Carmel Symphony Orchestra makes schedule changes, citing COVID safety

Carmel Symphony Orchestra (CSO) has announced several changes to its season schedule due to the current surge of COVID-19 Omicron variant cases.

Five upcoming concert dates are being postponed:

  • Family Fun Concert, Sunday, Jan. 23
  • Masterworks 3 with the Harlem String Quartet, Saturday, Feb. 12
  • Beethoven Lives Upstairs: A Classical Kids Live! Event, Saturday, Feb. 19
  • Pops Concert: Serpentine Fire – the Music of Earth, Wind & Fire, Saturday, Feb. 26
  • Side-by-Side Concert with Fishers High School featuring CSO Young Artist Competition winner Abigail Ko, Sunday, March 6.

“Three of the affected concerts are our family concerts,” stated Robert Schlegel III, Chairman of the CSO Board of Directors. “Normally, at Family Fun and Side-by-Side, young people are actually on the stage with our musicians, literally side-by-side with them. With the current COVID surge, and with so few among the younger age groups vaccinated, or even able to be vaccinated, our board determined that this probably isn’t the best thing to be doing at this time. Hopefully, the peak of this particular surge will be reached over the next month or so, and by the time we resume our concerts, we’ll be on the down side of Omicron.”

Masterworks 4 on Saturday, March 12, and Masterworks 5 with guest artist Edgar Meyer on Saturday, April 23 will be CSO’s next concerts, both at the Palladium at 7:30 p.m. The Family Fun concert, originally set for Jan. 23, has been rescheduled for 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 14 at the Palladium. The other concerts affected by the temporary pause, including Serpentine Fire: the Music of Earth, Wind and Fire, will be booked for the 2022-23 season.

CSO Executive Director Cara Pittenger says a ticket refund policy has been put into place. Patrons holding tickets for the postponed events can elect to donate their ticket amount to the CSO, or obtain a refund by calling the box office at (317) 843-3800. Those deciding to make the contribution to the orchestra are greatly appreciated.

During the CSO’s temporary absence from the stage, keep in touch and up to date on orchestra activities at CarmelSymphony.org, and through postings to the CSO’s social media platforms.

The CSO 2022-23 schedule will be announced in April.