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Santa Barbara Music Club 50th Season of Free Concerts
March 21, 2020 @ 3:00 am PDT
Dear Music Club Concert Goers:
We had great plans for our 50th Anniversary season. Our performing members outdid themselves in submitting proposals for challenging and unusual works, including many by the excellent living composers in our community. Our Concert Committee did a stellar job of curating the programs. By all indications, this was to be our best season yet.
Unfortunately, global events didn’t see it that way and we have been forced to confront the harsh realities of COVID-19. Our overarching desire is to keep our membership healthy and safe. The Board had been weighing the merits of attending a performance against the danger of being in close proximity to other audience members for an hour. Just as we decided to cancel the March 21 concert, we received word from our co-sponsors, the Santa Barbara Public Library, that they would follow California Department of Public Health guidelines and cancel all public events through the end of April. I know this will come as disappointment to you but to some it’s probably a relief to know that you can stay home and not miss out on the concerts. I know it will be a disappointment to the performers. I particularly know this because I had planned to play on all three of the cancelled performances.
As it stands, the following Saturday Afternoon concerts are cancelled:
•March 21, Kim Holmquist and Kirsten Becker (and me) and Marilyn Gilbert
•April 4, Westmont Chamber Singers, Adelle Rodkey (and me), Alicja Dutkiewicz and Natasha Kislenko
•April 18, Takako Wakita and Betty Oberacker, Jordan Warmath and Marc Evanstein, and me
There is some talk by the library of live-streaming concerts without audience. You’d be able to watch them on YouTube or Facebook. I’ve performed like that years ago in a television studio. It was very weird, very much like being in a recording studio except people are watching what you’re doing. I’ve also watched my son live-stream from Oberlin. When it worked, it was very nice to see him, but it didn’t always work. We will let you know if something like that will happen. We will also consider holding the performances at a later date, but it is too early to think about that now.
Until then, please don’t come to the Faulkner Gallery until further notice and by all means, wash your hands assiduously, don’t touch your face, and stay as healthy as possible.
Much love to all of you,
Eric Valinsky
Eric Valinsky
President, Santa Barbara Music Club
PO Box 3974, Santa Barbara CA 93130
http://sbmusicclub.org/