Kansas City Symphony cancels rest of season, including Celebration at the Station
The Kansas City Symphony announced Thursday it has canceled the rest of its performances this season, citing ongoing concerns around the new coronavirus.
That includes the 18th annual Bank of America Celebration at the Station, set for May 24 in front of Union Station and Liberty Memorial.
The free Memorial Day weekend concert typically draws about 50,000 people annually, a crowd size symphony officials said they were “understandably concerned” about.
“While we cannot be together in person, we will be together in spirit,” Danny Beckley, the symphony’s executive director, said in a statement. “The power of music is more important now than ever, and all of us at the Kansas City Symphony will continue to find ways to share our music with you during this time.”
The nonprofit is asking people to return and donate the value of their tickets to canceled events as a tax-deductible contribution.
Several Kansas City arts organizations have done the same, and many, including Starlight Theatre, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, the Unicorn Theatre and MTH Theater, are asking patrons for donations to tide them over until performances can resume.
The musicians are guaranteed their salaries and benefits through the current season, though a previously agreed to 4.6% raise scheduled for the 2020-2021 season will be delayed by a year, symphony officials announced in March.
Beckley told The Star that his is among only a few orchestras in the country able to make that commitment to their musicians, thanks to the generosity of the community. But the symphony will have to find ways to recover from the massive financial hit from lost ticket revenue.
He foresees the pandemic having lasting effects on orchestras and other concert groups, which will have to start thinking more creatively. For the Kansas City Symphony, that could mean more outdoor performances and online concerts until normalcy returns, he said.
In Thursday’s statement, Music Director Michael Stern called the symphony’s bond with the audience and community “unusually intense.”
“This interruption in all our lives is necessary to come to the other side of this surreal time, together and stronger, and we want everyone to be safe and healthy.”
At this point, the orchestra plans to return for the start of its 2020-2021 season in the fall at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.
“We cannot say when all of this will be behind us, and none of us can predict the many ways our world may be transformed,” Stern said. “I am convinced that we will need music more urgently than ever, and we are going to be ready for whatever comes next.”
The symphony had already canceled more than 20 events. The additional cancellations include:
▪ Film + Live Orchestra: The Red Violin in Concert featuring Joshua Bell, May 13-14
▪ Frank and Ella, Together Again, May 15-17
▪ Symphony Contributors’ Concerts, May 20-21
▪ Bank of America Celebration at the Station, May 24
▪ At the Movies: From Mao to Mozart — Isaac Stern in China, May 27
▪ Beethoven’s “Pastoral,” May 29-31
▪ Petite Performance: Musical Moods, May 30
▪ At the Movies: Humoresque, June 3
▪ Tchaikovsky, Beethoven and Tree of Dreams, June 5-7
▪ Beethoven’s Ninth, June 19-21
Ticket holders with questions can contact the Symphony box office at 816-471-0400.
This story was originally published April 23, 2020 at 10:35 AM.
