PREVIEW: ProMusica makes a return to the stage, only smaller
By Peter Tonguette / For The Columbus Dispatch
“ProMusica Chamber Orchestra has announced a new summer concert series, SummerFEST, marking the earliest in-person shows scheduled by a major central Ohio performing arts organization since pandemic-related restrictions went into place in the spring.
The small- and medium-sized concerts will take place at outdoor sites throughout central Ohio from Aug. 30 through Sept. 11. The seven shows will feature a maximum of 15 ProMusica musicians, including those traveling from out of state (such as the orchestra’s Chicago-based Creative Partner, violinist Vadim Gluzman).
Music Director David Danzmayr said the group couldn’t bring itself to shut down indefinitely in the face of the pandemic.
“We said, ‘Basically, we only see two ways: One way would be to just cancel everything and hibernate for a year,’” he said. “But we very quickly said, ‘That’s not ProMusica.’”
The orchestra had several advantages: It was accustomed to presenting outdoors concerts each August at the Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, and its roster of 37 musicians could be collapsed into smaller groupings. It is, after all, a chamber orchestra.”
Read more: https://www.dispatch.com/entertainment/20200821/promusica-makes-return-to-stage-only-smaller
