Altered experience: S.A.’s live shows a rarity in rest of U.S.

Live performances in the city took a big step forward Feb. 5 when the San Antonio Symphony resumed concerts at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts.

It was the orchestra’s first outing in nearly a year because of the pandemic.

“I think it was a signal to the community that we are here, we are playing, we are creating, we are really ready to keep making art for our community,” said violinist Sarah Silver Manzke, the symphony’s associate concertmaster. “For a lot of us on that stage, it was emotional, it was joyful, and also there’s still an element of frustration and some anxiety and sadness in knowing that this isn’t going to be over tomorrow, but there is that feeling of hope and joy to get to go out and make music for our audience, our community and our patrons.”

The symphony is part of a small number of performing arts organizations — including Magik Theatre, the Woodlawn Theatre and Classic Theatre — that have begun offering some form of live performances. While the slate of live shows is still tiny, it’s enough to set San Antonio apart from a large part of the country.

In a recent survey by Americans for the Arts, 47.5 percent of the performing arts organizations that responded said they had not yet reopened and had no target date for when that might happen. Just 18.2 percent said they had reopened.

When the symphony performed, musicians were spread out on the stage, and rather than sharing music stands, each musician had their own. The string players were masked the entire time.

That created an issue that Manzke already knew how to deal with. She also plays with

2013: Benedict XVI became the first pope in 600 years to resign, ending an eightyear pontificate. (Benedict was succeeded the following month by Pope Francis.)

1784: John Wesley, the co-founder of Methodism, chartered the first Methodist Church in the United States in Leesburg, Virginia.

1844: a 12-inch gun aboard the USS Princeton exploded as the ship was sailing on the Potomac River, killing Secretary of State Abel P. Upshur, Navy Secretary Thomas W. Gilmer and several others.

1849: the California gold rush began in earnest as regular steamship service started bringing gold-seekers to San Francisco.

1953: scientists James D. Watson and Francis H.C. Crick announced they had discovered the double-helix structure of DNA.

1972: President Richard M. Nixon and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai issued the Shanghai Communique, which called for normalizing relations between their countries, at the conclusion of Nixon’s historic visit to China.

1975: 42 people were killed in London’s Underground when a train smashed into the end of a tunnel.

Robin Jerstad / Contributor San Antonio Symphony members play in masks, nearly a year after going dark.