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In June, when new cases of COVID-19 reached a lull in North Texas, classical bands in the area were preparing for a fall season that may not have included masks and an audience. full. But with the spread of the Delta variant wreaking havoc across the region, plans are likely to change.
Here’s what we know about scheduled performance and security protocols.
the Dallas Symphony Orchestra will force masks and initially limit the audience capacity of the Meyerson Symphony Center to 60-70%. The orchestra, in full this season, will continue to use the stage expansion added last year during the pandemic to allow for greater social distancing. All musicians and staff have been vaccinated.
Music director Fabio Luisi conducts the DSO in his first concert of the season on September 16. Resident Organist Bradley Hunter Welch will lead Aaron Copland’s Symphony organ. Dallassymphony.org, 214-849-4376.
the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra plans to return to Bass Performance Hall, whose closure last season forced the orchestra to perform in the acoustically challenging Will Rogers Auditorium. Masks will be required and Bass Hall will operate at full capacity.
The orchestra strongly encouraged all musicians and staff to get vaccinated. Over 90% of musicians have been vaccinated.
Guest conductor Kevin John Edusei will conduct 80 FWSO musicians on opening night on September 17th. Ray Chen will appear as a soloist in Jean Sibelius’ Violin Concerto. Fwsymphony.org, 817-665-6000.
After presenting a life-size opera at the Winspear Opera House in the winter of 2020 and then canceling the spring season, the Dallas opera is set to stage productions again in February 2022. In the meantime, the company will be offering live concerts at Winspear.
In October, Music Director Emmanuel Villaume will lead the Dallas Opera Orchestra in performances of opera hits, with a host of acclaimed singers. A showcase concert featuring participants from the Hart Institute for Women Conductors – a program that advances the careers of emerging female conductors – will follow in November.
The Dallas Opera House will follow federal, state, and local safety guidelines and recommendations. AT&T Performing Arts Center website will have the latest information. Dallasopera.org, 214-443-1000.
the Fort Worth Opera House will offer performances in a variety of indoor and outdoor venues in the region. The season kicks off on October 9 with a concert celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month. Frida Kahlo and the bravest girl in the world and Stone soup, vschildren’s operas composed by FWO artistic director Joe Illick, with libretto by Mark Campbell, will be performed in October and November respectively.
Masks will be compulsory during indoor performances and encouraged outside. Fwopera.org, 817-731-0726.
Conducted by Music Director Greg Hobbs, the Highland Park Choir will commemorate the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks with performances by Mozart Requiem and Tarik O’Regan’s Martyr at Moody Performance Hall. An orchestra of musicians from the Dallas Opera Orchestra will accompany masked and socially distanced singers.
All singers are fully vaccinated. Masks will be strongly encouraged, but not mandatory, and the venue will operate at full capacity.
The choir will also perform at Highland Park Presbyterian Church this fall, in accordance with church protocols. Hppres.org, 214-526-7457.
Orpheus chamber singers aims to give their first live concert since the start of the pandemic on October 31 at Moody Performance Hall. Singers will be masked, and masks are strongly encouraged for the public. Orpheus is monitoring the health crisis and will adjust plans if necessary. Orpheuschambersingers.org, 214-530-0018.
Members of Vert-de-Gris set will perform Missy Mazzoli Vespers for a new dark age with the Contemporary Classical Group Ensemble NEWSRQ at the Caruth Auditorium at Southern Methodist University on September 26. The auditorium will accommodate an audience at 50% capacity this fall, and masks are mandatory. The mask requirement will be assessed as the semester progresses and the pandemic progresses.
Verdigris hopes to resume live performances with the full choir in spring 2022. Verdigrismusic.org.
Dallas Chamber Music Society will once again host performances in SMU’s Caruth Auditorium, after outdoor bands were banned from performing concerts for in-person audiences last season. Joined by pianist Jonathan Biss, the London-based Doric String Quartet will perform DCMS ‘first concert of the season on October 11. Dallaschambermusic.org, 214-864-1993.
Chamber of Fine Arts players, who presented their 2020-21 season online, will perform this fall to live audiences at various venues. Musicians will have to be vaccinated and the public will be masked and socially distanced. The concerts will be recorded for future broadcast or online distribution.
The first program on October 9 will retrace the links between plays by Hildegard von Bingen, Maurice Ravel and Christopher Rouse. Location to be determined. Fineartschamberplayers.org, 214-520-2219.
International chamber music will present concerts at St. Barnabas Presbyterian Church in Richardson for a limited and socially remote audience. The season kicks off on October 14 with a program featuring the Iwasaki Trio, made up of violinist Jun Iwasaki and his parents, cellist Ko Iwasaki and pianist Yurie Iwasaki. Masks will be compulsory. Chambermusicinternational.org, 972-385-7267.
After a virtual 2020-21 season, Fort Worth Chamber Music Society will perform to a live audience in the auditorium of the Fort Worth Museum of Modern Art this fall. Masks are compulsory at the museum. The auditorium will operate at full capacity.
CMSFW opens its season on September 11 with a program of works by Erich Korngold and Frank Martin. Cmsfw.org, 817-877-3003.
Concerts from Cliburn will serve socially distanced performances at The Post at River East in Fort Worth. Masks are mandatory, except for eating or drinking. Fei-Fei, finalist of the 2013 Cliburn International Piano Competition, will open the series with a solo program on October 2. Cliburn.org, 817-738-6536.
American Baroque Opera Company aims to return to live shows in the winter of 2022, with a series of works focused on metamorphosis. Baroqueopera.org, 214-766-7150.
Dallas Bach Society will offer concerts at the historic Aldredge House in East Dallas and the Lutheran Church in Zion for in-person and live audiences. Masks will be required at Aldredge House, while security policies in Zion will be determined by the church.
At the season’s opening concert on October 15, artistic director James Richman performs Bach harpsichord concertos with a freelance orchestra from the region. Dallasbach.org, 214-320-8700.
New Spain Orchestra will perform in indoor and outdoor venues this fall. Masking and social distancing will be in effect at indoor facilities, and masking will be voluntary outdoors.
The season begins on October 16 with a concert on the lawn featuring a trio of musicians playing classical and modern pieces from the Middle East. Orchestraofnewspain.org, 214-750-1492.
After a virtual 2020-21 season, Voices of change, the Dallas modern music ensemble, expects to perform to a live audience at SMU’s Caruth Auditorium this fall. The new season kicks off on September 10 with a program including the world premiere of a quartet by Peter Askim. Voixofchange.org, 214-378-8670.
Soundings: new music at the Nasher is not expected to resume performance until the 2022-2023 season. Nashersculpturecenter.org, 214-242-5100.
It sounds modern will feature avant-garde blues-inspired music to complement an abstract art exhibit by Sean Scully at the Fort Worth Museum of Modern Art on October 9. Masks are compulsory at the museum. Themodern.org/performances, 817-738-9215.
