Adrian Symphony Orchestra

A symphony no longer silenced

The Adrian Symphony Orchestra returns after a long hiatus from live performing

By Anissa Gabbara Contributing writer

The pandemic put a hold on concert goers everywhere as the world of live music took an unprecedented shi� . As COVID-19 cases surged in the U.S., venues were le� with no other choice but to cancel shows, forcing ar� sts to fi nd alternate ways to entertain. As a result, people have missed out on rejoicing with fellow music fans and reveling in the sounds that unite us all. Fortunately, music lovers in Adrian are in for a treat as the Adrian Symphony Orchestra gears up for its fi rst season since closing its doors last year due to the pandemic.

Bruce Anthony Kiesling, ASO music director and principal conductor, recalls rehearsals being in full swing as Michigan’s fi rst round of COVID-19 restric� ons were put in place during concert week in March 2020.

“The rehearsals were going so incredibly well and it was our very fi rst � me in this new space, which was sounding amazing,” says Kiesling. “It was a magical week, so to have that stopped mid-produc� on was par� cularly jarring.

“Being an eternal op� mist, I thought in two weeks this will be over [and] we’ll be back to normal, so it was diffi cult because we didn’t really know what to expect.”

Fostering a love for orchestral music and sharing it with the people of Southeast Michigan for 40 years, the ASO looked into the idea of doing virtual concerts in fall 2020 to keep folks engaged. But it took a while to accept the new reality created by the pandemic.

“We kept holding out hope because the ideal situa� on was just to be on stage with the orchestra and a live audience, but it became apparent that wasn’t going to happen,” said Libby Watson, ASO execu� ve director. Kiesling adds, “We just wanted to remind people that we’re s� ll here doing what we do in a diff erent way, and delivering our product in a diff erent way, but [we wanted to] make sure [that] we were s� ll on people’s radars emo� onally more than anything.”

According to Watson, going virtual was an opportunity to give guests a unique experience that they wouldn’t otherwise have in the hall. For example, the video cameras on the stage zoom in on the musicians and instruments, giving viewers an up-close-and-personal experience.

The musicians jumped at the chance to play together again to virtually perform “Peter and the Wolf” by Sergei Prokofi ev and “Rhapsody in Blue” by George Gershwin earlier in the year. It was nothing short of exci� ng, and even emo� onal for some, according to Kiesling.

“Music is not just their job, but a major part of their life and their iden� ty,” he says. But as any musician can imagine, it’s hard to beat the tender moments of playing in front of a live audience, where engaged listeners take in every musical moment.

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“When you get to a moment and there’s real silence in the room because people are a� en� ve, that’s something we can’t wait to get back to [in October],” said Kiesling.

Of course, any change of this magnitude comes with its set of challenges. According to Kiesling, being a small group socially distanced on a big stage made it hard for the musicians to listen to each other. Being socially distanced was par� cularly diffi cult for the string players who share a music stand. Kiesling adds that wearing a mask while conduc� ng posed another set of challenges, as everything from how to shape phrases to the character of the music is communicated via the conductor’s facial expressions. “It was a major change, not just for me as a conductor, but for all the players as living, breathing musicians,” he said.

The response from the community about the ASO’s return to the stage for live performances has been overwhelmingly posi� ve. “They’ve missed that opportunity to not only hear music, but to come together as an audience,” says Watson.

To ensure the safety of guests upon opening its doors again this fall, the ASO staff is closely monitoring city, county, and state protocols. Additi onally, paying att enti on to what other orchestras are doing has been helpful, as some have already started playing for live audiences as early as summer 2021, according to Kiesling. But taking small steps toward some degree of normalcy ensures that staff is taking the ti me to determine best practi ces.