew it was a risk, but we were determined to serve our community and stand by our musicians and staff.
One unexpected benefit of these policy decisions was a substantial National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) COVID-19 recovery grant. We were one of only 63 orchestras awardees nation-wide.
Our 2020-2021 virtual season was a triumph, with our usual six concert series and a Rocky Mountain PBS Holiday special, all filmed live in First Christian Church and streamed to patrons. These online concerts received rave reviews for artistry and technical quality. Our wind players offered two additional, free, outdoor concerts at First Lutheran Church.
We also maintained the full spectrum of our outreach efforts. We recorded instructional videos to assist music teachers in District 11; expanded our SenioReach initiative, bringing musicians to more retirement homes in monthly instead of quarterly recitals; completed our 3rd Young Artist Competition via video submissions; recorded a special sensory-friendly performance of Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals with Colorado Ballet Society to honor our 2020 Peak Arts Prize award; and we planned special outreach events for our return, including a performance of Jake Heggie’s opera To Hell and Back to address domestic violence in collaboration with TESSA.
And in all of this, we won our third consecutive NEA grant for artistic programming!
A big THANK YOU to Colorado Springs, our donors and granting organizations, subscribers, and everyone who stepped up to support the orchestra through this. We have planned a full, live, in-person season for 2021-2022, and will continue to monitor the situation so we can return to the concert hall safely for everyone. We are stronger than ever. The character of the Chamber Orchestra is a reflection of you, our community.
DONATE TO THE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA OF THE SPRINGS
The Chamber Orchestra of the Springs is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, donations to which are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.
Ways to donate:
online through PAYPAL
online through our WEBSITE
over the phone
719.633.3649
mail your check to:
Chamber Orchestra of the Springs
PO Box 7911
Colorado Springs, CO 80933
The Chamber Orchestra of the Springs is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, donations to which are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.
Ways to donate:
online through PAYPAL
online through our WEBSITE
over the phone
719.633.3649
mail your check to:
Chamber Orchestra of the Springs
PO Box 7911
Colorado Springs, CO 80933
