On June 20, musicians from the National Symphony Orchestra, Alexandria Symphony, and other local ensembles will perform in the garden of the Rectory on Princess Street. This is not a live-stream event or something informal you watch on somebody’s porch: It’s an actual concert with tickets and a program and everything—a once-cherished ritual that now feels like a dim memory from a distant era.
Staged by Classical Movements, an Alexandria company that organizes tours for orchestras and choirs, the event will be held six times over the course of the day to allow for smaller audiences that can properly socially distance, with music that ranges from Star Wars to Schubert. All performances are standing-only, and audience members will be required to wear masks and stay six feet apart. “Classical Movements will take precautions to limit the risk as much as within our power and requests the cooperation of the audience in these preventative measures, so that we can again enjoy live music and support musicians in our community,” the company said in a press release.
This experiment comes at a moment when performing-arts venues are starting to announce cancelations for not just the summer but also the fall. It’s an especially scary time for the live-music industry; the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) recently said that 90 percent of its members believe they will go out of business if the shutdown lasts at least six months and there is no federal support.
More information about tickets and programming can be found here.
Rob Brunner grew up in DC and moved back in 2017 to join Washingtonian. Previously, he was an editor and writer at Fast Company and other publications. He lives with his family in Chevy Chase DC.
