Coronavirus / COVID-19 updates
Dear DSO Friends and Family:
IMPORTANT UPDATE (March 2, 2021): It is the DSO’s duty to ensure the safety and health of our employees and patrons when we hold concerts, and we will continue to follow our current protocols backstage and in the front of house with patrons. Masks will be mandatory for staff, patrons, musicians and anyone working in the Meyerson. It has been clearly demonstrated that masks and social distancing slow the spread of COVID-19, and at this time, the CDC is recommending mask wearing in public places. Despite Texas Governor Abbott’s elimination of mask requirements and attendance limits in venues as of March 10, the DSO will require masks in the Meyerson Symphony Center, and we will limit attendance for the remainder of this season.
(July 31, 2020)
We have been revising our programs with the safety of DSO musicians and audiences foremost in our planning. The programs will be performed with no intermission and will be composed of smaller orchestral ensembles. The new programs for September through the end of November are listed below. Our players are anxious to return to the Meyerson, especially to kick off the first official season of Fabio Luisi as Music Director. We will be able to have subscribers attend concerts, but we are limited to small audiences of 50-75 people. While the house will feel fairly empty, and attendees will not be sitting close to others (minimum of 10 feet of distance between), having an audience present will mean the world to the orchestra. Any musician scheduled to perform will have volunteered to do so, and our musicians and backstage staff will be tested for COVID-19 daily.
Much planning and preparation has been done this summer to address the health issues of COVID-19. Working with our colleagues in the Dallas Arts District, as well as, with the consultation of doctor who is a specialist in infectious diseases, the DSO has implemented new protocols for concert-going:
- Concerts will be approximately one hour in length and have no intermissions.
- We will ask all attendees to wear masks unless there is a health issue that prevents this.
- We will have voluntary temperature checks available as you enter.
- We will ask you to arrive at a specific time and enter through a specific door and use a designated restrooms to ensure that you are not in proximity to other patrons.
- We will ensure that you are not seated near other attendees, in some cases, that may mean we will call you in advance to reseat you because your subscription seats are too close to others.
- We will ask you to stagger your departure.
- We will not have food and beverage service in September and October, but have arranged a complimentary glass of prosecco at Musume across the street if you would like to visit before or after the concert by simply mentioning the concert to your server.
- Patrons will be permitted to bring water into the concert Hall.
- There will be hand sanitizers throughout the building available for use.
- We have installed HEPA filters in the Meyerson and have an ongoing deep cleaning process between concerts.
- Valet parking will only be available for those who have disabilities.
We understand that this is not as convenient as attending a typical DSO concert, but this is how we must operate until this COVID-19 threat is under control.
Thanks to the generosity of the O’Donnell Foundation and several other donors, we are also installing a “digital concert hall” this summer which means that we will be able to record all concerts this upcoming season and have them available for live streams and/or viewing after the concerts. These concerts will be available to our subscribers and supporters on a complimentary basis; others will be able to access these recordings via a virtual ticket or membership fee. Please understand that we will not be able to sell single tickets until we know that we can have higher attendance levels.
These are certainly challenging times, and we are doing everything we can to keep the music playing; look for us out in the community this fall. We feel fortunate to have the support of the DSO musicians, who simply want a safe place to fulfill their calling.
In this difficult time, your support means more than ever.
Please take care of yourselves and your families.
– Dallas Symphony Orchestra
FALL CONCERT PROGRAMS
September 4 – 6
Dallas Symphony Presents
BRASS, ORGAN & PERCUSSION of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra
SARAH HICKS conducts
BRADLEY HUNTER WELCH organ
J. S. SMITH The Star-Spangled Banner (arr. Mueller, adapted V. Allen)
A. HAILSTORK American Fanfare
COPLAND Fanfare for the Common Man
GIGOUT Grand Choeur et Dialogue for Organ & Brass
MICHAEL KAMEN Dectet for Brass
IVES Variations on America for solo organ
HANDEL “La Rejouissance” & Minuet/Trio from Music for the Royal Fireworks (arr. Rickards)
MUSSORGSKY “The Hut on Fowl’s Legs (Baba Yaga)” & “Great Gate of Kiev”,
from Pictures at an Exhibition (arr. Michael Allen)
J.P. SOUSA Washington Post March
J. P. SOUSA The Stars and Stripes Forever (arr. Michael Allen)
September 10 – 13
Texas Instruments Classical Series
BRONFMAN PLAYS BEETHOVEN
YEFIM BRONFMAN piano
FABIO LUISI conducts
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 2
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 8
September 18 – 20
DSO Pops Series
RAGTIME & JAZZ
JEFF TYZIK conducts
BYRON STRIPLING trumpet
Music by Scott Joplin, Gershwin and Jelly Roll Morton arrangements.
September 24 – 27
Texas Instruments Classical Series
NEW AND LEVIN: WALKER, GINASTERA, AND MOZART
GEMMA NEW conducts
EMILY LEVIN harp
GEORGE WALKER Lyric for Strings
GINASTERA Harp Concerto
MOZART Symphony No. 38 “Prague”
October 1 – 4
Texas Instruments Classical Series
BOLD AND NEW: BEETHOVEN, DESSNER AND KODÁLY
JURAJ VALCUHA conducts
JÖRGEN VAN RIJEN trombone
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 1
BRYCE DESSNER Trombone Concerto (US Premiere)
KODÁLY Dances of Galanta
October 9 – 11
Texas Instruments Classical Series
MAHLER’S SONG OF THE EARTH
FABIO LUISI conducts
TAMARA MUMFORD mezzo-soprano
STUART SKELTON tenor
MAHLER Das Lied von der Erde (Song of the Earth)
Chamber Ensemble Version by Schönberg/Riehn
October 16 – 18
DSO Pops Series
KELLI O’HARA IN CONCERT WITH THE DSO
ROB FISHER conducts
KELLI O’HARA vocalist
Beloved Broadway tunes and more
October 22 – 25
Texas Instruments Classical Series
ABDURAIMOV PLAYS BEETHOVEN
JUKKA-PEKKA SARASTE conducts
BEHZOD ABDURAIMOV piano
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 3
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 4
October 29 – November 1
Texas Instruments Classical Series
VERDI SELECTIONS WITH FABIO
FABIO LUISI conducts
KRASSIMIRA STOYANOVA soprano
JAMIE BARTON mezzo-soprano
PIERO PRETTI tenor
WENWEI ZHANG bass
VERDI Arias, Duets & Overtures from Aida, Don Carlo, The Force of Destiny and others
October 31
Family Concert Series presented by Hunt Cosolidated, Inc.
DIA DE LOS MUERTOS CONCERT
KATHARINA WINCOR conducts
Vibrant Day of the Dead Concert and Celebration
November 5 – 8
Texas Instruments Classical Series
FEMALE PIONEERS: ALSOP AND HAHN
MARIN ALSOP conducts
HILARY HAHN violin
MAGNUS LINDBERG Absence (Abwesenheit – L’Absence) (US Premiere)
MOZART Violin Concerto No. 5
JESSIE MONTGOMERY Strum
PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 1 in D Major, “Classical”
November 11
Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Black Dance Theatre and Project Unity Present
CONCERT TO HONOR LIVES LOST TO RACIAL VIOLENCE AND INJUSTICE
REGINALD SMITH, JR., baritone
Additional Soloists, to be confirmed
Dancers, Dallas Black Dance Theatre
Musicians, DSO Young Strings Program
Musical and dance performances and remarks from prominent Dallas leaders, plus the premiere of a new work commissioned for the occasion from Quinn Mason, a Dallas-based Black composer.
November 12
Dallas Symphony Presents
ERICH BERGEN’S HOLLYWOOD SONGBOOK
ERICH BERGEN vocalist
JEFF TYZIK conducts
A musical tour of Hollywood with songs you know and love, plus hilarious stories from his screen and stage career.
November 13 – 15
DSO Pops Series
QUEENS OF SOUL
JEFF TYZIK conducts
SHAYNA STEELE vocalist
An evening featuring hits made famous by the legendary divas of Soul and R&B.
November 27 – 29
Dallas Symphony Presents
THE NUTCRACKER
ANDREW GRAMS conducts
TCHAIKOVSKY The Nutcracker