(Above: Francesco Lecce-Chong, music director and conductor of the Eugene Symphony; photo courtesy of ESA)

By Randi Bjornstad

It won’t be the way Eugene Symphony appearances have been in the past, but the organization announced in late October that, “After months of researching, discussing, negotiating, and planning, the Eugene Symphony Association (ESA) is proud to announce its plans to safely return to the concert hall.”

What that means is that for the first time since February, a reduced group of 32 symphony musicians will gather on the Silva Concert Hall Stage at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Eugene on Thursday, Nov. 19,  to give a 75-minute concert under the direction of maestro Francesco Lecce-Chong.

The audience will be small also, consisting of an invited group, severely limited in number, that will attend the performance under Oregon Health Authority guidelines for mask-wearing and social distancing in the hall.

The concert itself will be recorded in video and audio, including not only the music but introductions and interviews with key participants in the production. The video will be streamed online at 3 p.m. PST on Sunday, Nov. 29, available at that time worldwide and password-free. For those who can afford it, the Eugene Symphony requests support via a suggested donation of $15 per household.

After Nov. 29, members of the Eugene Symphony Association and donors who contribute $300 or more per year will have on-demand online access to the performance via a pass-word protected link.

This concert will be the first edition of a program called Symphony Soundwaves. Additional offerings will be announced later.

The program, conducted by Lecce-Chong, includes four pieces, three of them by women composers:

  • Of Paradise and Light, by Augusta Read Thomas (1964- , United States); composer-in-residence with the Eugene Symphony 2017-18)
  • Concerto for String Orchestra, by Grażyna Bacewicz (1909-1969, Poland)
  • Strum, by Jessie Montgomery (1981- , United States)
  • Symphony No. 41, Jupiter, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791, Austria)

In introducing the performance and the new series, Lecce-Chong declared himself and the Eugene Symphony “beyond thrilled to return to the stage and make music together,” despite the limitations imposed by the continuing coronavirus pandemic.

“While we await the return of our full orchestra and audience to the hall, this is an exciting opportunity to bring the comfort, hope, and joy of music directly into our audience’s homes as well as reach music lovers around the world for the first time,” he said.

Although the Eugene Symphony’s live performances have been curtailed since February 2020, the organization has created an online presence that includes radio broadcasts, educational talks, regular live chats with music director and conductor Lecce-Chong, and performances by symphony musicans. These are accessible via the symphony’s website at eugenesymphony.org.