The Score | Live from Des Moines

Like many orchestras, the Des Moines Symphony pivoted online during the 2020-21 season, transforming its “Live from the Temple” series into eight live-streamed concerts. Broadcast live on the orchestra’s website from Des Moines’ Temple for Performing Arts, the concerts featured a reduced-size, socially distanced orchestra; each broadcast included interviews and behind-the-scenes content. Ticketholders could watch concerts on a smart TV, laptop, or phone, and replay them for 30 days after the livestream. Teachers and healthcare workers could reserve free passes to livestreamed concerts. In May, Music Director Joseph Giunta and musicians from the orchestra presented the series’ season finale, featuring Marianna Martines’s Sinfonia in C Major, “Tamborito” and “Cumbia y Congo” from William Grant Still’s Danzas de Panama, Grieg’s Holberg Suite, and the Allegro from Mozart’s Symphony No. 31 (“Paris”). Principal Flute James Blanchard was the soloist in Gluck’s Dance of the Blessed Spirits and Fauré’s Fantaisie. The concert was preceded by a week of online programming, including classes, virtual social events, and prelude talks.