The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and the Eastman School of Music have agreed to postpone all RPO concerts in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre effective immediately through April 15.
A statement from the RPO notes that following Governor Andrew Cuomo declaring a ‘state of emergency’ over the weekend, the University of Rochester issued plans to restrict campus events, including Eastman Theatre, in an attempt to limit the impact of the coronavirus.
A statement from the RPO says that is understands the concerns of the community and is working with the university to reschedule all affected performances.
Concerts affected include Disney’s The Little Mermaid in Concert Live to Film on March 14 and Beethoven + Brahms on March 19 and 21. The concerts will be rescheduled and details will be released by the end of the week.
Anadvisory sent out recently by the University of Rochester said that:
On-campus meetings, events, athletics: Any in-person event on the University campus must be limited to 100 participants, or it must be canceled, postponed, or conducted virtually. This guidance does not apply to classes or colloquia where the attendees are members of the University community. Musical, theatrical, or dance rehearsals or performances where the anticipated audience is more than 100 members of the public should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis with the relevant dean or director. Athletic contests where the anticipated number of spectators is more than 100 should be prepared to limit access.
Off-campus meetings, events, athletics: University-sponsored events that are planned off campus must also be limited to 100 participants, or they must be canceled, postponed, or conducted virtually. Many peer institutions have imposed similar restrictions for their events for the time being.
The President & CEO of the RPO, Curtis Long, said the situation is not ideal but they've only had to cancel a few events.
"In a lucky way if we look at the next five weeks only two of them we had performances scheduled. The others are weeks when the orchestra would have some time off," Long said.
The RPO also had a series of educational events this week which Long said can’t be rescheduled, but they are still hoping to reach students through a live stream.
“It’s about getting out the vote and voting. So we’re hoping to still be able to redistribute that through schools this coming Friday," Long added.
