Philadelphia Orchestra pianist Kiyoko Takeuti casts her ballot at City Hall, where a group of orchestra members gathered to vote early because they will be performing in China on Election Day. Photo by Emma Lee/WHYY.
In Tuesday’s (10/16) WHYY (Philadelphia), Peter Crimmins writes, “On Tuesday morning, the musicians of the Philadelphia Orchestra gathered at City Hall—but left their instruments at home. Instead, they came with voting ballots in hand to make a public display of voting in absentee…. The Philadelphia Orchestra will not be in Philadelphia on Election Day. The ensemble is leaving for a two-week tour of China on Oct. 27. So fifteen musicians lined up outside the drop-off box on the south side of City Hall to submit absentee ballots. Principal bass Joseph Conyers hopes everyone is watching and similarly makes a plan to vote. ‘It’s less about letting them know that Joseph Conyers is voting, and more about the fact that there is a group of citizens of the city who are not going to be in town, but are recognizing that our vote and our voice matters,’ he said. To expedite mail-in and absentee ballots, the City Commissioners office has opened 11 election offices across Philadelphia … The ballot count after the polls close will be livestreamed on the commissioners’ website, which the orchestra will be watching from Chengdu, China.”
