Honolulu (KHON2)-Chamber Music Hawaii looks forward to showcasing musicians with new digital content that will fill some of the void left by performances that had to be canceled due to coronavirus.
CMH called off three performances of its Honolulu Brass Quintet in March, two Galliard String Quartet performances in April, and its movie soundtrack program scheduled for May—for a total of six season events. “It was difficult to make those decisions,” says Chamber Music Hawaii General Manager Barett Hoover. “Not just for our audiences and supporters but also for our musicians who spent many hours preparing for the concerts and were so looking forward to them. Thanks to the tremendous support of our donors and the community, we have been able to pay our musicians about 50% of what they would’ve made had the season been able to continue.”
Many patrons donated the value of their concert tickets back to CMH, rather than asking for a refund. “Their generosity has allowed us to compensate the musicians for a portion of the fee of the canceled concerts,” adds Hoover.
With limited resources, Chamber Music Hawaii has been trying to do what a lot of other arts organizations are doing: creating some digital content that showcases its outstanding musicians. For instance, The Galliard String Quartet did a video performance from their homes as did flute player Lance Suzuki.
Before the pandemic, CMH had planned an excellent season for 2020-2021 including a big Beethoven celebration to mark the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birthday.
One scenario is adapting the order of programs so that the smaller ones would take place in the Fall in order to maintain social distancing on and off the stage. Another possibility is a livestream element so that some people can listen from home, while others go to the theater. Another contingency plan would be to forgo a Fall season and to start up in either January or February 2021.
We’ll keep you posted on any developments.
Website: chambermusichawaii.org
