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RPO President and CEO: These are challenging times for orchestras everywhere

rpo.org

Curt Long, President and CEO of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, says orchestras across the country are looking for answers on how to perform music in a pandemic, and in each city, the challenges are somewhat different. In New York City, the New York Philharmonic is canceling its entire season for the first time in its 178-year history.

One way the RPO is keeping the music playing is with live-streamed concerts. Those kicked off in September, and Long says those performances a work in progress.

“The orchestra performed the music of Aron Copland and Mozart with Ward Stare, music director conducting, and I think artistically it was a fantastic result,” he says. “There were a few bumps in the road with some technology issues, but we're learning lessons and hopefully getting better at that.”

Long says everything the RPO is doing now is due to the generosity of the community.

“The RPO's patrons and donors have really been sticking with us,” he says. “They want to support our efforts to bring music to the community, and they want to support our musicians and keeping our musicians employed.”

He says the RPO will announce its holiday programming plans by the end of this month or in early November.