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Press Releases
Classical Movements: Status and Measures Taken During Coronavirus
Even with the serious and harmful impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the arts and the travel industry, after more than 27 years of good financial stewardship and prudent management Classical Movements remains in stable financial condition. Despite the unpredictability of the current situation, we are moving forward with a number of measures and to plan for the future after the crisis.
After 97 new works, New Music Program hits pause
In order to more effectively direct our attention and resources, Classical Movements has put the Eric Daniel Helms New Music Program on hiatus. Classical Movements remains committed to 17 commissions scheduled to premiere by June 2021 - including 12 whose originally scheduled premieres were postponed due to the coronavirus.
Since 2006, Classical Movements has commissioned 97 new works of music for orchestra, choir and chamber ensembles by 94 composers from 30 countries, two-thirds being women and/or composers of color. Composers commissioned by the New Music Program include well-established and emerging names, such as Kinan Azmeh, Therese Birkelund Ulvo, John Corigliano, Paquito D’Rivera, Reena Esmail, Libby Larsen, Mokale Koapeng, Jessie Montgomery, Tania León, Christopher Rouse, Caroline Shaw, Christopher Theofanidis and Joan Tower. Commissioned composers have won a combined total of 5 Grammys, 4 Pulitzers, an Oscar and a MacArthur Grant.
32 tours cancelled or postponed due to coronavirus in 2019-20
Since announcing our 28th tour season in November 2019, four tours operated as planned before the coronavirus emerged as an international concern. Since January 2020, Classical Movements has carefully monitored the situation and communicated closely with our clients regarding developments, at first in Asia, then Italy and finally all over the world. At the time, Classical Movements’ tour season included tours of China and Japan in February, as well as tours to Italy and Asia during the spring and summer.
Due to the pandemic, 32 tours between March and July have been cancelled or postponed; many clients have decided to undertake their tours in later seasons, when travel is once again possible.
Classical Movements offers clients generous refunds
As clients started to cancel their tours, Classical Movements staff worked early and diligently to secure refunds from around the world, above and beyond what was required under the terms of their contracts. This process has already demanded considerable resources by all 12 members of our staff for two months and continues even now.
We recognize not only the unprecedented nature of this crisis, but the hardships it has placed on the arts especially. Due to our foresight, early actions and our strong international network Classical Movements is proud to have been able to mitigate losses through our own generosity and diligence and we have been gratified by how appreciative people have been by the results.
Prague Summer Nights: Young Artists Music Festival cancelled
As the situation around the world became increasingly disruptive and less predictable, Classical Movements made the difficult decision to cancel its 2020 Prague Summer Nights: Young Artists Music Festival.
After already receiving hundreds of applications for its voice, orchestra, conducting, directing and arts administration programs, casting was well underway at the time of this decision and more than half of participants have accepted the opportunity to defer their acceptance to the summer of 2021, when the festival will present productions of Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Le nozze di Figaro originally planned for this year.
In addition to Prague Summer Nights, the Ihlombe! South African Choral Festival has also been cancelled for July 2020.
Serenade! Washington, D.C. Choral Festival still being evaluated
A final decision has not yet been made for the 10th annual Serenade! Washington, D.C. Choral Festival celebrating “World Voices for Women.” Scheduled for July 15-21, 2020 and described by the Washington Post as “perhaps the most international ensemble I’ve ever heard, apart from the Olympic Games,” Serenade! is one of three annual festivals produced by Classical Movements.
The road ahead: Classical Movements actively working on future projects
Since March 16 (before the Virginia, Maryland and DC stay-at-home orders), Classical Movements staff have worked from home full-time. In addition to the extensive work required to navigate cancellations, Classical Movements continues to work on several tours scheduled after September 2020, as well as in 2021, 2022 and beyond, and to prepare requested proposals and otherwise anticipate the day when travel is once again a possibility. When that time comes Classical Movements has encouraged our clients to consider domestic tours, which offer valuable and memorable performance experiences, while placing less logistical and financial strain on ensembles emerging from strenuous circumstances.
About Classical Movements
Classical Movements is an industry-leading international concert tour and project management company for orchestras and choruses. For more than 27 years, we have established a network across 145 countries on 6 continents and focus particularly on bringing world-class orchestras and choruses not only to the world’s great concert halls, but also to destinations often overlooked by touring ensembles, including the first tours to Russia, China, Cuba, South Africa, Vietnam and Croatia in the early 1990’s. Classical Movements organizes more than 60 tours every year, producing some 200 concerts every season. Classical Movements was centrally involved in the Minnesota Orchestra’s historic tours to Cuba in 2015 and South Africa in 2018 and have taken on a number of other challenging, significant projects including bringing the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra to Washington, D.C. in 2003 and organizing the inaugural Cuban American Youth Orchestra in 2019.
Winner of Americans for the Arts’ BCA10: Best Businesses Partnering with the Arts Award and named one of Musical America’s 2017 Movers & Shapers, since its founding in 1992, as a truly global company Classical Movements remains committed to facilitating cultural diplomacy across the world through the medium of music.
Press Contacts
Adam Jackson
Artistic Planning and Executive Assistant to the President
1 (703) 683-6040, ext. 201
Adam@classicalmovements.com
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