San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
‘We need to embrace what we’ve learned’
On March 11, 2020, Nordic-folk sensation Dreamers’ Circus took the stage for what was to be a sold-out performance at The Conrad. News of the coronavirus and an impending lockdown was spreading quickly, and out of caution, many of our ticket buyers decided to stay home, likely glued to their devices for the latest update. For those resolute individuals who showed up, it was an evening we will long remember. As the band played, a beautiful and poignant feeling filled the half-empty room. We all knew a night like this might not happen again soon, but little did we know how long this dark period would last.
In the days following the performance, venue after venue shuttered its doors and season after season of iconic presenting organizations was canceled indefinitely. It was heartbreaking. It felt as though my world — the world I love and belong to both personally and professionally — was turning upside down. Yet after the initial heartache and shock wore off, I quickly realized we were in this for the long haul. If La Jolla Music Society was going to survive, we needed to get to work.
For all the devastation the virus has caused, it has also galvanized our organization and the entire arts community in a way I have never seen before. This crisis was a catalyst, opening direct channels of communication from the board of directors down to the most junior person on our staff. The invisible wall between presenter, artists and agents dissolved. We received an outpouring of support from our La Jolla Music Society family, which allowed us to move forward.
One beautiful example of this generosity was through our Artist Cares Fund. Though faced with our own financial uncertainty, we made the important decision to put artists first, creating a campaign that raised over $50,000 for artists impacted by the postponement of Summerfest. Our staff knew that — at least for now — we had our jobs, but these artists were struggling, out of work, and in need of our help. The memory of this season and the shuttered theater doors will fade, but I hope the shining, beautiful humanity I have witnessed during this time will never be forgotten.
In 2020, the pandemic also brought about a necessary digital renaissance in the arts world. With live in-person concerts restricted, performing arts — a sector that’s been historically late to adopt digital marketing strategies and other technological advancements — had to move beyond industry common practices and quickly learn how to create original and pre-produced content for online viewing.
Led by Summerfest Music Director Inon Barnatan, La Jolla Music Society utilized our state-ofthe-art Baker-baum Concert Hall to produce our first major virtual presentation. We painstakingly re-imagined the full three-week festival down to six one-hour, livestreamed concerts, performed by a small cohort of the finest musicians in the world, as well as a selection of thoughtfully curated educational offerings.
The events were viewed by music lovers from San Diego to New York, and even though we couldn’t be together physically, the range of activities, from virtual happy hours to pre-concert lectures and in-depth artist discussions, paired with the extraordinary performances, allowed us to sustain the emotional connection our patrons feel every year during the festival.
As we look to the future, and the world starts to open up, we need to embrace what we’ve learned this year: the need for open communication, the power of coming together, and the use of our new digital prowess to connect with our audiences in a more meaningful way.