The San Francisco Symphony on
Thursday announced it’s canceling all of its concerts at Davies Symphony Hall
through the end of the year, as well as other changes, due to the COVID-19
coronavirus pandemic.
All live performances with
spectators, including sports games and concerts, have been put off, in
accordance with state guidelines that prohibit all live performances until the
final stage of the reopening process.
Although the city has laid out
plans and given tentative dates for the reopening process, the final stage has
not been given a tentative date.
In a statement, San Francisco
Symphony CEO Mark Hanson lamented the symphony having to postpone the welcoming
of its new director Esa-Pekka Salonen.
“While we are deeply
disappointed to not present the exciting lineup of live concerts we had planned
for Fall 2020, including the start of Esa-Pekka Salonen’s tenure as Music
Director and a festival of events featuring our eight Collaborative Partners,
we know this action is necessary in order to ensure the health and safety of
our orchestra, chorus, staff, and audiences,” Hanson said.
In addition to the cancellation of
concerts, in order to further maintain financial stability, Hanson, the
symphony’s Board of Governors, staff, members of its orchestra and chorus, and
stagehands have agreed to pay cuts for all earning more than $75,000 annually.
Additionally, some positions have been eliminated and other furloughed.
Furthermore, the symphony
announced it will permanently close its resale shop Repeat Performances,
located at 2436 Fillmore St.
Symphony officials said closing
the store was a “difficult decision.”
However, in the meantime, the symphony will continue showcasing archived and live performances, at both www.sfsymphony.org/mtt25 or www.youtube.com/sfsymphony.
Ticketholders are being asked to
consider donating the cost of their tickets back to the symphony. Ticketholders
looking to donate or for a refund can call the box office at (415) 846-6000 or
email patronservices@sfsymphony.org by Aug. 31.
In addition to the symphony, the
San Francisco Opera on Tuesday announced it’s canceling its fall 2020 season
due to COVID-19. The opera plans to return to the stage for the spring 2021
season as planned on April 25.
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