PORT ANGELES — As the Port Angeles Symphony conductor and musicians prepare for the orchestra’s 89th season this fall, they’re readjusting concert plans to start in November instead of October.
The Nov. 6 symphony concerts featuring guest soloist Anna Petrova, a Bulgarian-born pianist who has appeared twice before with the Port Angeles orchestra, will be the season openers, conductor and music director Jonathan Pasternack announced Friday.
Audiences will have two concerts to choose from: one at 10 a.m. and the other at 7:30 p.m. at the Port Angeles High School Performing Arts Center, 301 E. Park Ave.
The Port Angeles Symphony board of directors met last week and decided to postpone the two Family Pops concerts, initially slated for Oct. 1-2 at the Performing Arts Center.
The dramatic increase in the delta variant of the coronavirus on the North Olympic Peninsula necessitated the decision, said Dr. Dick Van Calcar, the board chairman and a longtime Port Angeles physician.
With the November concerts nine weeks away, the symphony board, including Dr. Charles Whitney, Dr. Nancy Stephanz and retired nurse practitioner Sandra Cameron, is working on enhanced safety protocols for the events.
Tickets and modified subscription options will be available online and through the symphony office by early October, while information will be posted at portangeles symphony.org.
The symphony office can be reached at 360-457-5579.
“This will be a hybrid undertaking,” Pasternack said.
In-person capacity will be limited and the concerts will be recorded so music lovers can stream the video at home about a week after the live performances.
The November concert features Jean Sibelius’ Andante Festivo for strings and timpani, Johannes Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 and Sergei Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3, with Petrova.
To rehearse and perform, all of the symphony’s musicians are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Each player also will take a rapid test for the coronavirus before every rehearsal and on concert day.
Pasternack returned Aug. 21 from the Czech Republic, where he conducted a recording project with pianist Josu de Solaun and the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra.
Standing before a full orchestra for the first time in 18 months, he said, was a deeply moving experience.
To the musicians and the patrons of the Port Angeles Symphony, Pasternack expressed his gratitude — for their support and solidarity over the past year and a half.
“I am so looking forward to making music again here at home,” he added.
“I can hardly wait to bring our community the beautiful music and live performances that inspire us.”
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Jefferson County senior reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3509 or durbanidelapaz@peninsuladailynews.com.
Pianist Anna Petrova. (Photo courtesy of Anna Petrova)
