Lake County Symphony alive, well
Donations from public, advertisers much appreciated
LAKE COUNTY >> The Lake County Symphony Association, like so many other organizations, has had a rough year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
First the annual June Wine Fest, the major fundraiser for the LCSA, was canceled just as Wine Club members were beginning to plan it. The Mother’s Day Concert was the next casualty. The remainder of the concert season was canceled shortly thereafter. Music lessons for beginners and the LCSA Youth Orchestra also had to be canceled. They will start again once it is safe to do so, said Sue Condit, conductor of the Youth Orchestra.
Board members have continued to meet via Zoom to work on ideas for keeping things afloat and to plan how to satisfy concerns of members and advertisers. LCSA members and supporters were asked to donate the money they had already spent for this year’s concerts, and many did just that. Several even added to their donation or membership renewal.
“The members really came through for us,” said Lynne Bruner, LCSA Treasurer. “People are stepping up and being very generous. We are so grateful for their support. Without it, I don’t know where we’d be.”
Donations are always appreciated, said Bruner, who recommended folks consider giving gift memberships.
“This can be done easily by going to our website (www.lakecountysymphonyassociation.org) and it’s an additional way to show support for our symphony.”
Adver tisers, another treasured financial resource needed to keep the LCSA strong, have been assured that their ads would be placed in the concert program for the entire year of 2021, once live performances resume. As an additional “thank you” to advertisers, the LCSA is currently in the process of listing all the display ads on the LCSA website with a link provided to each advertiser’s website. This will guarantee a full year’s coverage for ads, even if a concert is canceled.
One way the LCSA was able to reduce some expenses this past year was by foregoing the costs of mass printing and mailing of its newsletter, “The Overture.” Instead, it was emailed to all members and was also made available on the LCSA website for all to view (www.lakecountysymphonyassociation.org). The number of newsletters for the year also was reduced to one — the fall issue — instead of the usual three since there was less news to report due to cancellations of events and concerts.
Recent board meetings have included discussions on ways to keep music fans supplied with their “symphony fix,” and online video performances are one way to do that. Although some Lake County Symphony musicians have previously been available on YouTube and tech-savvy LCSA members have added more video performances in the past several months to meet the current reality. So while there won’t be another sold- out Christmas Concert to attend this year at the Soper Reese Theatre with its popular “audience singalong” finale, there are performances available online from previous Christmas concerts.
There is a long list of nonholiday performances available too. These feature the Lake County Symphony, individual musicians, the Youth Orchestra and the local fiddlers’ group that several symphony members perform with.
The board is also considering putting on live virtual concerts.
“I have been in contact with Dr. Pace at the health department to see how we might go about having a live performance that could be recorded or streamed live,” Linden said. “I think it’s very doable and would be okayed with proper safeguards. Ultimately, it will be up to the musicians involved and their comfort level. If we can make this happen, it would likely consist of a smaller group of musicians and not include wind instruments,” she said. “We are exploring all options.”
Please continue to check the LCSA website periodically for updates. New information will be posted as it becomes known.