By Randi Bjornstad
As you may remember, 2021 probably was known more for the things that didn’t happen than the things that did.
However, the Eugene Symphony Guild, which exists to promote and raise funds to support the Eugene Symphony, took last year’s pandemic closures in stride.
Instead of its usual in-person offerings of symphony musicians playing in some of the area’s loveliest gardens, the Symphony Guild undertook to create a one-hour, online video tour of six gardens, with an introduction by maestro Francesco Lecce-Chong and performed as usual by orchestra musicians.
As a result, the Eugene Symphony Guild has won one of the League of American Orchestra’s annual Spotlight Awards for its efforts. The award will be conferred on the Guild at the League’s annual meeting in June. And, as luck would have it, the video is still available, free of charge, for viewing on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i41zc-l8PfM
Back in person in 2022
And now, the Eugene Symphony Guild’s Music in the Garden is back for real on June 12, 2022, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., featuring musicians performing in gardens in Springfield’s Historic Washburne District. Gardens include Pony House Garden, Stucky Garden, Berger Garden, Paz Garden, and Sage Garden.
Tickets are available in advance for $18 ($5 for children ages 10 and under), or $20 on the day of the event, at several locations: garden centers in Eugene, Springfield, Cottage Grove, and Coburg, including McKenzie Honey Farm, Gray’s Garden Center, Johnson Brothers Garden Market, True Value Hardware, Down to Earth, Jerry’s Home Improvement, Lane Forest Products, BiMart (Mohawk Blvd.), Little Red Farm Nursery, The Bookmine, and Farm Fancy, or online at eugenesymphonyguild.org.
