Spring 2021 Concerts

A post-concert chat with Gloria Chien, Anthony McGill and Kathy Schuman, Caramoor’s Artistic Director

George Lewis and Jeremy Denk in a mid-concert video chat about the composer “Blind Tom” Wiggins

Becoming a media company

We discovered that putting on livestreamed concerts is MUCH more work than “normal” live concerts! The programs are shot with three cameras and live-edited from the basement. (Yes, practically all of our streams have really been LIVE.) So, we now have a whole livestream ‘team’ including a director, a livestream technician, an audio engineer, video graphic designer, live- chat monitor, etc.

It all comes together on the day of the performance, with the extra nailbiting that comes along with that dreaded phrase “technical difficulties”! Thankfully these have been few and far between, but we will not soon forget when we couldn’t get any audio on Inon Barnatan’s July livestream and had to tell folks to tune in the next day. But that was back in July…

Working during a pandemic

On top of everything else, there are all the Covid safety protocols. Artists sometimes had to quarantine, there were Covid tests, there were masks, there were gloves, there were Lysol wipes, there were chairs spaced six feet apart (and colleagues with a ruler to check!). And our artist/staff meals were “enjoyed” with each of us sitting alone at our own table. One of the oddest things for me was the 15 minutes or so leading up to each stream. Usually there’s audience filing in and chatting and the whole Music Room is aflutter with anticipation and conviviality. Now, the moments leading up to the stream are really, really quiet. The few staff members are at their ‘stations’ — the hall is virtually empty, except for a couple of us. The stage manager gives the countdown….5, 4, 3, 2, 1. After each piece, we give the artists a quiet thumbs up; there’s usually no clapping or bows.

As I write this, it looks like N.Y. State may be allowing small indoor audiences this spring. Whoopee! Music to my ears. Now we’ll have to figure out how to do in-person concerts simultaneously with livestreams. “Watch out, sir, don’t trip on that wire…!”