“The long-awaited final hall of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts will not make its debut until 2021—the exact date still unknown,” writes Matthew J. Palm in Tuesday’s (7/28) Orlando Sentinel (FL). “As the coronavirus pandemic continues, officials said they had no way to predict when the public would be able—or ready—to return to live performances on a large scale…. Construction at the $606 million center has continued during the pandemic, and Steinmetz Hall is expected to be substantially completed by the fall. The new hall will provide an acoustically balanced venue for performances involving live orchestral music, such as those by the Orlando Philharmonic, Opera Orlando and Orlando Ballet.… ‘The opening of Steinmetz Hall … will be planned at a future date determined by a number of factors: safety criteria, audience confidence, the acoustical tuning of the hall, economic viability and workforce readiness,’ stated the letter [from Phillips Center officials].… The Orlando Philharmonic has four concerts, from September to November, scheduled in [the Center’s] Bob Carr Theater or Steinmetz Hall. A spokeswoman said the orchestra was committed to performing in some way and was studying its options.”
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