UW Symphony to Offer Distanced, Masked, Livestreamed Concert

How does a symphony orchestra perform in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic?

“It’s quite possible, but it will be a very different experience,” says University of Wyoming Symphony Orchestra Conductor Michael Griffith.

The Thursday, Oct. 1, performance will have no live audience; just a livestreamed online program beginning at 7:30 p.m. Audience members can watch the free event by linking to the UW Department of Music’s “Upcoming Performances” webpage at www.uwyo.edu/music/upcoming_performances/index.html.

As Griffith says, the first concert of the season will be different. The musicians will be masked and well distanced onstage, with special masks for wind players; three small orchestras will be performing instead of one large one; breaks for the stage to completely air out will be undertaken; and Griffith will conduct from the third row of the Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts concert hall.

The symphony’s season of “Best Laid Schemes o’ Mice an’ Musicians” will include music by Bach, Mozart, Chevalier de St. George, Sibelius, Ives and Handel. Highlights of the opening concert will be Mozart’s Symphony No. 3; Sibelius’ “Valse Triste”; and Charles Ives’ “The Unanswered Question.”

UW music faculty flutist Nicole Riner will be the soloist on Bach’s Suite in B Minor, a Baroque work for flute and strings.

Praised for her “luscious, full sound” and “effortless precision,” Riner maintains an active national presence as a recitalist and pedagogue. She has presented master classes at universities and conservatories across the country, and has performed with orchestras and at music festivals in the United States, South America and Europe.

A champion of new music, Riner also has commissioned and premiered numerous works as a soloist and chamber musician. In 2016, she joined the board of Flute New Music Consortium, a commissioning organization for flutists.

For more information, email Griffith at symph@uwyo.edu.