WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR CHORAL CONCERT IS CANCELLED

You’ve worked for months on a concert. Your singers have been practicing their music day and night. You’ve spent money marketing the performance and countless hours trying to plan every last operational detail. Then something like COVID-19 forces you or your venue to cancel the performance.

It’s easy in situations like this to rage and throw every object in sight. But take a moment. You have an opportunity here: to build trust with your audience and to show them that your organization is capable of handling crises. Once you’ve had a moment to gather yourself, what are some things you can do?

Disclaimer: The information provided here does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials are for general informational purposes only.

Set Y ur Pr ary G als Let’s start with a few primary goals you might have throughout this process. As you work through exactly what to do, stay focused on: • Building trust with your singers and ticket buyers. • Doing everything you can, within reason, to save the event and to also keep your singers, staff, volunteers, and ticket buyers safe. • Minimizing financial loss—saving as much money as you can or redirecting funds towards a future performance. • Keeping spirits high. Add any other goals you have to this list.

By Tori Cook

Che k Y ur C ntra ts Before you notify anyone about the cancellation, check your vendor contracts. Consider the following: • What is listed in the cancellation policy or force majeure clause? • Which parties are responsible for eating any deposits or pre-paid expenses? • Will the chorus be responsible for paying any additional fees? • Are there any clauses that discuss event postponement? And does the contract stipulate whether funds can be applied towards a future date? • Using this information, put a plan in place before contacting your vendors. • Be clear about the reason you are cancelling and have a specific ‘ask’ in mind. Are you asking the vendor to refund any money? Are you asking them to push funds to a future performance date? These preparations will help give you the upper-hand in your negotiations.

N t fy the B ard The moment you are facing cancellation, as a result of your own decision or not, the first notification you should make is likely to your board. Let them know the scope of the situation and what you plan to do about it. Because you’ll need to move quickly, you’ll likely want to give them a heads-up that you will be working with vendors to either reschedule the concert or cancel the bookings. Provide an opportunity for board members to give feedback but let them know that time is of the essence and you have to move forward with your plans as soon as possible.

W rk W th Vend rs t We gh Y ur Opt ns Next, work with your vendors, guest musicians/ presenters, and co-hosts to weigh your options for the concert.

Option 1: Postpone the Concert Rescheduling or postponing the concert is another feasible option to consider. This allows your singers a chance to perform the music they’ve worked on, gives your audience members a chance to hear the repertoire, and enables you to get some return on your marketing.

When possible, it’s a good idea to have a backup date in place if you think your concert will likely be canceled (even if it has not been canceled yet!). This way, when the concert gets canceled, you’ll be ready to go with a new date.

If you don’t have one already, check with your venue, vendors, and guest musicians to see if there is another future date that could work for the performance. You may even need to consider different venues or vendors. If you can find a suitable date for all parties, lock it in (getting board approval as needed). See if the parties can move any deposits or monies pre-paid for the concert and apply those funds to the new concert.

Check to see if your box office will allow you to transfer ticket sales to the new date. If this is possible, when you inform your ticket buyers about the cancellation, you can offer to automatically transfer their ticket to the new date or to process a refund if they cannot make the date.

If you can’t quickly find a suitable date for all parties, you’ll need to make the call to either notify your ticket buyers of an event cancellation or a postponement with a TBD date. It’s up to you when you want to make this call, but I would recommend notifying ticket buyers relatively soon after the decision to cancel or reschedule has been made. You may need to move even more quickly if your concert is that week. Once word is out, it will travel fast!

Option 2: Cancel Entirely If no other alternative date or venues are viable, you may, unfortunately, need to fully cancel the performance. In this case, notify all vendors to cancel their bookings and remind them of the cancellation policies laid out in your contracts. Work to obtain refunds on deposits, when appropriate. Unfortunately, it is possible that some parties, including your organization, may lose funding. Ask all vendors to refrain from contacting the public until you have finalized the cancellation messaging to the public. In some cases, you may even be working with them to draft the messaging. Once you’ve finalized the messaging, send this to them so they can make a formal announcement to the public on their end.

Draft Y ur Messag ng Once word is out that a concert is being canceled or rescheduled, the news will travel fast. You’ll want to have all of your ducks in a row before notifying any parties. A few things to determine before you notify anyone: • Are you changing vendors, rescheduling the concert or canceling altogether? Are there any additional details that have changed, such as the venue or time? • If canceling or rescheduling, what is your ticket refund policy and how will you manage processing refunds? • If rescheduling, do you have enough details about the postponement to allow ticket buyers to hold onto their tickets? Will you automatically transfer ticket sales to the other date or will you give your patrons the option to transfer? Will you give them the option to request a refund? Will you be forced to refund all money and then have to ask your ticket buyers to re-purchase a ticket for the next performance? • For those requesting refunds, do you plan to offer alternative options to support the organization - such as requesting a donation in lieu of the ticket refund? Work with your marketing team or publicist to draft up appropriate messaging or a press release for all relevant parties.

N t fy Y ur S ngers Let your singers know as soon as your messaging is ready. If you are rescheduling the performance, find out which singers can perform on the new concert date. Ensure that you have a balanced roster before notifying the public of the change.

If you are canceling the performance, let your singers know about the cancellation and when you will notify ticket buyers and the general public. Ask them to keep the information private until a formal announcement has been made. Once the announcement has been made, they can then share that information publicly.

N t fy Y ur T ket Buyers Send an email to your ticket buyers about the changes being made to the performance.

If you are rescheduling the performance, include information about the new concert date and how ticket transfers and/or refunds will work. If you’re giving your ticket buyers the option to request a refund or transfer their ticket, you may wish to include a link to a survey

which will help make sure every ticket buyer has been notified and keep you organized.

If you do decide to refund ticket purchases, either as a result of cancellation or postponement, include information about that process for your ticket buyers. Include your standard refund policy, any changes you’ve made to it, how refunds should be requested (if applicable), how the funds will be returned, and when they can expect to see the refund. Include your contact information for additional questions.

When possible, try to include ways that your ticket buyers can stay engaged with you and support your organization during this time. In the event of a concert cancellation due to emergencies (such as COVID-19), perhaps ask your ticket buyers to consider converting their ticket sale into a donation to the organization to help cover your operational losses. You may also want to request that they follow you on social media or subscribe to emails for updates on future performances.

N t fy the Pu l The most invested parties have now been informed Now, it’s time to notify the general public.

Use your marketing channels to get the word out. Remember to keep the messaging consistent across all channels to avoid confusion. Here are some marketing channels to update with the new information: • Website and landing pages • Social media (organic and ads) • Email marketing • Digital ads • Event calendars • Ticket sales or venue box office pages • Other more specific channels that you used to promote the performance • Look ahead to any pre-planned and upcoming marketing, promotions, or advertisements for the concert. Ensure that the messaging on those are updated accordingly.

Neg t ate Pa d Market ng f r Future P erf r an es When you cancel a performance, one type of funding that you won’t get back is any money you’ve already spent marketing the performance.

If your concert has been canceled due to anything listed in the force majeure clause, ‘acts of God’ or otherwise, you can use this to your advantage in marketing negotiations.

Check in with any companies in which you have purchased advertising space for the now canceled performance. Make a plea to them to provide discounted or free advertising for your next performance(s). Some of them may just be willing to cut you a break! It’s worth a shot, anyway.

In the event many arts organizations in your community have had to cancel their events due to an emergency (as such is the case with COVID-19), maybe you can even spearhead an initiative to alert the media and ask them to help your entire arts community get back on their feet. You could be a hero here.

Thank E ery ne and Stay C nne ted Throughout this entire process, it’s important to keep spirits high and maintain the great relationships you’ve built along the way. You can do this by staying connected regularly and showing your appreciation.

Remember to thank everyone for their time and great contributions towards the concert. Performances take a lot of work to plan, and many people have put blood, sweat, and (by now) probably a lot of tears to make your concert happen. Pat yourself on the back and thank all those who contributed during the planning process.

Maintain regular communications with your patrons about what is happening regarding future performances or programs. Always include ways that people can stay engaged with and support the organization.

Find other opportunities to come together as a community. As a result of COVID-19, people are staying at home. Consider whether you can host virtual rehearsals or virtual community sings. Can you host an appreciation pizza party after all is said and done? Can you plan a large-scale mass singing event to bring the community together when all is well? Get creative and stay connected with your singers, patrons, and other local arts organizations.

Let’s all come together as a community to help each other solve problems, stay connected, and support each other in whatever ways we can.

You are strong. You are resilient. You can get through this. 

Tori Cook is the Director of Sales & Marketing at Chorus Connection. She is the former Music Director of the Harborlight Show Chorus, outgoing President of Chorus pro Musica, and sings with Tanglewood Festival Chorus in Boston. When not making music, she daydreams about adopting a golden retriever puppy and scuba diving to exotic locations around the world.