To our community,
As the coronavirus pandemic continues, you must be wondering about The Florida Orchestra’s plan to return in the fall. I’d like to give you an update.
I could not be more proud of our musicians and staff who have kept the music playing online to lift up our community, but we are determined to bring you LIVE performances. At the same time, the health and safety of everyone is absolutely our top priority.
We are hopeful we can do both by making changes to our fall season.
Yes, your concert experience will be different, but you will not be disappointed by the depth and passion of the music.
Here are some of the changes in the works:
- We will push back the start of the season about one month to the end of October.
- To allow for extra spacing on stage, Music Director Michael Francis is changing the repertoire to use fewer musicians. An updated schedule of concerts will be announced in September, including flexible options for season ticket holders.
- Concerts will be slightly shorter, about 75 minutes, with no intermission.
- The audience will be small to allow for spaced seating.
- And something we are very excited about. For the first time, The Florida Orchestra will offer live video streams of select Masterworks concerts to ensure everyone can experience the music, even if you prefer to do so from your living room sofa.
However, these are crazy and uncertain times. Everything is subject to change depending on the virus. We are working with our venues and CDC guidelines to implement safety measures, and we are exploring outdoor and alternate venues as necessary. We will provide details to you about one month before the season begins. We plan to be extremely flexible, and we hope you will be too.
The only reason we can do any of this is because of the unwavering support of our community. We are so grateful to everyone who has continued to make contributions, including an impressive number of patrons who generously donated back their tickets for canceled concerts. Please know it has made a huge difference in these difficult times.
The music of The Florida Orchestra is courage, hope, joy, grief – everything people are feeling in this pandemic. As long as it is safe to do so, we will find a way to perform because we know music helps people cope. It reminds us of the deeper meaning in our lives. It has been the heart and soul of this orchestra and the Tampa Bay community for more than 52 years.
TFO’s Board of Directors and our community have stood by our musicians and staff from the beginning because they know nothing matches the unique power of The Florida Orchestra to bring us together and help us heal.
On behalf of the entire orchestra, we miss you! After months apart, we’re excited and hopeful that we will see you in the fall for the music we all love. Thank you for taking this journey with us.
Please take care and stay safe.
Mark Cantrell
President & CEO
The Florida Orchestra
