“Matthew Herren began his tenure as executive director of the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra in July of 2020, four months into the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic,” writes Sean Adams in Wednesday’s (10/20) Patriot-News (Harrisburg, PA). “Now, … the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra is performing once again for in-person audiences. And after a tumultuous 19 months of surprises, Herren said, they’re more than ready. ‘One thing I think we’ve proven to ourselves is … that we’re nimble in a way that we didn’t think we were’ … The 2020-21 season (adjusted to be performed with a much smaller ensemble) was presented online, with a total of 13 livestream recordings…. The orchestra was fortunate in [that] they had entered the pandemic ‘well prepared financially,’ and they were able to take advantage of government-offered relief funding…. Their private donors, too, were understanding…. Some of the changes from the shutdown are likely to stay, Herren said, such as a series of interviews done by HSO’s music director Stuart Malina with musicians from the orchestra and posted on YouTube…. It became clear to Herren during the shutdown that live music performance was something that audiences valued, even—perhaps especially—in times of crisis.”
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