THREE TIMES A CHARM

The season goes on at the Pasadena Symphony—pandemic guidelines included.

BY LIBBY SLATE

“WE’RE GOING TO be 94 years old this fall—and we’re doing everything we can to ensure that we’ll be here for the next 100 years!” So says Lora Unger, CEO of the Pasadena Symphony, of her organization’s efforts to stay afloat during the pandemic.

The orchestra normally performs its classical season at Pasadena’s Ambassador Auditorium and its Pasadena Pops summer season at Los Angeles County Arboretum in Arcadia. Pops programs are postponed until 2021—but a three-phase plan for classical events “correlates with whatever is going on regarding COVID-19 guidelines,” Unger says.

Phase one also correlates with whatever is going on with the weather.

The symphony takes advantage of Southern California’s temperate climate for its new Pasadena Presents, four outdoor concerts Oct. 17-Nov. 14 at the Pasadena Pavilion for the Performing Arts led by music director David Lockington.

Previously planned orchestral concerts will transform to chamber music, with no more than eight musicians on stage, 350 people in the audience with all appropriate safety protocols, and multiple performances. Guest artists will play in recital for the first half, chamber works with orchestra members in the second.

Programming retains the original schedule’s artistic intentions. Pianist Terrence Wilson, who was to play Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with orchestra, instead has piano accompaniment; Dvorak’s “American” String Quartet replaces the composer’s “New World” Symphony.

There will also be conversations between Lockington and the musicians. The programs will be livestreamed for patrons more comfortable staying home; if public health guidelines ban gatherings of this size, the shows go on virtually from Ambassador Auditorium.

Phase two, guidelines permitting, calls for concerts at Ambassador Auditorium with 35 to 40 musicians and 400 to 500 patrons.

Phase three would present 50 or more musicians for at least 1,000 audience members.

The entire 2020-21 season could continue outdoors on the Pasadena Presents series. “We can stay outside with space heaters,” Unger says.

“The power of music isn’t defined by the numbers of musicians on stage. Truly great music is measured only by the heart and soul of the performers on stage. With that in mind, we have the very best in store for our audience.”

The season goes on at the Pasadena Symphony—pandemic guidelines included.