Leonard Turnevicius: Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra cancels ‘Postcard from Buenos Aires’ concert
It's beginning to look a lot like deja vu all over again.
March 2020 deja vu, that is. When health and safety protocols to combat the coronavirus put the kibosh on the performing arts sector and live events fell one after another like a row of cascading dominoes.
Unfortunately, the dominoes are beginning to topple over again as live concert after live concert are being halted with the province temporarily moving into Step Two of the Roadmap to Reopen with modifications.
With those measures in place until at least Jan. 27, the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra has decided to postpone its Jan. 29 Postcard from Buenos Aires" concert to a later date. All ticket holders will be contacted by email as soon as the new date is confirmed.
While we are disappointed to postpone our January concert, the health and safety of our staff, musicians, patrons and greater community takes priority in these uncertain times," HPO executive director Kim Varian said in a media release.
Varian's sentiments were echoed by HPO music director Gemma New who was slated to return to Hamilton after a 22-month absence due to the pandemic.
It is absolutely a disappointment that we cannot reunite this month, but understandable given the circumstances," said New. I used to see live music performance as an invincible art form. Now it feels like it is a rare and precious experience, that I am so grateful to create when the circumstances make it possible. I also hold close the memories of our joyous concerts together prior to the pandemic and I am dearly looking forward to joining our exceptional musicians on stage as soon as possible."
New is scheduled to conduct the HPO's March 19 concert with Susanne Hou in Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto."
The HPO's Composer Festival spotlighting Mendelssohn will run virtually from Feb. 22 to 27.
The temporary closure of the Burlington Performing Arts Centre until Jan. 27 has forced the cancellation of numerous concerts including the Canadian Jazz All-Stars, the Toronto All-Star Big Band, and the Burlington Symphony Orchestra's An Afternoon at the Opera."
BPAC executive director Tammy Fox isn't throwing in the towel just yet.
We are currently in the process of rescheduling all of the performances that we've been forced to cancel, but it's going to take a bit of time to confirm new dates," said Fox. Most of these performances will need to be moved into our 2022-2023 season. We are still very much committed to presenting these artists at the BPAC."
The BSO's opera hits concert, which was to have been on Feb. 6 with four guest singers, might take place later this season.
We are looking at possible dates in June and July," said BSO music director Denis Mastromonaco. If we cannot find an alternate date, we are looking at replacing our final concert in May with the cancelled concert. We have commitments to our guest artists. It would not be fair to cancel on them without offering a replacement date."
But holding concerts also means preparing for them. And the BSO hasn't had any in-person rehearsals in 2022.
Due to safety concerns, we are going to wait until our set of rehearsals for our April concert to return to in-person rehearsing," added Mastromonaco. We are disappointed to have to postpone our February concert, but hope that we can return soon and share our music with audiences again."
Hamilton Music Collective artistic director Darcy Hepner and the HMC board of directors were looking to reignite their Jazz at The Gasworks series which had been on hold since late 2019 because of renovations to the building at 141 Park St. N.
Alas, the series opener featuring the Pat Collins Trio, with Collins on bass, multi-instrumentalist Tom Sczezniak and guitarist Reg Schwager who was recently appointed a Member of the Order of Canada, has been rescheduled to Thursday, May 19 from Jan. 27. Tickets already purchased will be honoured for the May date, or can be transferred to another HMC concert this season, or refunded.
The seven-concert series, which is in support of the HMC's An Instrument for Every Child program, continues on Feb. 10 with Hepner, Paul Intson, Jesse O'Brien, Joel Haynes, Steve Strongman and Laura Cole. However, check hamiltonmusiccollective.ca over the next weeks for any announcement regarding postponement or cancellation.
Leonard Turnevicius writes about classical music for The Hamilton Spectator.leonardturnevicius@gmail.com