The Des Moines Symphony will be virtually presenting livestreamed programs this fall from the Temple for the Performing Arts.
The season will kick off Thursday, Oct. 1 with three-live-streamed concerts in a new format called “Live from the Temple.”The “Temple” is formerly an opulent Masonic Temple. It was refurbished in 1913 and is an architectural gem listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The three-part series will showcase Bach’s Third Brandenburg Concerto and Copland’s magnificent “Appalachian Spring” in October. Andrew Bishop and Andrew Clausen will perform Vivaldi’s Double Trumpet Concerto in November, and in December, the symphony is presenting a glittering, joy-filled holiday concert.
In January, DMSO principals Jonathan and Julie Sturm, along with Drake's professor Nicholas Roth, perform Beethoven’s superb Triple Concerto, and the orchestra presents Tchaikovsky’s astounding 4th Symphony.
In February, the passionate Russian pianist Natasha Paremski will blaze through Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto. The concert will be accompanied with professional actors reading excerpts from Beethoven’s “Immortal Beloved” letters, which historians believe could have been the inspiration for Rachmaninoff’s 3rd Concerto.
I believe that once the all-clear is sounded, given some time, we will see record-breaking crowds attend concerts. And there will be a deeper appreciation of the arts brought on by the abruptness of taking all these experiences away from us. Music can bring us peace, calmness, joy, inspiration, and hope.Maestro Joseph Giunta
In March, the orchestra presents the 7th Symphony by Sibelius and Beethoven’s glorious Violin Concerto with guest violinist Paul Huang.
The Des Moines Symphony gathers in April with chorus and soloists to present Beethoven’s tour de force masterpiece, his 9th Symphony. And the DMSO concludes their 2020-2021 season with Holst’s “The Planets” and Beethoven’s famous Fifth Symphony.
Maestro Joseph Giunta says the orchestra is using fewer musicians, and with current COVID-19 conditions, the symphony will offer the symphony experience for at-home audiences but not for in-person audiences this season.
“We must think not just in terms of audience safety, but the orchestra, staff, and support teams (stagehands, ushers, box office personnel, custodians, etc.). Backstage areas are often small and confining, so all this must be thoroughly discussed in order to ensure safety for all involved,” Giunta explained.
When the orchestra can return to what was once considered normal is the question. Giunta believes large, in-person concerts can’t take place until an effective COVID-19 vaccine is discovered, and people feel safe going to restaurants, religious services, and concerts.
Despite all the negatives and unknowns, Giunta is convinced there is still a silver lining in this COVID-19 cloud.
“I believe there will be some good that comes from this. Just look at how creative musicians and leaders in the music world have used technology to express so many musical experiences," he says. "I believe that once the all-clear is sounded, given some time, we will see record-breaking crowds attend concerts. And there will be a deeper appreciation of the arts brought on by the abruptness of taking all these experiences away from us. Music can bring us peace, calmness, joy, inspiration, and hope.”
