COVID CAN’T QUIET THE MONTEREY SYMPHONY
CARMEL >> A lot of planning, preparation, and practice preceded the March 13 weekend, as the Monterey Symphony anticipated a colossal concert series. Within 48 hours, many musicians and the guest conductor would arrive from all over the country.
Some 1,600 kids from across the county would gather to present a youth concert. Customary preconcert luncheons and post-concert receptions were being prepared. Tickets were sold. Audiences were ready and waiting.
And then COVID-19 came to the county and canceled everything.
While Monterey Symphony Executive Director Nicola Reilly and her staff worked to unravel their plans, they held onto the promise of their April and May concert calendars. Until they couldn’t.
Maestro Max Bragado-Darman was planning to conduct his final concert before retiring after 15 years with the symphony, followed by a sit-down dinner for 250 guests at Monterey Peninsula Country Club. Guest artists who had performed with the maestro over the years were flying in to help close the season. Two more children’s concerts were scheduled, including a performance by 3,000 youth musicians at Sherwood Hall in Salinas. All of it evaporated.
“Also, we were putting the
music together and working with the Monterey Conference Center for Monterey’s 250th birthday pop-up performances by local musicians. One event after another,” said Reilly, “was canceled.”
Once Sunset Center was shuttered, eliminating a principal venue for the symphony, and the virus gave no signs of giving up, the Monterey Symphony sat in silence. But only for a few measures while they caught their breath and began to improvise.
“This year is our 75th anniversary,” Reilly said. “We had planned an opening celebration for Oct. 17 and intended to continue the festivities all season long. Instead, we postponed the whole season, just picked it up and moved it to October 2021. But what were we do to in the interim?”
Master class in music improv
Having moved their offices from their former location on Garden Road in Monterey to a space with a balcony above an enclosed courtyard at 7th and Dolores in Carmel, the administrative staff came up with the idea to host solo concerts onsite.
“With four temporary permits in hand, we launched ‘Balcony Sessions,’ our new concert format, featuring a live, 30-minute solo performance from our balcony. In the courtyard below,” said Reilly, “we have the space for an audience of 10, socially distanced.”
On Aug. 28, principal bass trombonist Will Baker kicked off the series. People listened from the courtyard and the winetasting room next door, as did passersby on Dolores. Reminiscent of Andrea Bocelli’s Easter Sunday solo in Milan, Classical Tahoe’s pandemic performances, including MezzoSoprano Frederica von Stade with composer Jake Heggie in July; and the New York Philharmonic’s popup ensemble performances, the Monterey Symphony is bringing live music to the community, from a distance.
“Once symphony musicians saw this was happening and successful, they signed up in droves to perform,” Reilly said. “So far, we have 24 pop-up performances planned. We learned a lot from the first one— how sound carries, and how it gets picked up from people talking on the street. We also are live-streaming these performances, filming them in HD to produce a polished product for those listening from home.”
On Sept. 18, assistant principal cellist Adele Akiko Kearns, and violinist Eugenie Wie performed from the balcony. Violist Sarah Lee will take to the balcony on Friday and, on Oct. 23, cellist Saul Richmond Rakerd will perform.
The Symphony is working with other venues, as well. Among them are Winfield Gallery and Nancy Dodds Gallery, both in Carmel, and MY Museum in Monterey, and Monterey Touring Vehicles, down on Del Monte.
“We are one of the only orchestras in California that is performing live right now,” Reilly said. “We worked with local government and took steps to follow all the socialdistancing protocol. Once we saw the opportunity to perform; we just had to figure out how.”
Looking ahead
Although the Sunset Center is currently shuttered, the Monterey Symphony will present a solo performance there in January. One solitary person, Concertmaster Christina Mok will perform “Alone,” a special piece written for her by the Symphony’s composer-in-residence John Wineglass.
“Here was this wonderful venue willing to let us use it,” said Reilly, “if we could just figure out how. Imagine a single person, practicing her craft, alone. We can have only 10 people there with her, making it happen, recording it for others to experience. Of course, we’re hoping, by January, we will be able to invite an audience to attend.”
All of these innovative projects have been made possible, says Reilly, by some really creative people, including the Monterey Symphony Board of Directors, which approved a contingency fund to sponsor this work, including three pieces Wineglass is currently composing.
Also, the Symphony is developing a series of educational videos for kids, grades 4-8, which presents a music history about how the country has inspired composers and artists in this region during the past 100 years.
“We are coming from a historical perspective,” said Reilly, “using the visual and performing arts standards from the state of California to create a context for what kids are learning in school, about the Ohlone Tribe and other Native Americans for the younger grades, and also John Steinbeck, whom kids start reading in sixth grade.”
When Reilly said she wanted to create content for kids, giving them a relevant music class while they distance-learned from home, Education Coordinator and principal horn Alicia Mastromonaco came up with the idea of connecting it to Monterey County, to complement the arts curriculum already in place. At the end of the video, Wineglass will talk about the program, helping students to feel inspired by the land, its natural beauty, and the lives that have played out here.
“Although we are in a wait-and-see position about if and when we can put our performance program back together,” said Reilly, “in the meantime, we are doing what we can to be relevant as we continue to conceive of new ways to produce and present music. We’re learning all the time.”
Nicola Reilly, who has worked in marketing and public relations for the Carmel Bach Festival, and in institutional advancement at CSU Monterey Bay, joined the Monterey Symphony staff in 2016 and was named Executive Director in July 2017. The Seattle native, a classically trained violinist, also has worked for the Seattle Chamber Music Society, the Women’s Medieval Choir, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. She holds degrees in Spanish literature and music history from the University of Puget Sound and a Master’s degree in Arts Administration from The University of Washington.
Upon joining the Monterey Symphony, when asked the best piece of advice she’s ever been given, she said, “The only thing constant is change.”