There’s nothing quite like a topic grenade to round out the week. Today’s entry comes from Fort Worth where the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra (FWSO) recently announced they intend to produce live, indoor concert events in the fall with heavily reduced audiences and strict social distancing rules.
Before anyone decides to jump on the pro/con bandwagon, think back to June when we looked at efforts underway at the Dallas Symphony to explore options for performance activity, whether it be for live audiences, live broadcast, or recording.
I hope that the FWSO, and any other orchestra considering live concert activity before the end of 2020, is keeping a very close eye on what’s unfolding with Project RESTART-19, a multi-disciplinary research effort in Germany to identify conditions necessary to safely restart live performance events.
The RESTART-19 project is intended to identify possible framework conditions under which artists and athletes can play and perform again after September 30, 2020, without these events endangering the population. In addition, it should be examined which optimization processes and technical changes may be necessary in the event halls in order to minimize the risk.
