The Commercial Appeal - Go Memphis
Iris Orchestra goes virtual to kick off 21st season
When Iris Orchestra kicks off its 21st season this month, you can expect about a dozen musicians on stage instead of the usual 30 to 50. Most of them will be from the Memphis area or within driving distance, instead of from around the world.
And there will be one other major difference: The season opener will be virtual.
The arts and cultural sector has been among those hit extremely hard by the COVD-19 pandemic. Those organizations have had to rethink how they move forward with their missions while presenting their programming in ways that preserve the safety of their staff and the public.
Case in point: Iris Orchestra.
“The mission of Iris Orchestra is to provide outstanding experiences in the concert hall, the classroom and throughout the Mid-south community through musical, educational and mentoring endeavors," said Marcia Kaufmann, executive director of Iris Orchestra, the resident orchestra of the Germantown Performing Arts Center. "While we remain true to our founding as a resident ensemble with international reach, COVID-19 has changed the way we are engaging with our audiences.”
Due to the pandemic, Kaufmann said Iris Orchestra canceled its May 2020 concert, but did not have to actually shut down. With summer being a typically slow time in terms of performances, the organization used the time to restructure its 2020-21 season. And, the season opening was pushed back only a week, from Oct. 3 to Oct. 11.
“Like many arts organizations, the pandemic has pushed us to explore new and creative ways to deliver concert programming to fans and keep them engaged,” artistic director Michael Stern said. “Our restructured season allows us to continue presenting a diverse repertoire of classical pieces to the Mid-south while we make it a priority to ensure the safety of our audiences and our orchestra members.”
The 2020-21 season opens Sunday with a virtual concert. The concert was recorded live in early October from the Germantown Performing Arts Center stage with no audience. Subscribers can either watch the concert online between Oct. 11-17 (they will be sent a link to view the concert) or at 2 p.m. Sunday at The Grove at GPAC on its video wall. Intermission will include interviews and behind-the-scenes segment with the orchestra's musicians.
The chamber music performance was recorded at GPAC with its "new state-of-the-art video system," GPAC executive director Paul Chandler said.
This is the latest event for the new Germantown venue. The Grove at GPAC opened June 4, and the outdoor venue has held about 30 events — films, live music performances, streaming events and more — since then, Chandler said.
He said the 1.17-acre venue has a 300-person capacity under Shelby County Health Department guidelines. In non-pandemic times, the venue has a 1,200person capacity.
Iris Orchestra will also have a video presentation for its Dec. 5 program, showcasing two popular Iris performances of symphonies from past seasons.
"The first piece will be Prokofiev's Symphony No. 1, ‘Classical,' performed in our 16th season on April 30, 2016,” Kaufmann said. “The second piece will be Beethoven's Symphony No. 3, ‘Eroica,' performed in our 15th season on Jan. 24, 2015. This concert will be available to stream online for all Iris Orchestra subscribers.”
While there will be no December Sunday concert due to current COVID-19 concerns, the Iris at the Brooks chamber concert series, which normally takes place on Sunday afternoons on concert weekends, will resume Feb. 13. Iris Orchestra will perform live at Memphis Brooks Museum of Art in front of a limited live audience (seating will be limited to meet Shelby County Health Department guidelines and maintain social distancing between audience members). Programming will feature a solo artist playing with the orchestra in February, March and May.
“The season closer in May will feature violinist Nancy Zhou as the program's soloist," Kaufmann said. "She was originally scheduled to appear with Iris in May 2020, but the May concerts were canceled due to the pandemic.”