Kesey Square & Washburne Park performances CANCELLED

Posted on October 01, 2020

Dear Eugene Symphony supporter,

I imagine that, like me, you have watched with growing concern as the COVID-19 case numbers have increased in Lane County over the last week. As I’ve been monitoring guidance from public authorities and health officials, I’ve also been in discussion with our administrative staff and Board leadership about whether it is socially responsible to move forward with our plans to have public, in-person performances in the coming week.

Among other factors, here’s what we’ve been considering:

• Lane County Public Health raising the risk level for the county to “High”
• Yesterday’s news coverage in The Register-Guard that Lane County may be forced to revert to Phase 1 if cases continue to rise at the current rate.
• The announcement by Springfield Public Schools that they will be switching to remote learning starting today, October 1.

With that context as a backdrop and out of an abundance of caution, we feel the most responsible course of action is to cancel the Kesey Square performance scheduled for Thursday, October 1 from 12-1 p.m., as well as the set of two concerts at Washburne Park on Saturday, October 3 and Sunday, October 4.

The wonderful Eugene Symphony musicians who were contracted for these engagements WILL be compensated for both their preparation and performance time, as we had done last spring when the initial days of the pandemic forced us to cancel concerts.

This decision did not come easily. We were so uplifted by the outpouring of interest in our Washburne Park concerts when we announced them last week, and we were all looking forward to seeing you in person to enjoy live music together. We are deeply disappointed to cancel these opportunities to deliver on our mission of enriching lives through the power of music, but we feel it is the right thing to do under the circumstances. The health and safety of our entire community must come first.

Until we can confidently schedule another in-person performance, we are working tirelessly with the musicians to provide performances to you virtually this season. We aim to communicate more details about those plans by mid-October.

In the meantime, please stay safe and healthy, and keep connected with each other, the Eugene Symphony, and this remarkable community.

Sincerely,

Scott Freck
Executive Director