The “Season At Home” Series begins September 4
With so much uncertainty surrounding the future developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Board has determined that La Grande Bande’s best course of action is to cancel its planned Fall 2020 Concert Season. It is our sincere hope that we will be able to resume our programming in person beginning in January 2021.
In lieu of in person performances, La Grande Bande will continue its virtual programming model through the end of 2020.
“We are living through historic times when it comes to trying to plan a concert season,” said Michael Thomas Asmus, La Grande Bande’s Music & Artistic Director. “We are adamant that La Grande Bande’s mission of presenting unique and innovative concerts must continue despite the pandemic. We are certain that the online programming—we’re calling it our ‘Season At Home’—will bring us one step closer to continuing La Grande Bande’s mission: delivering unique and inspiring programming to our communities.”
The “Season At Home”
La Grande Bande’s “Season At Home” is largely a continuation of its “Live From Home” series which began on May 15. For Fall 2020, LGB’s “Season At Home” will provide enough music for three full-length concert programs. Each video will be accompanied with program notes and have English subtitles for translations when necessary.
The “Season At Home” performances will be published publicly every two weeks beginning September 4. Sustaining Contributors will receive access to the content a week before the public.
“The ‘Season At Home’ performances are going to be rehearsed and recorded later this summer and into early fall,” Asmus said. “We hope this schedule will allow us to do as much as possible if the current situation drastically changes.”
The typical variety of music you’re used to hearing will continue in the Season At Home. “It’s actually a pretty exciting time, despite the circumstances,” Asmus said. On the schedule are sonatas by Handel, suites by Bach, a concerto grosso by William Boyce, and some airs de cour by Michel Lambert.
“I had to totally scrap what I had planned for the fall season and start from scratch,” Asmus noted. “I had to make sure we wouldn’t have more than 10 people and that we could keep as much social distancing as possible. With what we have planned now, we’ll be performing pieces we may not have performed for another few years.”
La Grande Bande also hopes to provide some other educational programming through virtual webinars or masterclasses. “We just want to make sure we can live up to the promises and the mission of what we do,” noted Board member Madeline Cacciatore. “Performances are a part of that, but so is our educational programming.”
“Education is central to who we are, and we have to make sure we can live up to that. Program notes are obviously a part of that, but they’re not everything,” said Board member Joe Thomas. “We need to do everything we can to get into the community.”
Spring 2021
Currently, La Grande Bande plans to resume in person performances beginning in January 2021 with Concert VI: Splendors of Baroque Italy.
Resuming in person performances will constantly be evaluated, and may change depending on conditions.
You can view more about our upcoming 2020–2021 Season here.
La Grande Bande’s Season At Home is supported in part by a grant from the Carl & Verna Schmidt Foundation, by a grant from the Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council, and by our wonderful Contributors and Sustaining Contributors.